Short Bio
Sebastian is a research group leader and Senior Lecturer in Bioinformatics/Genomics at the School of Natural and Computational Sciences (formerly INMS) at Massey University, the Bioinformatics Lead for the Massey Genome Service (MGS) at the School of Fundamental Sciences, Massey University, and an Associate Investigator at the Maurice Wilkins Centre for Molecular Biodiscovery at the University of Auckland. His group combines computational methods and biology to answer questions in the fields of genomics and transcriptomics, with a focus on gene regulation, non-coding RNAs, and data-driven biomedical discovery. Besides research, Sebastian is also highly interested in the computational and bioinformatics up-skilling of students and scientists. Being a certified software carpentry and data carpentry instructor, he regularly runs hands-on computational workshops for students and scientists of all fields.
Professional Experience
2017/01 - present
Senior Lecturer in Bioinformatics/Genomics at the School of Natural and Computational Sciences (formerly INMS), Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand
2017/01 - present
Bioinformatics Lead at Massey Genome Service (MGS), School of Fundamental Sciences (formerly IFS), Massey University, NZ
2018/10 - present
Associate Investigator, Maurice Wilkins Centre for Molecular Biodiscovery, Auckland, New Zealand
2014/03 - 2018/09
Affiliate Investigator, Maurice Wilkins Centre for Molecular Biodiscovery, Auckland, New Zealand
2012/12 - 2016/12
Bioinformatics staff at Massey Genome Service (MGS), Institute of Fundamental Sciences (IFS), Massey University, NZ
2012/12 - 2017/12
Bioinformatics advisor and supervisor of bioinformatics technicians of New Zealand Genomics Limited (NZGL)
2012/12 - 2016/12
Lecturer in Bioinformatics/Genomics at the Institute of Natural and Mathematical Sciences (INMS), Massey University (Auckland), Auckland, New Zealand
2011/06 - 2011/12
Visiting Scientist, RIKEN Omics Science Center, Yokohama, Japan
2010/03 - 2010/05
Visiting Scholar, Lab of PY Qian, Department of Biology, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), Hong Kong
2009/10 - 2012/09
Postdoctoral Fellow, Computational Bioscience Research Center, KAUST, Saudi Arabia
2006/06 - 2009/09
Ph.D. student, South African National Bioinformatics Institute (SANBI, Prof. Vladimir Bajic), University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa
2004/09 - 2004/11
Research Intern, Dietrich Rebholz-Schumann's group at the European Bioinformatics Institute, Hinxton/Cambridge, United Kingdom
2002/10 - 2006/05
Research Assistant, Edda Klipp's Computational Systems Biology Group at the Max-Planck-Institute for molecular Genetics, Berlin, Germany
2002/08 - 2002/09
Research Intern, Edda Klipp's Computational Systems Biology Group at the Max-Planck-Institute for molecular Genetics, Berlin, Germany
Education
2006/06 - 2009/09
Ph.D. Bioinformatics, South African National Bioinformatics Institute, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa
2003/10 - 2005/11
M.Sc. Bioinformatics, Freie Universitaet Berlin, Germany
2000/10- 2003/07
B.Sc. Bioinformatics, Freie Universitaet Berlin, Germany
Additional Qualifications
2016/02 - present
Certified Software Carpentry Instructor
2016/02 - present
Certified Data Carpentry Instructor
Publications
Professional Activities
International Research Projects/Consortia
2016 - present
Team member of Project 1.3 in the Biological Heritage National Science Challenge of New Zealand
2015 - present
Functional Annotation of the Mammalian Genome 6 (FANTOM6)
2014 - present
Gene Regulation Consortium (GRECO) – Developing guidelines and standards for the annotation, archiving, and sharing of information concerning the domain of gene regulation
2010 - present
Functional Annotation of the Mammalian Genome 5 (FANTOM5)
2006 - 2010
Functional Annotation of the Mammalian Genome 4 (FANTOM4)
Editorial Activities
Associate Editor, Journal of Open Research Software
Referee Activities
PLoS Computational Biology, Briefings in Bioinformatics, Bioinformatics, BMC Bioinformatics, Database, PLoS ONE, BMC Research Notes, Frontiers in Genetics, Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology, and others.
Service to the University
Massey University Genome Service committee, Chair SNCS Research Seminar committee.
Contact
Dr. Sebastian Schmeier
Research Group Leader
Senior Lecturer in Bioinformatics/GenomicsMassey University
Auckland, New Zealand
+64 9 414 0800 (ext: 43538)