Bioinformatics Assessment Brief
Scenario
As a scientist working for the NHS on biomarker discovery in Nottingham. You were
presented with unprocessed gene counts RNA sequencing data from 5 healthy colon tissues
and 5 tumour colon tissues generated by (Kim, et al. 2014). By comparing cancerous and
healthy samples, it is possible to identify differences in gene expression that can serve as
biomarkers for colon cancer and as potential targets for new therapies.
What you need to Do:
Using your bioinformatic skills, you need to analyse this data to identify differentially
expressed genes, ascertain the genomic locations of the top genes, and their functions and
predict protein structure for the top differentially expressed genes.
• Please submit your report to the NOW DropBox as a single document in any com-
monly used file format, such as .docx or .pdf. Ensure that images and figures are em-
bedded within the document rather than submitted as separate attachments. Hard
copies are not required.
• Please answer the questions in the same order in which they have been presented
below, using the same question numbering scheme.
• Pay attention to the sentence/word limits on some of the questions. If you exceed
these limits, the rest of your response will not be considered towards your final mark
for that question.
Data
For this assessment, you will receive one data file:
Your dataset will be sent to you via email. Please download it and use ONLY this data for
your assessment.
Each student will receive a unique dataset, meaning your results may differ from those of
your peers. Be aware that collusion, including the sharing or copying of work, is strictly
prohibited.
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Scenario
As a scientist working for the NHS on biomarker discovery in Nottingham. You were
presented with unprocessed gene counts RNA sequencing data from 5 healthy colon tissues
and 5 tumour colon tissues generated by (Kim, et al. 2014). By comparing cancerous and
healthy samples, it is possible to identify differences in gene expression that can serve as
biomarkers for colon cancer and as potential targets for new therapies.
What you need to Do:
Using your bioinformatic skills, you need to analyse this data to identify differentially
expressed genes, ascertain the genomic locations of the top genes, and their functions and
predict protein structure for the top differentially expressed genes.
• Please submit your report to the NOW DropBox as a single document in any com-
monly used file format, such as .docx or .pdf. Ensure that images and figures are em-
bedded within the document rather than submitted as separate attachments. Hard
copies are not required.
• Please answer the questions in the same order in which they have been presented
below, using the same question numbering scheme.
• Pay attention to the sentence/word limits on some of the questions. If you exceed
these limits, the rest of your response will not be considered towards your final mark
for that question.
Data
For this assessment, you will receive one data file:
Your dataset will be sent to you via email. Please download it and use ONLY this data for
your assessment.
Each student will receive a unique dataset, meaning your results may differ from those of
your peers. Be aware that collusion, including the sharing or copying of work, is strictly
prohibited.
1
