Bioinformatics

What is Bioinformatics?

Bioinformatics generally applies computer science to solve biological problems. However, the field is interdisciplinary and constantly developing, so it is difficult to answer this question in one sentence.

Introductory links

• Google Defines Bioinformatics
  "Google's Definitions of Bioinformatics on the Web"
  http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&client=googlet&oi=defmore&q=define:Bioinformatics
  
  
• Onelook Dictionary Searches Defines Bioinformatics
  "Onelook Dictionary Search for Bioinformatics"
  http://www.onelook.com/?loc=bm&w=bioinformatics
  
  
• Wikipedia
  "Bioinformatics page" (27 May 2015)
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioinformatics

Bioinformatics is the application of computer technology to the management of biological information. Computers are used to gather, store, analyze and integrate biological and genetic information which can then be applied to gene-based drug discovery and development. The need for Bioinformatics capabilities has been precipitated by the explosion of publicly available genomic information resulting from the Human Genome Project.

The goal of this project – determination of the sequence of the entire human genome (approximately three billion base pairs) – will be reached by the year 2002. The science of Bioinformatics, which is the melding of molecular biology with computer science, is essential to the use of genomic information in understanding human diseases and in the identification of new molecular targets for drug discovery.

In recognition of this, many universities, government institutions and pharmaceutical firms have formed bioinformatics groups, consisting of computational biologists and bioinformatics computer scientists. Such groups will be key to unraveling the mass of information generated by large scale sequencing efforts underway in laboratories around the world.

Bioinformatics Resources for High Schools

Bioinformatics is an integral part of biology and, thus, is being introduced to high school students as part of biology coursework. In 2012, the College Board revised a number of labs including the evolution labs of the Biology AP exam preparation. Included is a lab "Comparing DNA Sequences to Understand Evolutionary Relationships with BLAST." Tools, such as BLAST, and other bioinformatics tools, help us interpret the patterns in biological data and are important to help students learn biological principles.

Careers in Bioinformatics

The fields of bioinformatics and computational biology involve the development and application of tools to make biological discoveries. Bioinformatics is being introduced to high school students in biology classes. There are undergraduate, masters level and Ph.D. programs that train student in these fields. See http://www.iscb.org/iscb-degree-certificate-programs for examples of degree programs in bioinformatics and computational biology. In addition, some people enter the field as a biologist who learns how to use the tools or as computer scientists/engineers who are able to build tools. A solid background in both biology and computer science is extremely helpful.

A recent publication by the ISCB Education committee proposes curriculum guidelines and core competencies. In particular, the report presents 3 common categories of people who develop skills in bioinformatics.

• “Bioinformatics users access data resources to perform job duties in specific application domains. Bench-based researchers, both in academia and in industry, provide the classic example of a bioinformatics user, but this group is broadening in scope. For example, medical professionals (e.g., physicians and genetic counselors) utilize bioinformatics resources in medical contexts for the purposes of diagnosis, treatment, and counseling of patients.”[See Figure 2 in the above referenced manuscript.]

• “Bioinformatics scientists are biologists who employ computational methods in order to advance the scientific understanding of living systems.” [See Figure 3 in the above referenced manuscript.]

• “Bioinformatics engineers create the novel computational methods needed by bioinformatics users and scientists. Thus, a bioinformatics engineer must have strengths in computational and statistical sciences and must have general competency in biomedical sciences. [See Figure 4 in the above referenced manuscript.]

Once trained in the field, there are a number of opportunities to build a career. Some examples are listed below:

Individual contributor - Many scientific labs, both in the academic and commercial sector, are hiring people trained in bioinformatics to support the research of the lab. Positions are available for various levels and types of training. People in these positions generally work on a specific area of research.

Core facilities - Many institutions create a central resource for labs in an institution. These resources are call core facilities. Members of such groups often have a mix of skills and work on many different research projects with researchers in many different labs.

Educators - There is a demand for teaching bioinformatics at many different levels. Some Ph.D. level bioinformaticians will pursue an academic career, build their own research agenda and teach at the university level. In addition, there are a number of institutions who host a dedicated facility to teach bioinformatics to people inside the institution as well as to the greater community.

Software developers - Another career path that supports bioinformatics is the development of new algorithms and new tools. There are companies dedicated to building and deploying computational tools. Other bioinformatics software developers are hired within core facilities and within individual research labs.

Degree/Certificate Programs Worldwide

Title	Focus	Degree Type	University/Institution	Location
International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS)	Bioinformatics	Ph.D/DSc	University of Tübingen	Germany
Bioinformatics	Bioinformatics	Ph.D/DSc	University of Georgia	United States
Biomedical Informatics	Bioinformatics	Ph.D/DSc	University of Cincinnati	United States
Designated Emphasis in Computational and Genomic Biology	Computational Biology	Ph.D/DSc	University of California, Berkeley	United States
Computational Biology Ph.D. program	Computational Biology	Ph.D/DSc	University of California, Berkeley	United States
Bioinformatics and Computational Biology	Other: Bioinformatics and Computational Biology	BS/BSc/BA/B.Eng	Iowa State University	United States
Bioinformatics master program	Bioinformatics	MS/MSc/MA/M.Eng	University of Copenhagen	Denmark
International PhD Program Molecular Cell Biology	Computational Biology	Ph.D/DSc	Max Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine	Germany
MSc Bioinformatics	Bioinformatics	MS/MSc/MA/M.Eng	Normandie University, Rouen France	France
Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Studies: Concentration	Bioinformatics	Ph.D/DSc	University of Louisville	United States

Top US Universities for MS, in Biotechnology, Bioinformatics

List of top universities offering Master of Science in Biotechnology, Bioinformatics Programs in USA.

Purdue University

Stanford University

University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign

Harvard University Extension School

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

University of California San Diego

Rutgers University-New Brunswick

Oregon State University

Columbia University

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Some more schools offering biotechnology and related courses.

Baylor College of Medicine, USA Ph.D. in structural and computational biology and molecular biophysics

Brandeis University M.S. and Graduate Certificate in Bioinformatics.

Bielefeld University, Germany

Birkbeck, University of London, UK M.Sc. in molecular modelling and bioinformatics

Boston University, USA M.S. and Ph.D. program in bioinformatics

Carnegie Mellon, USA B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. Merck Computational Biology and Chemistry Program

Columbia University MA and Ph.D. in Medical Informatics

Cranfield University, UK M.Sc. in Bioinformatics

De Montfort University, UK M.Sc. in Bioinformatics

Duke University Ph.D. in Bioinformatics

George Mason University, USA M.S. and Ph.D. in bioinformatics and computational biology

Georgia Institute of Technology, USA M.S. in bioinformatics; Ph.D. in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology

Imperial College, UK M.Sc. course in computational genetics and bioinformatics

Indiana University, USA B.S. and M.S. in informatics

Iowa State University, USA Ph.D. program in bioinformatics and computational biology

Johns Hopkins University, USA Ph.D. program in computational biophysics

Keck Graduate Institute, USA M.S. and Ph.D. in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology

Keio University, Japan Graduate program in Bioinformatics (Master's and Doctorate degrees)

Marquette University/MCW, USA M.S. in bioinformatics

New Jersey Institute of Technology M.S. and Ph.D. in Computational Biology

North Carolina State University, USA M.S. and Ph.D. in Functional Genomics & M.S. and Ph.D. in Bioinformatics

Northern Illinois University, USA M.S. specialization in bioinformatics

Northeastern University, USA M.S. in bioinformatics

Northwestern University, USA M.S. computational biology & bioinformatics

OHIO State University, USA Graduate Program in Biomedical Informatics

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA B.S. in bioinformatics and molecular biology

Rutgers University, USA Ph.D. in computational molecular biology

Stanford University, USA M.S. and Ph.D. in biomedical informatics

Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Switzerland Masters degree in bioinformatics

University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey, USA M.S. and Ph.D. program in biomedial informatics

University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey, USA M.S. and Ph.D. Bioinformatics track

University of Albany, USA Ph.D. program in comparative functional genomics

University of Abertay Dundee, UK Information Technology (Bioinformatics) - PGDip/MSc

University of Arkansas (UALR & UAMS), Little Rock, USA M.S. and Ph.D. in Bioinformaitcs

University of Buckingham, UK M.Sc. Bioinformatics

University of California, Irvine, USA M.S. and Ph.D Informatics in Biology and Medicine

University of California, Los Angeles, USA M.S. and Ph.D. program in bioinformatics

University of California, Santa Cruz, USA B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in Bioinformatics

University of California, San Diego, USA Ph.D. Bioinformatics

University of California, San Francisco, USA M.S. and Ph.D. program in biological and medical informatics

University of Cincinnati, USA M.S. and Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering-Bioinformatics track

University of Exeter, UK MSc/MRes/PgDip/PgCert in Bioinformatics

University of Glasgow, UK MRes Masters course in Bioinformatics

University of Illinois, Chicago, USA M.S. & Ph.D. Bioinformatics

University of Leeds, UK MRes Bioinformatics

University of Liverpool, UK M.Sc. in Bioinformatics

University of Manchester, UK M.Sc. in bioinformatics, distance learning

University of Memphis, USA M.S. concentration in bioinformatics

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA M.S. & Ph.D. Bioinformatics

University of Minnesota, USA M.S. & Ph.D. Bioinformatics

University of Nebraska, Omaha, USA B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in Bioinformatics

University of North Carolina, USA M.S. & Ph.D. Bioinformatics and Computational Biology

University of Oxford, UK M.Sc. in Bioinformatics

University of Pennsylvania, USA B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. programs in Computational Biology/Bioinformatics

University of Pittsburgh, USA M.S. and Ph.D. in bioimedical informatics

Univerisity of Skovde, Sweden Master of Science in Bioinformatics

University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, USA B.S. in bioinformatics

University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, USA M.S. in bioinformatics

University of Southern California, USA M.S. & Ph.D. in Molecular and Computational Biology

University of Texas at Austin, USA Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology-Structural Biology and Bioinformatics track

University of Texas at El Paso, USA M.S. in bioinformatics

University of Washington, Seattle, USA M.S. & Ph.D. Graduate program in computational molecular biology

University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA Graduate Certificate in Bioinformatics

University of Wisconsin-Parkside, USA B.S. Molecular Biology & Bioinformatics; M.S. Applied Molecular Biology

University of York, UK MRes in Bioinformatics

Vanderbilt University M.S. & Ph.D. Graduate Program in Biomedical Informatics

Virgina Tech, USA Graduate program in bioinformatics

Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel M.Sc. and Ph.D. program in computational biology and bioinformatics

Washington University St Louis, USA Graduate program in computational biology