Cell-based Heart Regeneration: Bioinformatics Analysis of Stem Cell Differentiation

In this project, we shall study the process of stem cell differentiation in the case of cardiomyocytes through bioinformatics analysis, which is important for understanding the process of human heart development. Specifically, we shall focus on the analysis of cardiomyocyte transcriptome bead array data to compare the gene expression patterns of stem cells and various types of differentiated cardiomyocytes. We shall then search for the key set of transcription factors that account for the observed gene expression patterns. Finally, we shall perform gene set analysis to elucidate the main biological pathways associated with stem cell differentiation, and to understand their functional significance.