Bioinformatics Basics: Variant Calling Using High-Throughput Sequencing Data with Brice Sarver, PhD

High-throughput (or, next-generation) sequencing data analysis requires a specialized biological and computational skillset. Scientists are required to work with large and complex files, program pipelines, use powerful computer hardware, and interpret results in a statistical context. While some analytical frameworks can be quite involved, several core steps are repeated among analyses. This webinar will describe the general workflow of a typical bioinformatic analysis, identifying variants from high-throughput sequencing data, starting from first principles.

Brice Sarver, PhD | Presenter

Brice Sarver, Ph.D., is a Bioinformatics Scientist at Ambry Genetics. After graduating from Washington University in St. Louis, Dr. Sarver received his Ph.D. in biology, emphasizing bioinformatics, evolutionary genomics, and phylogenetics, from the University of Idaho. He subsequently completed a postdoc in computational genetics and mouse genomics at the University of Montana. Dr. Sarver is interested in the development of techniques and computational tools to analyze genomic data in non-model, near-model, and model systems, especially using high-performance computing. In particular, he is curious about how new and existing computational techniques can be leveraged to identify the genetic basis of human disease and build genomic datasets in non-model systems, such as those lacking a reference genome. He has led or contributed to studies in a variety of systems, including humans, mice, chipmunks, bears, and fungi.

Adam Chamberlin, PhD | Moderator

Dr. Chamberlin is a research scientist specializing in the application of computational methods to investigate challenges of interest to biology and chemistry (computational biology/computational chemistry). His research has included a wide range of studies including the mechanisms underlying the impact of genetic mutations on protein structure and function, spectra of porphyrins, the transport of protons through ion channels, and the bioavailability of psychoactive compounds. Dr. Chamberlin is currently a structural biologist at Ambry Genetics.