Ten simple rules for defining a computational biology project

Abstract

If you are working in the field of computational biology, then hopefully you are familiar with the excitement associated with coming up with a new idea and thinking about how to follow up on it. Maybe the idea came from a talk you heard at a conference, a paper you read, or a conversation with a colleague. Regardless, your brain is now abuzz with how this idea will be implemented and what data you'll need to validate it. Ultimately, if your idea pans out, perhaps it will lead to profound scientific insights, a high-impact paper, and a widely used software tool. But for now, it's just an idea in your head. How do you begin to bring your new idea to fruition? This is, of course, the core of the scientific method-transforming an idea (or hypothesis) into discoveries. Hence, your success as a scientist depends strongly on your ability to efficiently and effectively carry out such transformations.