Managing Microarray Knowledge with the Semantic Web

Geeez! Eventually I have submitted the thesis and given the defense presentation! My PhD project is about representing the results coming from microarray data analysis. I represent concepts like: sets of differentially expressed genes, results from clustering algorithms, claims about the role of genes in a biological pathway. I use Semantic Web technologies and an OWL model (ontology) to provide a formal representation of such knowledge. All is focused on assertions (e.g.: “IL2 is expressed under LPS infection condition”), which may be supported by experimental evidence (e.g.: a data set) or other kinds of evaluations, including ranking and comments from the users. Moreover, users and their roles (e.g.: is an expert on Immunology) may be considedered, especially for ranking the assertions. I have also developed a demo, based on the Makna Semantic Wiki.