Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	EP/D063574/1
Title:	Randomised algorithms and approximation in phylogenetics
Principal Investigator:	Bordewich, Professor MJR
Other Investigators:
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department:	Computer Science
Organisation:	Durham, University of
Scheme:	Postdoc Research Fellowship
Starts:	01 October 2006	Ends:	30 September 2009	Value (£):	207,493
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Bioinformatics Fundamentals of Computing Logic & Combinatorics Population Ecology Statistics & Appl. Probability
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	No relevance to Underpinning Sectors
Related Grants:
Panel History:	Panel Date Panel Name Outcome 17 Feb 2006 PDRF - Theoretical Computer Science Deferred
Summary on Grant Application Form
Algorithms and computational complexity lie at the heart of the fundamental question of determining which problems in computer science we can or cannot hope to solve in a reasonable amount of time. In recent years this has been nowhere highlighted more clearly than in the rapidly developing areas of bio-informatics and computational biology. The advent of techniques for gathering huge volumes of genetic data at a reasonable cost has lead to hopes of understanding many deep problems in biology. However, it lies in the sphere of theoretical computer science to answer the question of which of these problems will be solvable, and which will turn out to be NP-hard, which would suggest it is impossible to compute an exact solution efficiently. Phylogenetics is the reconstruction and analysis of phylogenetic (evolutionary) trees and networks based on inherited characteristics. In evolutionary biology, phylogenetic trees are used to represent the ancestral history of a collection of present-day species. Creating a such a ``tree of life'' has been a primary goal of systematic biology since Charles Darwin's first sketch of an evolutionary tree in 1837, and is now the focus of a global academic effort. Phylogenetics has also proved to be important in the study of mutating diseases; recent work reconstructing the phylogeny of HIV has helped trace the origins of the disease.The broad aim of this project is to develop algorithms and randomised approximation schemes which will be beneficial to biologists working in the field of phylogenetics, as well as devising new techniques for analysing such algorithms, which will be of independent interest in theoretical computer science.
Key Findings
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
Potential use in non-academic contexts
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
Impacts
Description This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk Summary Date Materialised
Sectors submitted by the Researcher
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
Project URL:	http://www.dur.ac.uk/m.j.r.bordewich/Fellowship/fellowship.html
Further Information:
Organisation Website: