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Friday, October 19
Fri, Oct 19, 7:30 AM - 8:30 AM
Hall of Mirrors
Continental Breakfast and Speed Poster 2, Sponsored by Fifth Third Bank

Domain Knowledge as a Key Enabler of Impactful Data Analyses in Single-Cell Genomics (304961)

*Ayshwarya Subramanian, Broad Institute 

Keywords: single-cell genomics, genomic data science, data analysis

Advances in single-cell genomics has led to a new wave of biological discovery, transforming our understanding of how individual cells interact and organize under different environmental conditions. A single experiment can produce data on the order of tens of thousands of cells. Unlike the average signal that bulk genomic data captures, single-cell datasets have the unique dimension of specificity as every biological system has its distinct dynamic, and uncharted cellular landscape. Automated data analyses pipelines that do not capture the nuances of such biological variability can limit scientific discovery. In such a setting, developing a keen understanding of the underlying biology can uniquely position a genomic data scientist to draw impactful insights. I will present examples from analyses of single-cell transcriptomic data where applying standard choices in analysis pipelines loses relevant and meaningful biology, while knowledge of context during interactive data analyses enhances discovery. A data scientist with appreciation of domain knowledge, can design new rule sets and specialized models, thus multiplying the scientific contributions of a successful data analysis.