Education/Training: University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, Division of Sciences & Technology, Biology & Molecular Cell Biology, Degree: Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Field Of Study: Biochemistry
Research Experience: Expertise in Biochemistry, Bioinformatics & Data Science
Introduction:
The Puerto Rico IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (PR-INBRE) was formed in 2005 from funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), award number 5P20GM103475. The PR-INBRE is committed to the continued development of Puerto Rico’s biomedical research infrastructure through the implementation of a strengthened and cohesive structure with common scientific and educational interests, collaborations, and mentoring initiatives. The PR-INBRE is comprised of 5 primary cores: The Administrative Core, the Bioinformatics Resource Core, the Science and Technology Competency Enhancement Core, the Centralized Research Instrumentation Core, and the Developmental Research Project Program Core. In addition to the cores, the PRINBRE has dozens of active students and researchers working to achieve the directives of the organization.
Dr. Luis E. Vázquez Quiñones is an assistant professor of Biology and Molecular Cell Biology at Ana G. Méndez University (UAGM), Cupey Campus, is the co-director of the Bioinformatics Resource Core from PR-INBRE, and leads the orientation portion of Puerto Rico’s Community of Practice in bioinformatics.
The NAIPI team set out to learn from Dr. Vázquez Quiñones about his journey to bioinformatics and his current experience working with the PR-INBRE.
Interview Summary:
Dr. Vázquez Quiñones was first exposed to bioinformatics when he was an undergraduate student through an introductory computer science course. During the course he learned some programming skills but it wasn’t until he was re-exposed to bioinformatics through a graduate course that he became interested in data analysis.
“I got the opportunity to reconnect with the people that introduced me to bioinformatics because I took, at the graduate level during my Ph.D., a bioinformatics course. So that course sparked everything for me related to data analysis, bioinformatics, and how to apply that to my interest.”
Later in his career, Dr. Vázquez Quiñones was able to integrate aspects of bioinformatics into academic courses and research so that his students could be exposed to bioinformatics similar to how he was.
“I try to spark that interest in my students. So, some of them go into the bioinformatics course, introduction to bioinformatics course, and some successful stories that I got from that course is that several students got into bioinformatics thanks to that effort that I put into [the course].”
Aside from helping students enter the field of bioinformatics, Dr. Vázquez Quiñones is passionate about using his bioinformatic knowledge to help enhance biotechnical research.
“I love bioinformatics!… So for me like trying to find a code or create something that is purely mine that I can help someone to move forward in easier way and to advance what they’re doing is like that is a challenge. So, because it’s a challenge, I want to deal with that problem and try to solve it. So that is what made me stay in the field.”
Dr. Vázquez Quiñones also encourages others to learn these computational skills as biotechnical research continues to change.
“Just doing biology the way that older people before us did is no longer enough. So, the people need to understand that they have to move [towards] acquiring these computational skills and these bioinformatics skills because it’s like magical, it’s magic.”
Dr. Vázquez Quiñones is also involved in teaching outreach programs and encourages students to reach out to experts to help them learn.
“Of course you have to dedicate a bit of your free time in order to get to a profound level or depth into Python. But talking to a person like me, where as, I am a biologist but I know how to code, you will not only learn the things that you need to learn about how to program from the computer science point-of-view but as well you will know how to use that tools in order to represent biological data in order to analyze it. So there are a lot of resources out there. So many programs that want to diversify the resources that are available to everyone in the US, in the island, [or] wherever you are working. So you have to identify those resources and get the most of it.”
Apart from his teaching and research responsibilities, Dr. Vázquez Quiñones is also the co-director of the PR-INBRE Bioinformatics Resource Core and an active member of the Puerto Rico Community of Practice in bioinformatics.
“In the new [PR-INBRE grant] cycle, I became the co-director of the Bioinformatics Resource Core (BiRC). So I am working, like, providing of these materials to the community, to researchers, to students, graduate students, and everybody that wants to know about bioinformatics. So my vision with the Community of Practice in bioinformatics will be not just to impact researchers but visiting professors as well. So I want to provide educational materials that they can easily incorporate in their courses…”
Dr. Vázquez Quiñones’ goal with the Community of Practice in bioinformatics is to connect the Puerto Rico institutions together to create a community of active and open research with focuses on data science and bioinformatics.
“In order to successfully create a bioinformatics course you have to know a person or contact to talk to. That is fundamental in order to move forward. From then, in my case, I will be sharing all my materials and all my laboratories to everyone because I don’t want to keep this for me. I want to disseminate this to move forward because my vision will be that no undergrad student or grad student exit their programs without having bioinformatics or computational skills. So they can put those [skills] in their curriculum vitaes and then move forward and be more competitive when moving forward to get into grad school programs or getting jobs.”