Today, toxicologists are collecting progressively big volumes of information– above all what are called omics data, i.e., details about genes, proteins and metabolic products. These data can help us to much better understand the impact of chemical substances on the human body. “To date, however, their capacity has actually not been adequately leveraged, as the proper analytical tools for the trustworthy analysis of such information, which are highly intricate, are typically doing not have,” says RTG spokesperson Teacher Jörg Rahnenführer. “This is the beginning point for our research: We in the Research Training Group are establishing and using new methods that make it possible to analyze such datasets more effectively.”
Especially challenging in this context is the handling of high-dimensional data, where numerous specific pieces of information have to be factored in at the same time. One example is gene expression data, where the activity of thousands of genes or cells is determined at the same time. This also consists of SNP data, which shed light on hereditary variations at millions of positions in the genome. Such information provide valuable indications of possible health risks from chemical substances– offered they can be translated properly. Within the group’s specific jobs, the doctoral trainees are working, for instance, on methods to determine more precisely the minimum effective dose of a medical compound or to determine population groups that react particularly sensitively to air toxins.
Practical experience and science communication
Throughout their postgraduate degrees, the early profession researchers in the RTG have the chance to collect practical experience in the labs of the participating Leibniz institutes or with external commercial partners. As part of the credentials program, they can likewise even more develop their specialist skills in the locations of statistical learning and artificial intelligence as well as gain initial experience in science communication. In a workshop arranged in cooperation with the Institute of Journalism at TU Dortmund University, they learn how to interact their research study results to the public in an easy to understand way.
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