Nature and evolution constantly change our genome. Some mutations are harmless, whereas others are harmful and can lead to hereditary diseases or cancer.

As researchers make greater use of genetic data to advance knowledge on diseases, the need for tools to analyse the extremely large data sets that emerge from mapping the genome is growing.

The analytical tools for examining mutations have had gaps for many years, and Søren Besenbacher plans to rectify these based on a DKK 6.7 million grant from the Novo Nordisk Foundation under its ambitious Data Science Investigator Programme.

“This initiative of the Novo Nordisk Foundation is absolutely fantastic, because numerous large data sets with genetic information are being produced today. Having the right analytical tools is imperative to optimise the output from the data sets, and this project aims to develop such tools,” explains Søren Besenbacher.

Improved analytical models will enable researchers to understand much better mutations that cause both hereditary diseases and cancer.

Contact

Associate Professor Søren Besenbacher
Aarhus University, Department of Clinical Medicine and Aarhus University Hospital, Department of Molecular Medicine
Mobile: +45 40 76 72 86
Mail: besenbacher@clin.au.dk