The focus of the DNA Intelligent Analysis (DIANA) lab is on the development of algorithms, databases and tools for the interpretation and archiving of genomic data. Computational predictive models are a key element of current systems biology. Our current emphasis is on the functional analysis of microRNA (miRNA) and protein coding genes. MiRNAs are recently identified to be very abundant in mammalian organisms and play a key role in important diseases and regulating development.

The DNA Intelligent Analysis Lab was first established at the University of Pennsylvania in 2001 by Artemis Hatzigeorgiou. It developed one of the first programs for the analysis of miRNA targets ( Genes and Dev., 2004). In 2007 the lab moved to the Biomedical Sciences Research Center “Al. Fleming”.

The current research of the DIANA lab includes the analysis of expression regulation from deep sequencing data, the annotation of miRNA regulatory elements and targets, the interpretation of the role of miRNAs in various diseases as well as the development of specific databases and an ontology for miRNAs.

A suite of programs developed by the DIANA lab for the analysis of miRNAs can be found at the web server. More specific the server includes DianaMIcroT3.0 for miRNA target prediction,
DIANA-mirExTra for the analysis of expression data for miRNA function, DIANA-mirPath for incorporating miRNAs in pathways and
TarBase5.0, the database of experimentally supported miRNA targets.

The DIANA web services are highly used with more than 250 users per day and more than 4,000 per month. More than 26,000 visitors (73,100 Visits) from 2,838 cities visited the web server between February 2009 and October 2010 [download Google analytics report].