Our Bioinformatics service is here! RNAdia for the Nadia platform now has the option to purchase data analysis services, as easily as you would buy a reagent kit.
Most single cell researchers will be well versed in the headache that bioinformatic can be but there’s no need to despair because our bioinformatics team is here! Because our service offers you dedicated support from one of our team members for all your queries and needs, we thought it was important you get to know your new partner in data analysis!
So let’s introduce you to our Junior Bioinformatician Linh Hoang
Tell us a little about yourself
I’m a graduate from the University of Science and Technology in Hanoi, Life Science department. My dream is being able to shed light to the complexity of living organism and I hope to do that by working with biological data.
How did you come to be working in this topic/ field?
Having a background in Medical Science and Technology, I’ve grown fascinated with the idea of using computers as a powerful tool to aid the field and working in Dolomite Bio’s bioinformatic service I now have the chance to help every single customer to advance their research projects.
What are 3 words you would use to describe Dolomite Bio?
Innovative, dynamic, and supportive
What do you like most about your job?
Aside from drawing and coloring graphs, I enjoy encountering troubles and solve them while learning new things.
Which are your favorite tools for single cell data visualization?
There are many tools for the entire workflow of processing single cell data from sequencing to the visualization. Currently, I like using dropSeqPipe for pre-processing and Seurat for post-processing.
Particularly visualization, I would say R in general is a great tool for drawing plots with which we can use many packages like dplyr, ggplot2, plotly, etc. in combination with Seurat.
What are common mistakes or problems when planning single cell projects?
In my opinion, there are three main problems that emerge in single cell data processing. The first one is no stranger to anyone who has completed biological experiments, which is removing the biases caused by the technique itself. The second one, is the scale of the experiment, how much cells are you expecting, what expression levels are significant, the research question asked and resolution needed for it. Lastly, the existing data availability of your sample. From mapping sequences to classifying cells.
What advice would you give researchers planning their first single cell projects?
My advice would regard the mentioned problems. There are a couple of main ones to be aware of when planning a project. The first one is for wet and dry lab to work in close collaboration, so project details are discussed from both sides right from the start. Secondly, have yourself a good computer or server depending on the scale of your project. Lastly, make sure you have a level of understanding regarding both your sample and the algorithms that might apply. Check the genomes, annotations, the cell markers, anything available online and use the right statistical framework for your experiment.
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
I always wanted to help people and used to think that being a doctor would be cool. Now, I found myself a different way to make the world better. Me being a doctor might result in disasters, I am much better suited to my current career path!
Fun fact about yourself?
It feels like I have more accomplishment when I do pole dancing than my job.
I think I am quite good at reading Tarot for people even though I am as skeptical as a scientist.
What do you enjoy doing when you are not working?
Spending time with my family, especially teasing my little sister. Other than that, I would scroll through Facebook and YouTube for new science innovations, reading bits and pieces on the economics, sometimes some novels, and working on my pole dancing skills. If I have more time, I would take my sister out on motorbike trips.
Your top 3 favourite Podcasts/Books/movies?
Top 3 movies? The Pursuit of Happiness; I, Tonya; The Platform.
Books: either show me how beautiful the world is or teach me things so I cannot rank them.
Thank you for taking the time to get to know Linh, click the links below to meet our other bioinformatics team members, Sebastian Müller and Xuan Nguyen, here:
