BIOL.5050L Bioinformatics

Description

There is a growing need for bioinformaticians in research and industry as datasets are getting bigger and more complex, making computational methods necessary for analysis. This hands-on course introduces principles, databases, software, and programming for the analysis and interpretation of molecular datasets. Emphasis is on practical assignments using computational approaches from a biologist's perspective. Topics include genome assembly, variant detection, comparative genomics and transcriptomics, metagenomics, as well as data retrieval form databases and basic programming using Bash and R. A term project and computer-based exercises are designed to showcase the capabilities and limitations of bioinformatics tools used in genome research, as well as to develop skills in coding literacy.

Course prerequisites/corequisites are determined by the faculty and approved by the curriculum committees. Students are required to fulfill these requirements prior to enrollment. For courses offered through online or GPS delivery, students are responsible for confirming with the instructor or department that all enrollment requirements have been satisfied before registering.