About the Author

Dr. István Albert is renowned for being at the forefront of the Bioinformatics frontier and pushing the field forward in new directions. He helped pioneer the Galaxy Bioinformatics Platform, an open source web-based tool that allows users to perform and share data-intensive biomedical research. He also developed BooleanNet, a biological system simulation software, ProtSuggest, a software package that uses machine learning to predict protein interactions and, the GeneTrack software platform that automates and processes large sets of biological data. Currently, István is the lead software developer, maintainer and administrator of the website, Biostars: Bioinformatics Questions and Answers, the most comprehensive information source on Bioinformatics data analysis that is visited by millions of people every year.

Besides being well-known for his scientific innovations in three distinct scientific domains: Physics, Computer Science and Biology, Dr. Albert is a celebrated educator. The courses he develops are consistently highly ranked and revered by students. In 2014, István was awarded the Paul M. Althouse Outstanding Teaching Award at Penn State for the superb quality of his lectures. The lecture information that has garnered him such high praise is the very same material that you will find in the Biostar Handbook.

Dr. Albert is a Professor of Bioinformatics at the Pennsylvania State University and the Director of the Bioinformatics Consulting Center at this institute. István established this cutting-edge research facility where he has advised and assisted dozens of brilliant young scientists in their ambitious endeavors. He also founded the Graduate Certificate Program in Applied Bioinformatics, a comprehensive Bioinformatics training course offered through the Penn State World Campus that allows anyone, anywhere, to attain in-depth knowledge of this exciting new field. 

In his spare time Dr. Albert loves nature, hiking and documents his travels via his YouTube channel: Weekend Cowboy