In a unanimous vote, the faculty approved the creation of a new certificate program in bioinformatics, an emerging field on the forefront of biological research. The certificate is expected to be available to students by next semester.
“For the first time we’re faced with very large amounts of information and what we have to do as biologists is to use analytical processes to make sense of this information,” said Biology Chair and Professor Michael Weir. “The field [of bioinformatics] is only now developing.”
The Certificate Program in Informatics and Modeling is an interdepartmental program between the Biology and Computer Science departments that encompasses the Molecular Biology and Biochemistry department as well.
“Bioinformatics is an exemplary example of how two fields can come together and be synergistic,” said Molecular Biology and Biochemistry Professor Bob Lane, who specializes in the field.
Lane explained that laboratory research used to be about generating data, but since the completion of the Human Genome Project the emphasis has changed toward analyzing data using techniques such as informatics.
“This is going to take a special set of skills,” he said.
The program has two tracks: one through computational science and modeling and another through the integrated genomics sciences. Students may also choose to take certain philosophy, physics, astronomy, and economics classes that can be counted toward the certificate. While the requirements of the certificate vary based on the track, a selection of elective courses in fields like bioethics, introductory computer science, introductory biology and advanced bioinformatics are at the core of the program.
The bioinformatics courses already being offered are team-taught between members of the biology and computer science departments. Weir said he had taught a bioinformatics course with Computer Science Professor Michael Rice, one of the faculty that helped draft the certificate proposal.
According to Weir, the teaching collaboration has extended into his and Rice’s research. The two professors published an article in the Jan. 5 issue of “Genome Research.” Lane explained that he is looking for an undergraduate student who will pursue a dual-mentored research project between his lab and that of a computer science professor.
Weir said that professors from different departments teach several of the classes involved with the certificate.
“A liberal arts college is so well positioned to take a leadership role in an interdisciplinary science [like bioinformatics],” Lane said.
Other liberal arts colleges have been moving in the same direction. Amherst College is planning to offer a formalized bioinformatics program soon and Williams College started one last semester, according to each school’s Chair of the Biology Department.
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