Seminar: Center for Biomedical Informatics
Faculty Candidate, Dr. Mathias Brochhausen
The Hamilton Eye Institute – Freeman Auditorium 930 Madison (3rd floor)
Wednesday, November 12th, 12PM-1PM
Lunch will be served
Using Semantic Web Technologies for Biomedical Data
The growing amount of data we collect in biomedical research raises the question of how to interpret it and how to transform it into meaningful information for multiple heterogeneous user groups (healthcare providers, patients, researchers, etc.).
One way to facilitate extraction of knowledge from data is the use of Semantic Web Technologies. These methods allow data representation to include information on the meaning of the data in a highly flexible and maintainable manner. Background information, similar to metadata, is created, but is provided in a way that is computer parsable. Thus, the computer can assist in interpreting the data and providing additional information. Ontologies, logical models based on Semantic Web approaches, allow drawing logical inferences from pre-existing data and checking the consistency of the data and its interpretation. In the talk I will introduce central notions of Semantic Web Technologies and will give concrete examples of how they can be used to address the needs of biomedical research, in particular where Big Data is involved.
Dr. Brochhausen is currently assistant professor at the Division of Biomedical Informatics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and affiliate graduate faculty at the Department of Information Science at the University of Arkansas Little Rock. His research focus is the use of semantic web technologies, especially ontologies in managing biomedical data. He is co-investigator in an NIH-funded projects and, in that capacity, drives the development of an ontology for knowledge management on potential drug-drug interactions. His track record of extramurally funded work includes developing semantic web solutions for pediatrics, pediatric oncology, biobanking, epidemic simulators, chronic diseases. Dr. Brochhausen’s work has been published in eminent journals and proceedings in the field of Biomedical Ontologies. In 2014 he co-authored “An Ontological Analysis of Reference in Health Record Statements”, which won the best paper award at the Formal Ontologies in Information System Conference 2014.