Data Analysis Tools for DNA Microarrays

Technology today allows the collection of biological information at an unprecedented level of detail and in increasingly vast quantities. To reap real knowledge from the mountains of data produced, however, requires interdisciplinary skills-a background not only in biology but also in computer science and the tools and techniques of data analysis.

To help meet the challenges of DNA research, Data Analysis Tools for DNA Microarrays builds the foundation in the statistics and data analysis tools needed by biologists and provides the overview of microarrays needed by computer scientists. It first presents the basics of microarray technology and more importantly, the specific problems the technology poses from the data analysis perspective. It then introduces the fundamentals of statistics and the details of the techniques most commonly used to analyze microarray data. The final chapter focuses on commercial applications with sections exploring various software packages from BioDiscovery, Insightful, SAS, and Spotfire. The book is richly illustrated with more than 230 figures in full color and comes with a CD-ROM containing full-feature trial versions of software for image analysis (ImaGene, BioDiscovery Inc.) and data analysis (GeneSight, BioDiscovery Inc. and S-Plus Array Analyzer, Insightful Inc.).

Written in simple language and illustrated in full color, Data Analysis Tools for DNA Microarrays lowers the communication barrier between life scientists and analytical scientists. It prepares those charged with analyzing microarray data to make informed choices about the techniques to use in a given situation and contribute to further advances in the field.

The book by Draghici is an excellent choice to be used as a textbook for a graduate level bioinformatics course. This well-written book with two accompanying CD-ROMs will create much needed enthusiasm among statisticians.
-Journal of Statistical Computation and Simulation, Vol. 74

I really like Draghici's book. As the author explains in the Preface, the book is intended to serve both the statistician who knows very little about DNA microarrays and the biologist who has no expertise in data analysis. The author lays out a study plan for the statistician that excludes 5 of the 17 chapters (4-8). These chapters present the basics of statistical distributions, estimation, hypothesis testing, ANOVA, and experimental design. What that leaves for the statistician is the three-chapter primer on microarrays and image processing, plus all of the data analysis tools specific to the microarray situation.

The softcover book is reasonably priced, and it includes two CDs with trial versions of several specialised software packages. Anyone who uses microarray data should certainly own a copy.
-Technometrics, Vol. 47, No. 1, February 2005