Michiel Wels

My interest in biology started when I was introduced to genetics, a clear example where patterns in biological behavior allows us to predict the outcome of future experiments.

As a bioinformatician I try to find patterns and order in large-scale datasets, often consisting of thousands of different measurements. By mining, visualizing and classifying these data (e.g. genome  sequences, metabolite data or genome-scale networks) we try to elucidate the mechanisms that are hidden in these immense datasets. This knowledge will help us to better understand why a certain microbes are so effectively fermenting (or spoiling) a food product, while others are not. Applying this knowledge can create leads to improve the product’s functionality, taste or shelf life.