The ISU grant, secured by Dan Voytas, an associate professor of zoology and genetics, is part of ISU's effort to bring the emerging field of bioinformatics to the university. Bioinformatics is the practice of solving scientific problems using computers and other computational tools in addition to traditional laboratory techniques. In the past few years, vast amounts of scientific data have been generated. A genome is an organism's entire collection of genes. At ISU, students will have an unprecedented opportunity to study all maize genes in a database researchers are creating.
Similar projects exist for swine and cotton.
These teams will work with students. The faculty will mentor approximately forty Ph.D. students and postdoctoral researchers. Ph.D. students in bioinformatics will work with three faculty members during their first year of study to establish expertise in wet and dry lab techniques. Over the summer, they will have opportunities to intern in the biotechnology industry. During their second year, fellows will initiate research projects with two mentors, one with expertise in the biological sciences and the other in computational science.