Bioinformatics is the application of computer science to biology and medicine but it is also a driver of how questions are generated and answered in modern biology. The magnitude of biological data - from environmental to genomic - is growing exponentially. This course will introduce students to a varied sampling of publicly available biological data and the basic scripting skills to organize, manage, and analyze that data. They will learn about algorithm design for genome and sequence analysis, genetic variation, phylogenetics, structural, and systems biology. Students will conduct independent projects and be introduced to the highly used programming language and statistical environment R and Python.  

Prerequisites

BIOL 1000 or BIOL 1100

Every other Spring

Previously: BIOL 361, COSC 361

This capstone course will help bioinformatics students to synthesize their knowledge of biological systems and computational techniques and how they can be used to analyze large-scale biological data and communicate their understanding to others. Students will have an opportunity to reflect on the bioinformatics major or minor and what it means for their future careers; they will assemble a portfolio, share their work with others, and have other individual development opportunities. In addition, students will read, discuss, and reflect on scientific literature from across many fields in interdisciplinary reading groups. This course is meant to be taken by seniors who have completed most of the requirements for the bioinformatics major or minor.

Previously: BINF 400