Fiona Brinkman
Encyclopedia
Fiona Brinkman is an Associate Professor in Bioinformatics
and Genomics
(Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry) at Simon Fraser University
, British Columbia
, Canada
, and is a leader in the area of pathogen bioinformatics.
The daughter of Scottish parents, Brinkman was born in Melbourne
, Australia
in 1967. She immigrated to Canada
as a child where she grew up primarily in Mississauga, Ontario
. She completed her B.Sc. in Biochemistry at the University of Waterloo
in 1990 and her Ph.D. under the supervision of Dr. Jo-Anne Dillon at the University of Ottawa
in 1996. She completed two postdoctorates at the University of British Columbia
under the guidance of Drs Robert (Bob) Hancock and Ann Rose. Originally trained as a microbiologist, she developed an interest in bioinformatics through her graduate and postdoctoral studies, leading her to develop a career in pathogen bioinformatics as a professor starting in 2001.
Brinkman's current research interests center around improving understanding of how pathogens and pathogenicity evolve and improving computational methods that aid the development of new vaccines, drugs and diagnostics for infectious disease
s. She is noted for developing PSORTb, the most precise method available for computational protein subcellular localization prediction
and the first computational method that exceeded the accuracy of some common high-throughput laboratory methods for such subcellular localization
analysis. This method aids the prediction of cell surface and secreted proteins in a bacterial cell that may be suitable drug targets, vaccine components or diagnostics. She has also developed bioinformatics methods that aid the more accurate identification of genomic islands and orthologs. Her research has provided new insights into the evolution of pathogens and the role that horizontal gene transfer
and genomic islands play. She was involved in the Pseudomonas Genome Project and is the coordinator of the Pseudomonas Genome Database, a database of Pseudomonas
species genomic data and associated annotations that is continually updated. She is the Research Director, Bioinformatics, of the Genome Canada Pathogenomics Project, and she is co-lead of the Bioinformatics for Combating Infecious Diseases (BCID) project.
Brinkman is married and has a son and a daughter.
Bioinformatics
Bioinformatics is the application of computer science and information technology to the field of biology and medicine. Bioinformatics deals with algorithms, databases and information systems, web technologies, artificial intelligence and soft computing, information and computation theory, software...
and Genomics
Genomics
Genomics is a discipline in genetics concerning the study of the genomes of organisms. The field includes intensive efforts to determine the entire DNA sequence of organisms and fine-scale genetic mapping efforts. The field also includes studies of intragenomic phenomena such as heterosis,...
(Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry) at Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University is a Canadian public research university in British Columbia with its main campus on Burnaby Mountain in Burnaby, and satellite campuses in Vancouver and Surrey. The main campus in Burnaby, located from downtown Vancouver, was established in 1965 and has more than 34,000...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and is a leader in the area of pathogen bioinformatics.
The daughter of Scottish parents, Brinkman was born in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in 1967. She immigrated to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
as a child where she grew up primarily in Mississauga, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. She completed her B.Sc. in Biochemistry at the University of Waterloo
University of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo is a comprehensive public university in the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1957 by Drs. Gerry Hagey and Ira G. Needles, and has since grown to an institution of more than 30,000 students, faculty, and staff...
in 1990 and her Ph.D. under the supervision of Dr. Jo-Anne Dillon at the University of Ottawa
University of Ottawa
The University of Ottawa is a bilingual, research-intensive, non-denominational, international university in Ottawa, Ontario. It is one of the oldest universities in Canada. It was originally established as the College of Bytown in 1848 by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate...
in 1996. She completed two postdoctorates at the University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
under the guidance of Drs Robert (Bob) Hancock and Ann Rose. Originally trained as a microbiologist, she developed an interest in bioinformatics through her graduate and postdoctoral studies, leading her to develop a career in pathogen bioinformatics as a professor starting in 2001.
Brinkman's current research interests center around improving understanding of how pathogens and pathogenicity evolve and improving computational methods that aid the development of new vaccines, drugs and diagnostics for infectious disease
Infectious disease
Infectious diseases, also known as communicable diseases, contagious diseases or transmissible diseases comprise clinically evident illness resulting from the infection, presence and growth of pathogenic biological agents in an individual host organism...
s. She is noted for developing PSORTb, the most precise method available for computational protein subcellular localization prediction
Protein subcellular localization prediction
Protein subcellular localization prediction involves the computational prediction of where a protein resides in a cell. Prediction of protein subcellular localization is an important component of bioinformatics-based prediction of protein function and genome annotation, and it can aid the...
and the first computational method that exceeded the accuracy of some common high-throughput laboratory methods for such subcellular localization
Subcellular localization
The cells of eukaryotic organisms are elaborately subdivided into functionally distinct membrane bound compartments. Some major constituents of eukaryotic cells are: extracellular space, cytoplasm, nucleus, mitochondria, Golgi apparatus, endoplasmic reticulum , peroxisome, vacuoles, cytoskeleton,...
analysis. This method aids the prediction of cell surface and secreted proteins in a bacterial cell that may be suitable drug targets, vaccine components or diagnostics. She has also developed bioinformatics methods that aid the more accurate identification of genomic islands and orthologs. Her research has provided new insights into the evolution of pathogens and the role that horizontal gene transfer
Horizontal gene transfer
Horizontal gene transfer , also lateral gene transfer , is any process in which an organism incorporates genetic material from another organism without being the offspring of that organism...
and genomic islands play. She was involved in the Pseudomonas Genome Project and is the coordinator of the Pseudomonas Genome Database, a database of Pseudomonas
Pseudomonas
Pseudomonas is a genus of gammaproteobacteria, belonging to the family Pseudomonadaceae containing 191 validly described species.Recently, 16S rRNA sequence analysis has redefined the taxonomy of many bacterial species. As a result, the genus Pseudomonas includes strains formerly classified in the...
species genomic data and associated annotations that is continually updated. She is the Research Director, Bioinformatics, of the Genome Canada Pathogenomics Project, and she is co-lead of the Bioinformatics for Combating Infecious Diseases (BCID) project.
Brinkman is married and has a son and a daughter.
Recent awards
- Canadian Society of Microbiologists Fisher Award (2007)
- Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Senior Scholar (2007-2012)
- Canadian Institutes of Health ResearchCanadian Institutes of Health ResearchCanadian Institutes of Health Research is the major federal agency responsible for funding health research in Canada. It is the successor to the Medical Research Council of Canada. It aims to create new health knowledge, and to translate that knowledge from the research setting into real world...
New Investigator (2005-2010) - Canadian Who's Who (2005)
- Canada's Top 40 Under 40 (2003)
- Innovation and Science Council of British Columbia (now the BC Innovation CouncilBC Innovation CouncilThe BC Innovation Council is a Crown Agency of the provincial government of British Columbia, Canada...
) Young Innovator Award (2003) - MITMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyThe Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
Technology ReviewTechnology ReviewTechnology Review is a magazine published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It was founded in 1899 as "The Technology Review", and was re-launched without the "The" in its name on April 23, 1998 under then publisher R. Bruce Journey...
TR100TR35The TR35 is an annual list published by MIT Technology Review magazine, naming the world's top 35 innovators under the age of 35.Some of the most famous winners of the award include Larry Page and Sergey Brin , Linus Torvalds , Jerry Yang , Jonathan Ive , Mark Zuckerberg...
(2002) as one of the top 100 innovators in the world under the age of 35 - Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar (2001-2006)
External links
- http://www.pathogenomics.sfu.ca/brinkman/index.html
- http://www.psort.org/
- http://www.pathogenomics.ca/