Bayesian Networks

Bayesian Networks in R with Applications in Systems Biology introduces the reader to the essential concepts in Bayesian network modeling and inference in conjunction with examples in the open-source statistical environment R. The level of sophistication is gradually increased across the chapters with exercises and solutions for enhanced understanding and hands-on experimentation of key concepts. Applications focus on systems biology with emphasis on modeling pathways and signaling mechanisms from high throughput molecular data.

This publication offers and investigates efficient Monte Carlo simulation methods in order to realize a Bayesian approach to approximate learning of Bayesian networks from both complete and incomplete data. For large amounts of incomplete data when Monte Carlo methods are inefficient, approximations are implemented, such that learning remains feasible, albeit non-Bayesian. Topics discussed are; basic concepts about probabilities, graph theory and conditional independence; Bayesian network learning from data; Monte Carlo simulation techniques; and the concept of incomplete data.

In recent years probabilistic graphical models, especially Bayesian networks and decision graphs, have experienced significant theoretical development within areas such as artificial intelligence and statistics.