Eric M. Billings, PhD
Director & Staff Scientist
Bioinformatics and Systems Biology Core Facility
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH, NHLBI
Clinical Research Center
Room B1D511
Bethesda, MD 20892
Email: billings@helix.nih.gov
Phone: (301) 496-6520
Eric Billings received his Physics B.S. degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz; Ph.D. in Biophysics from the School of Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut in 1995; and post-doctoral training at the NIH as a National Research Council Fellow. Currently, he is a Staff Scientist in the Division of Intramural Research (DIR) at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Billings is an expert in computational strategies to analyze and simulate biological processes. He has addressed biological questions ranging from the biophysics of enzyme catalysis to genetic drift in patient cohorts. His research focuses on integrating the analysis of the distinct data types found in biological systems.
Dr. Billings’ post-doctoral training in CHARMM development centered on hybrid QM/MM molecular modeling methods. In order to provide the computational power necessary for this type of calculation, he and his post-doctoral mentor developed NIH’s first commodity computer cluster, LoBoS (Lots of Boxes on Shelves). This system was the prototype for NIH’s modern scientific cluster. During this time he co-founded the NIH Molecular Modeling Interest Group.
He was the founding Director of the Genomics and Bioinformatics Core Facility which processed samples and analyzed data from RNA and proteomic microarrays, and partnered with Affymetrix’ R&D to implement robotic sample processing for transcriptomic and genomic arrays. The Core developed novel methods to assess transcript profiling, gene regulation, regulatory motif discovery, mutational effects and perform genome wide association studies.
He was the founding Director of the Bioinformatics and Systems Biology Facility which supported intramural research requiring integration of ‘Omics data with public data and prior knowledge. The facility developed methods for RNA analysis, meta-analysis of public data, pathway identification and a quantitative tool for the bench biologist to identify pathways of interest, simulate their behavior and compare model results to empirical data. During this time, he co-chaired the NIH Systems Biology Interest Group.
Prior to his scientific career, Dr. Billings worked in the computer industry. He joined a personal computer start-up company, Sirius Systems, and moved to Digital Equipment Corporation where he managed a team of software engineers supporting a Fortune 50 company. Dr. Billings has taught at American University and continues to mentor high school, college and post-baccalaureate students.