Computational Biology G enome sequencing has spawned the white-hot field of computational molecular biology, the science of using computational tools to decipher the information in genome sequences, and to predict the structures and functions of the proteins and RNAs. Borrowing freely and shamelessly from farflung fields such as string matching, signal processing, speech recognition, and cryptography, and interacting with industries ranging from pharmaceutical research giants to computer hardware manufacturers, the goal is nothing less than to understand the source code to life. In a time of furious recruiting by industry at all levels, we remain one of the few stable academic havens for faculty, postdocs, and students dedicated to computational biology research and training.
Computational biology is a field at the frontier of genetics.
Like the pioneers of the Wild West, the faculty come from a wide variety of backgrounds. Likewise, we expect a wide range of backgrounds in our graduate students. The formidable task of the training program is to bring everyone up to speed, regardless of background. Because a single curriculum can't provide for the kind of interdisciplinary training that is called for, the Molecular Genetics Program steering committee will work with you to tailor a curriculum to meet your needs. A second central course is Bio5911, the weekly computational molecular biology journal club.