Computational Biologist
Morgridge Institute for Research | Stewart Bioinformatics Group
Hometown: Moscow, Russia
Bioinformatician with >20 years of research experience in academia and the biotech industry. Interested in genomes, evolution, and the analysis and integration of high-throughput biological data. Earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from The Johns Hopkins University in 1998. Received postdoctoral training in Bioinformatics at Scripps Research Institute and Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. Contributed to peer reviewed studies in several fields of biomedical research, including mammalian genomics, insect ecology, bioenergy, molecular mechanisms of psychiatric disorders, breast cancer, proteomics, structural biology, and thermodynamics of RNA folding.
Dr. Bukhman’s talks can also be offered in Russian.
Talks:
Animal genomes and body sizes: the whale and the shrew
I will describe the sequencing and preliminary analyses of the genomes of two species of animals. One of them is the blue whale, the largest animal alive today and, as far as we know, the largest to have ever existed. The other one is the Etruscan shrew, one of the world’s smallest mammals.
The genome of the Nile rat, a promising new animal model of diabetes
Nile rat is a mouse-like rodent that lives in Africa. Like people, Nile rats spontaneously develop diabetes when they don’t eat right. This trait has attracted the attention of researchers looking for a good animal model of the disease. I will describe the sequencing of a Nile rat’s genome and how it might further our understanding of diabetes.