BIOL 7180 Project Proposal:

16PS - power analysis for 16SrRNA microbiome studies!

Background:

• Microbiome analyses give insight into composition and function of bacterial communities in a particular location
• Microbiome studies often compare a control group to groups with different environmental exposure or different treatments
• Sequencing of 16SrRNA gene is often used for microbiome analyses
• Power analysis and sample sizes calculation, ideally based on pilot runs, are fundamental for designing a study protocol
• Microbiome power analysis and sample size calculations are complex and time consuming

Questions:

• How many reads do I need to sequence?
• How many samples I need to detect the expected effect?

Objective:

• Predictive power analysis and sample size results
• Intuitive user interface
• Logically structured data visualization

Tasks:

• Find the best calculation method (PERMANOVA, Dirichlet multinomial model, t-test, chi-square test)
• Determine all the parameters relevant for the calculations
• Script the code in Python3
• Design an intuitive user interface

Result:

16PS will simplify and optimize power analysis and sample size calculations for 16SrRNA microbiome studies