On September 29, 2022, the Department of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics (DCMB) community came together to share its passion and enthusiasm for data science as we celebrated DCMB’s 10th anniversary. Over 150 people participated, faculty, students, staff and guests from DCMB and other departments across campus. Over 30 people joined the event via zoom.
The student lunch, organized by DMCB faculty Alla Karnovsky, launched the celebration. It was attended by over 80 students who interacted with alumna guest speaker Erin Shellman, and Holden Thorp, Editor-in-Chief of Science family of journals and keynote speaker of the 8th annual Omenn Lecture.
BSRB atrium was filled with “data enthusiasts,” with 33 posters on display and many discussions punctuated with bursts of laughter.
In the Khan auditorium, Drs. Woolliscroft, Omenn and Athey presented a brief history of the department and a vision for the future, as DCMB will move into Medical Science Building I, currently under complete renovation. This state-of-the-art facility will promote hybrid work, with shared and collaborative spaces that foster innovative thinking and collegial connections. DCMB’s new home will further support the department’s outstanding recognition, nationally and internationally, confirming U-M among the leaders in the field.
Several DCMB faculty presented their research, and alumni Erin Shellman, Ph.D., '12, and Dan Rhodes, Ph.D., '06, delivered inspirational talks about their professional trajectories. Three students were recognized: Lingrui Cai received the Bioinformatics Master’s Academic Achievement Award, Yufeng Zhang the Bioinformatics Academic Achievement Award, and Cathy Smith the Bioinformatics Student Service Award.
Dr. Holden Thorp gave insights into behind the scenes of the Science family of journals and discussed several challenges scientists are facing in this day and age. A panel discussion closed the lectures.
Recordings of the day and detailed program are available here: https://sites.google.com/umich.edu/dcmb10
DCMB 2022 Student Award Ceremony (left to right): Lingrui Cai, Yufeng Zhang, Cathy Smith, Margit Burmeister, Alla Karnosky and Maureen Sartor
Dan Rhodes, (Ph.D., '06) and Erin Shellman (Ph.D., '12) gave the Alumni Talks.
