1. What is your current role?
2nd year bioinformatics PhD student with Monash University, supervised by Sonika Tyagi.I work on developing and applying tools for multi-omics data integration.
2. How did you end up in bioinformatics?
I started as a biologist but attended an introduction to bioinformatics lecture as an undergraduate. I saw a big fasta file filtered with a few lines of code and realised that it would be a useful skill, so for a honours project I decided to do a bioinformatics project. Originally intended to do both biology and bioinformatics but spent more time at the computer than in the lab.
3. What are the challenges you have faced working in bioinformatics?
Software and assays evolve so fast that it is hard to find standardised data or workflows.
4. What motivates you to stay in this field?
Because the scope is so wide, it is easier to get exposed to and get involved in a bigger range of interesting projects both inside and outside academia.
5. What was your most recent published/publicly available work/software/code?
A pipeline for multiomics data integration. R package available for install. Related article DOI: 10.1093/bib/bbab185
6. Any advice for the students who start to join the bioinformatics club?
Join an active community (like our COMBINE slack channel).
7. What do you like to do outside of work?
Computer games, watching funny youtube videos.
8. If you could work on any (science) project starting tomorrow, what would it be on?
Automated grant and manuscript writing bot.
9. Favourite meme?
A normal day in bioinformatics.
10.Tidyverse or data.table?
Pandas.
Follow Tyrone on Twitter @_tyronechen and ORCID!