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Kan Yu

Overview of thesis

The broad aim of my Master’s research project is to identify susceptive genes of Congenital Heart Defects (CHDs) by exploring high-throughput DNA methylation data. The research theme is initiated from a multi-disciplinary study where we investigated the exact cause of most CHDs by collecting blood samples at Kind Edward Memorial Hospital for Women, WA. This project is part of a collaboration between Edith Cowan University (ECU), Curtin University, the University of Western Australia (UWA), and Department of Health (DoH).

We developed a pipeline to analyse a small-sample-sized high-dimensional methylation data set to identify biomarkers for CHDs. A total of 48 clinically collected genome-wide DNA methylation profiles were used to investigate the usefulness of DNA methylation as biomarkers in diagnosing and predicting children with CHDs. We conducted primary pre-processing on the dataset, then applied a data mining approach (random forest classifiers) on the resultant dataset. Our investigation highlighted that aberrant DNA methylation may play a significant role in the pathogenesis and occurrence of CHDs.

Biography

I am a software engineer and biostatistician with experience of working in both Higher Education and Health Departments. I am also a researcher. My research focuses on the application of statistics in population studies with expertise in the use of machine learning in high-dimensional biology.

Qualifications

  • Master of Science by Research (M.Sc.), Edith Cowan University, Western Australia (2019-2021)
  • Bachelor of Computer Science, Edith Cowan University, Western Australia (2006-2007)

Research

Research Interests

  • Bioinformatics
  • Computational Biology
  • Genomics
  • Systems Biology
  • Epidemiology

Past Research employment history

  • 2018-2019: Research Assistant (Volunteer), Centre for Genetic Origins of Health and Disease, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Science, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia

Other work

  • 2013-2017: Information Technology Officer, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Science, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia
  • 2010-2013: Information Technology Officer, Faculty of Engineering Computing and Mathematics, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia

Past Teaching

  • 2020-present: Tutor, School of Science, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia

Supervisors

  • Dr Jitian Xiao, (School of Science, Edith Cowan University)
  • A/Prof Brad Zhang, (School of Public Health, Curtin University)
  • Dr Leisa Armstrong, (School of Science, Edith Cowan University)

Contact

Mr Kan Yu
Masters Student
School of Science, Bldg. JO.18.420
ECU Joondalup Campus
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