In partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of
Master of Science

Qin Zhao

will defend her thesis

A Web-Enabled Interface to the Host-Blind Probe/Primer Database of Pathogens Using .NET

Abstract
Host-blind DNA probes/primers have been proposed as a highly unique molecular fingerprint to characterize target pathogens of interest.  Novel algorithms have been applied to analyze the occurrences of all subsequences of 16 to 22 nucleotides in length. A database has been developed containing 300,000,000+ human- and background-blind sequences present in 286 NIAID category A, B and C priority threat agents genomes. The objective of this project was to develop an effective user interface for this database.  .NET was used in the design, analysis and implementation of a web-based application to view the host-blind sequences based on the search engine. The web-enabled graphical user interface allows users to perform advanced searches for unique and ultraspecific microarray probes and PCR primers and allows experienced users to download the original data in tab delimited text format for future use in custom applications. The database completed here establishes beyond any doubt that the sequences specific to the pathogen and absent from the host genomes are significantly contributed to the pathogen detection.   

Date: Thursday, April 13, 2006
Time: 1:05 PM
Place: 550-PGH

Faculty, students, and the general public are invited.
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Yuriy Fofanov
       Co-advisor: Dr. George E. Fox