UNIVERSITY OF HERTFORDSHIRE COMPUTER SCIENCE RESEARCH COLLOQUIUM [BIOCRUNCH SUBSERIES] "Improving Computational Predictions of Cis-Regulatory Binding Sites using non-linear classifciation algorithms Mark Robinson School of Computer Science University of Hertfordshire 9 November 2005 (Wednesday) Lecture Theatre E350 Hatfield, College Lane Campus 3 - 4 pm Coffee/tea and biscuits will be available. [Catering Permitting] Everyone is Welcome to Attend [Space Permitting] Abstract: The location of cis-regulatory binding sites determine the connectivity of genetic regulatory networks and therefore constitute a natural focal point for research into the many biological systems controlled by such regulatory networks. Accurate computational prediction of these binding sites would facilitate research into a multitude of key areas, including embryonic development, evolution, pharmacogenemics, cancer and many other transcriptional diseases, and is likely to be an important precursor for the reverse engineering of genome wide, genetic regulatory networks. Many algorithmic strategies have been developed for the computational prediction of cis-regulatory binding sites but currently all approaches are prone to high rates of false positive predictions, and many are highly dependent on additional information, limiting their usefulness as research tools. I will present an approach for improving the accuracy of a selection of established prediction algorithms by integrating predictions from disparate algorithms. We have been able to demonstrate that the use of non-linear classification algorithms to integrate predictions from multiple sources can result in more accurate predictions, and more significantly that the improvement is primarily achieved by a significant reduction in the false positive prediction rate. Finally, it is shown that further improvements in prediction accuracy can be gained with the use of biologically inspired post-processing of predictions. -- Hertfordshire Computer Science Research Colloquium http://homepages.feis.herts.ac.uk/~nehaniv/colloq