My current research is centered around how to make database systems more usable, particularly when the data involved comes from multiple heterogeneous sources, and has undergone many manipulations. Please see the web page on database usability for more details.

My research is contextually situated in two complementary arenas: (1) databases in the context of the internet; and (2) data management for biological sciences. What happens when you can connect many different databases that are autonomously organized and managed? How can you query and integrate and analyze all the information that you potentially have access to? How can one represent, and account for, variations in information structure and in information quality? How can a non-technical user be supported in performing these tasks?

In prior research at Michigan, we have built a native XML store -- a hierarchical database from the ground up for storing and querying XML data. We call this project TIMBER . We used such an infrastructure in a variety of application domains with particular data management needs not easily met through traditional databases, including e-commerce, (automotive) engineering design, product lifecycle management (PLM) and biological information.

As a demonstration of our ability to integrate a wide variety of information, we have constructed the Michigan Molecular Interactions Database (MiMI). MiMI is part of the the National Center for Integrative Biomedical Informatics, one of 7 national centers for Biomedical IT set up by the NIH. I am a Senior Scientific Director of this center, which develops techniques to compose information and software tools to facilitate biomedical research into diseases such as cancer and diabetes.

I recently co-organized a workshop on data management issues for (molecular and cell) biology. Associated with this, I guest edited a special issue, devoted to data management for biology, of the OMICS journal on integrative biology. I was (co-)Program Chair for the ISMB Conference 2005.