Exploring Complex Biological Networks in 3D

Dmitry Korkin, associate professor of computer science at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and director of the university’s bioinformatics and computational biology program, studies complex biological networks, which can provide clues about the functioning of living systems and the causes of complex genetic disorders—from cancer to autism. Having long sought a technology that can make these networks easier to visualize, Korkin and his research team are using the Microsoft HoloLens, a mixed-reality viewer, to display biological networks as 3D holographic representations. By combining the visualizations with other data, including information on the location of mutations, they are building a tool that can accelerate research and discovery in the life sciences.