Bioinformatics
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Bioinformatics is the application of computer technology to analyze large biological datasets. It provides databases and tools to store, search, analyze, model and interpret biological data. Modern biological and medical research relies heavily on bioinformatics. There are many career opportunities in bioinformatics, such as research scientist, data analyst, and software developer. Jobs are in high demand in both academia and industry in the US and worldwide due to the enormous amount of biological data being generated through genomics and other fields. Skilled bioinformaticians are needed to make use of this data to further understand biology and disease.
Bioinformatics
- 1. 1 BIOINFORMATICS IN USA What is Bioinformatics? Bioinformatics is the application of computer technology to get the information that's stored in certain types of biological data. Bioinformatics provides central, globally accessible databases that enable scientists to submit, search and analyse information. It offers analysis software for data studies and comparisons and provides tools for modelling, visualising, exploring and interpreting data. Main goal is to convert multitude of complex data into useful information and knowledge. What is the scope? Current biological and medical labs use methods that produce extremely large data sets, which cannot be analyzed by hand - for instance sequencing human genomes. Thus modern biological and medical research and development cannot be done without bioinformatics. Future applications in biology, chemistry, pharmaceuticals, medicine, and agriculture. In addition, bioinformatics plays an important role in biomedical research. Research work in the area of genetic diseases and medical genomics is rapidly increasing and the future of personalized medicine depends on bioinformatics approaches.
- 2. 2 What are the career options? Bioinformatics is a rapidly growing career field and an emerging scientific discipline. This course focuses on employing existing bioinformatic resources - mainly web-based programs and databases - to access the wealth of data to answer questions relevant to the average biologist, and is highly hands-on. There are different types of career opportunities available for different stream students, Scientific Curator, Gene Analyst, Protein Analyst, Phylogenitist, Research Scientist / Associate, Data base programmer, Bioinformatics software developer, Computational biologist, Network Administrator / Analyst, Structural analyst, Molecular Modeler, Bio-statistician, Bio-mechanics, Database programmer, Cheminformatician, Pharmacogenetician, Pharmacogenomics, Research Scientist / Associate. What are the job roles? Professor Science Technician Research Assistant Bioinformatics Scientist Bioinformatics Analyst Junior Research Fellow Research Associate Bioinformatics Software Developer Career Outlook In USA Bioinformatics now looks like a hot cake. Prognosis..Good, very good in U.S.A alone. The number of jobs advertised for bioinformatics in Science magazine from 1996 to 1997 increased by 96% bioinformatics job advertisements. Masters students salaries range between $40,000 to $65,000 for persons with top masters training. In addition, Masters students reportedly have received hiring bonuses and relocation assitance. Of course you are ultimately responsible for landing a great job and withour your effort nothing will be accomplished. Enormous volume of data has been generataed and will be generated in the post genomic era through research including genomics, proteomics, structural biology and dynamics of macromolecular assemblies. All these information will be help better understanding of biology and of disease and an improved ability to design targeted drugs. But manipulation and interpretation of these data demand a lot of skilled personnel The need for bioinformatician to make use of these data is well known among the industrialists and academicaians in the area. Demand of these trained and skilled personnel, which has opened up a new carrier option as bioinformaticians, is high in academic institution and in the bioindustries. This demand will clearly become exacerbated with advances in genomics and post genomic research. This skill gap is highly visible around the world. The carrier in bioinformatics is divided into two parts-developing software and using it. Most of the bioinformatics companies mostly prefer persons from physics, maths or computer science background rather than biologists-turned programmers. Otherwise, it will create isolated groups that have little interaction with molecular biologists and
- 3. 3 biochemists which will ultimately fail to achieve promise of better understanding of biology and diseases can be restored. The solution is to the problem of either by identify science and biology, which will be difficult or to create inerdisciplinary teams, which is much more realsitic approach. The other way to tackle this imbalance is to include training in bioinformatics in all undergraduate biology courses. People working in this field must have knowledge in more than one field-molecular biology, mathematics, statistics and computer science and some elements of machine learning.