Bioinformatics

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Track guide

Primary track faculty

Profile picture of Volker Brendel

: Track Director

Computational genomics; plant genomics; social insect genomics.

Profile picture of Matthew Hahn

Genome-scale studies of organismal function and evolution.

Profile picture of Haixu Tang

Computational mass spectrometry; mobile genetic elements; genome privacy; bacterial genomics and metagenomics.

Profile picture of Yuzhen Ye

Computational metagenomics; protein bioinformatics; biological pathway reconstruction/analysis.

Curriculum

A student must successfully complete ninety (90) credit hours of graduate-level course work. The specific track requirements are listed below.

Required courses

In addition to the Informatics-wide requirements for INFO-I 501 and INFO-I 502 as well as two research rotation INFO-I 609 and/or INFO-I 709s, students in the Bioinformatics Track need to take the two bioinformatics core classes INFO-I 519 and INFO-I 529 and the seminar classes INFO-I 609 and INFO-I 708. All required courses provided by faculty in the Bioinformatics Track, including I609 and I709, are open to students from other tracks and programs.

  • Informatics Core Requirements (6 cr.)
    • INFO I501 Introduction to Informatics (3 cr.)
    • INFO I502 Human-Centered Research Methods in Informatics (3 cr.)
  • Bioinformatics Core Requirements (6 cr.)
    • INFO I519 Introduction to Bioinformatics (3 cr.)
    • INFO I529 Machine Learning in Bioinformatics (3 cr.)
  • Seminar Requirements (6 cr.)
    • INFO I609 Seminar I in Informatics (3 cr.)
    • INFO I709 Seminar II in Informatics (3 cr.)

NOTE: A student must take I609 and/or I709.

  • Research Rotation Requirement (6 cr.)
    • INFO I790 Informatics Research Rotation (3 cr.)

NOTE: A student must complete two rotations of I790. A third rotation will not count for course credit.

  • Theory and Methodology Requirement (12 cr.)

NOTE: These courses must be appropriate for a Ph.D. in Informatics.

  • Minor (6-15 cr.)

NOTE: A student must complete an internal or external minor approved by the University Graduate School and the School. If a student selects an individualized minor, prior to taking courses, the University Graduate School must approve the proposed minor course list. There is no typical minor; however, students in the Bioinformatics track often pursue a minor in Biology, Computer Science, or Statistics.

  • Electives (12-30 cr.)

NOTE: A student must have all electives approved by the student's advisor and the Director of Informatics Graduate Studies prior to enrolling in the course.

  • Thesis Reading and Research (minimum of 21 cr. and a maximum of 30 cr.)
    • INFO I890 Thesis Readings and Research

Optional courses

In addition to required courses, faculty in the track offer courses that provide more targeted training in specific areas.

  • INFO I590 Topics in Informatics: SNP Discovery and Population Genetics
  • CSCI B555 Machine Learning
  • CSCI B565 Data Mining