College students seeking a job or an internship are encouraged to bring their resumes. The event is free to all participants. 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. 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.
Based on a news release by Danelle Baker-Miller. A new ISU interdepartmental graduate major in bioinformatics and computational biology has been approved by the Board of Regents, State of Iowa. The Ph.D. and M.S. majors in bioinformatics and computational biology are expected to be offered at Iowa State University for the first time this fall. In the last few years, the amount of genomic sequence and protein structural data has exploded, providing more information about the genetic code than today's molecular geneticists can handle. With computer analysis playing a major role in genetic research, there is a huge demand for scientists with combined experience in genetics, biochemistry, computer science, mathematics, and statistics.