Protein Sequence Distance Calculator
There are a few applications that allow for distance scoring and calculation of protein sequences, but very few have elected for an approach that allows for user experimentation with the scoring matrices. The “go-to” scoring matrix –BLOSUM62– is utilized in most phylogenetic programs and cannot be altered by the user. ProDisC is a brand new program that hopes to create a pipeline in which this can be altered, as new things may be discovered from the divergence of a standardized scoring matrix. Along with user-selected matrices, ProDisC also provides automatic and pairwise identity matrix selection. Distance scores are then calculated between every pair of sequences within the multiple sequence alignment. Further, bootstrapping a user-determined number of repetitions causes the program to return a consensus tree file that users can view via an external program. ProDisC currently lacks sufficient testing but it is ready for experimentation within the field.
Troy Hofstrand
Troy Hofstrand is a graduating senior from Springfield, Illinois with the following degrees: a B.S. in Data Science, a B.A. in Mathematics with a Focus in Statistics, and a M.S. in AI. Troy has recently accepted a full-time position at Raytheon Technologies, an aerospace and defense company, in Tucson, Arizona. There he will be working as a Systems Engineer in the missiles and defense department.
Nikolaus Ryczek
From Park Ridge, Illinois, Nikolaus Ryczek is majoring in Data Science (B.S.) and Mathematics with a concentration in Statistics (B.A.). He is graduating in three years and plans to continue his academic pursuits at Saint Louis University in the One Year MBA Program. Nikolaus is excited to broaden his horizons into the business world.
Nicholas Sullivan
Nicholas Sullivan is graduating this May with a B.S. in Data Science and minor in Sports Business. He grew up in Hingham, Massachusetts and will be staying in St. Louis post-graduation as an Integration & Analysis Engineer for Boeing. Nicholas is excited to start with Boeing and loves to study baseball analytics on the side.
Dr. Zhang was instrumental in the development of our project and presentation. He came to every meeting with great enthusiasm and warmly welcomed us into the field of Phylogenetics research. Dr. Zhang was always encouraging even during our greatest setbacks and helped steer us back on the right track. Without him this project would not have been possible.