*pic info? see bottom of this page

I'm a grad student in Computer Science/BioInformatics (PhD expected 2002 ... yea right)

Goals:

Enjoy life, have fun, smile, cry, live .... do some good ... live life with a poet's soul

Research Interests:

Short Term:

Modeling Molecular Genetic Data

Medium Term:

Starting two little fly-by-nite bioInformatics companies, Mutant Genetics and Gene.net

Long Term:

Developing Models of Molecular Genetic Systems (with an emphasis on the molecular dynamics of complex traits/diseases)

Current Projects:
 
My research thesis is focused primarily on genome-wide identification and analysis of tissue specific and temporal gene expression. The specific pattern and timing of gene expression in tissues is critical to the ultimate design and function of tissues. My current research is focused on developing algorithms for the analysis of gene expression from public data as well as experimental microarray data generated from the Stan Nelson lab and the UCLA Microarray Core Facility.

I'm applying Bayesian approaches to 'clean' and get confidence from integrated public genomics data sources. In particular, mixture models for estimating significance in Affy GeneChip data as well as Illumina Randomly self-assembled bead arrays. I'm also interested in non-parametric density estimates of gene expression (neural nets, kernel methods).

Developing BOA (BioInformatics Open Architecture) - a novel component architecture built with using a Bayesian decision theoretic probabilistic model that we hope will serve as a basis for the analysis of integrated genomics databases.

Analyzing microarray expression data (using Bayesian belief networks, k-means, multidimensional scaling, support vector machines, decision trees, principal quasi-helices, non-parametric probabilistic clustering, self-organizing maps)

Generating functional annotation map of genes by automated Bayesian analysis of PubMed data, analysis of syntenic regions, analysis of SNP data and analysis of gene expression data.

Working with IPAM (Institute of Applied Mathematics) to help out with last Fall's (2000) program in Functional Genomics

Biz:

Starting Mutant Genetics Gene.net (based on BOA), Dances.net , Fatweasel , Capoeirista. In future will start brainmapping.com bembe.net.

I also started Senzala Records.

Consulting:

Currently consulting for Protein Pathways (a BioInformatics company in Westwood) and Protein Planet (a very small Biotech startup in SF) and a not to be named Venture Capital firm in Berkeley ... also did some consulting for a law firm called Irell and Manella in Los Angeles.

Sumo:

I'm currently training for the North American Sumo Championships (and hopefully World Sumo Championships) in late summer of 2003. I plan to compete as a middle weight (253 lbs and under). I'm being trained by two-time World Lightweight Sumo Champion (and good friend) Svetoslav Binev. Training for Sumo is just high-intensity strength training with weight three times a week and wrestling matches/technique once a week. Even if I don't win the North American Sumo Championships wrestling is really making my bod much denser (which is nice = ]).

Capoeira:

I (and a friend) finally put up our capoeira site, capoeirista.com.

If anyone visiting this page is ever in LA, please come play with our group, Capoeira Brasil. It's a really nice friendly group that welcomes beginners and capoeirista's from other styles and places. Our teacher, Mestre Boneco is a great guy and one of the most respected capoeirista's in the world.

Dream:

To find a super-cool brown-eyed babe, whose cute, smart & likes nerds .... and to become a bad-ass, lean (but not mean) capoeira dude (with some Sumo, Kickboxing, Afro-Cuban dance, Afro-Brasilian Dance and a mix of Modern Dance thrown in) ... plus make a little money. A brown-eyed babe with a great smile, is smart, is artistic and socially conscious would be especially cool.

Vitals:

6'6" 260 lbs (at about 18% body fat) but soon (2002) I'll get back to 245 lbs (but at 6-10 % body fat 'cuz I'm taking Capoeira, Sumo & AfroBrasilian dance again) .... plus I'm doin' some way cool plyometrics training. Very young looking thirtysumthin. (I was born within a year of Brad Pitt. This is a euphemistic way of saying i'm a geezer!!!!!)

Fav quote:

(I do not know what it is about you that closes and opens; only something in me understands the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)
nobody, not even the rain, has such small hands

-- e. e. cummings,

*somewhere i have never traveled,gladly beyond*

Rants & Raves:

You can keep up with my semi-regular dreaming and bitching in Nik's Journal.

Graphix:

I'll start putting up some of my illustration, photoillustration, fotos and art work in Big Bear Stuff.

Grande Urso:

Capoeira used to be illegal in Brasil, so they gave Capoeirista's nicknames to protect them from the police. Almost all Capoeira groups still keep this tradition, even though Capoeira is recognized as a national sport in Brasil.

My Capoeira nickname is "Grande Urso" or just "Urso", which means "big bear" in English. Check out my "big bear" logo at the bottom of these web pages below:

I place my ladder where all ladders start
in the foul rag-and-bone shop of the heart.

--W. B. Yeats

*pic info

pic on top of this page is of Nik in the San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade when i was 29 ... (and no i won't tell what year that was)