The enthusiasm for bioinformatics as an end in itself has waned in many circles, but bioinformatics has retained and increased its utility as a tool in several areas of life-science research. Among the areas of basic biological research for which bioinformatics can play a role are:
What we would propose, then, would be the recruitment, over a five-year period, of four new faculty members in biology and chemistry whose research foci would involve the seven research areas bulleted above, but whose experience would include a clear knowledge of bioinformatic principles and tools, so that they can pursue the portions of their research that depend on bioinformatics. The faculty members thus recruited would strengthen the BCPS Department in areas in which we are already strong (like structural and molecular biology, and bioremediation) and correct deficiencies in others (like evolutionary biology and communicable disease characterization). The faculty members would participate in teaching existing courses and would develop new ones. They would also be expected to bring in significant research revenue, and would participate in exchanges of ideas with other bioinformatics-intensive faculty members in BCPS, BME, and IITRI.
Any scientist employing bioinformatic techniques will require access to high-performance computing hardware and high-speed networking capabilities, since the databases they would be exploiting are in many cases available on network links. So the financial model for this proposal should include investment, both at the single-faculty-member level and at the departmental level, in computing and network infrastructure and staff to maintain these computers and networks. If the recruited faculty can be encouraged to pool their computing resources to the degree appropriate to their projects, the number of staff required can probably be kept to three and the funds required for computing and network hardware would be modest—probably less than $100,000 per faculty member.
To hire qualified faculty members to carry out experimental research in the seven areas mentioned above, some significant capital expenses are likely to become necessary. Among the expenditures that would help to ensure success for these new faculty, and improve the ability of current faculty to collaborate with these new faculty members on bioinformatics-intensive projects, would be:
| Item | Initial Cost | Annual Cost |
Purpose |
| MALDI Mass Spectrometer | $300K | $30K | Large-scale proteomic characterization |
| SER-CAT Membership | $320K | $38K | Assured beamtime at APS structural-biology facility |
| High-field NMR | $650K | $65K | Structure determination; structure-function studies |
| Microfluorescence system | $150K | $10K | Dynamic studies in cells |
| Calorimetry system | $150K | $15K | Large-scale protein characterization |