Scope of ABREN

Bioinformatics is one of the most rapidly growing interdisciplinary fields of science, and expected to make a huge contribution not only to the advancement of basic biological science but also to biotechnology and medicine in the future. However, because of its rapid growth, the developments of infrastructure and education fell behind. Also, this is the field that needs interaction of people with different academic backgrounds and cooperation among them. However, the lack of supporting systems to facilitate such cooperation is one of the factors to hinder the sound development of this field.

The proposed international project is aimed at forming Asian Bioinformatics Research and Education Network (ABREN) as a forum among Asian countries to facilitate collaborative research and education in bioinformatics. Such collaborative project will promote new fields of research and more comprehensive education, which are difficult to establish in individual institutions. Asia is one of the most rapidly growing regions in the world. Biotechnology and IT are among the most promising areas contributing to the future economy in the region. We hope that ABREN will contribute to the development of Asian economy as well as basic science.

ABREN will support the following activities:

(1) Promotion of cooperative research on bioinformatics through exchange of researchers.

(2) Promotion of cooperative education through exchange of teaching faculty and students, and joint development of educational materials such as e-learning system.

(3) Sponsoring training workshops and symposiums on bioinformatics.