Toolbox for Analysis of Molecular Expression Data

Exposure to toxic chemicals and pathogens, and disease process cause sequential changes in gene and protein expression patterns, and in the metabolic state of the affected cells and tissues. Detection of changes in molecular expressions patterns in theblood or, other easily accessible tissue, should provide means for early identification of the chemical hazards and application of preventive measures. This long-term goal must be supported by development of analysis tools for evaluation and mining oflarge data sets produced by the molecular expression studies. IAC proposes to develop a comprehensive set of numerical tools for early identification of disease induced by exposure to toxic chemicals, with special emphasis on chemicals producing long-termadverse effects. In Phase I feasibility study, we will address the analysis of relevant gene expression data. The standard methods for biomarker identification in micro-array data will be employed and their performance compared with a number of newlyproposed approaches. The molecular expression analysis toolbox will be implemented in the later phases of the proposed development and will also address the needs of proteomic and metabonomic studies. The toolbox will be implemented within open, Webenabled, collaborative environment based on Web services technology