BMI 5330 Introduction to Bioinformatics

3 semester credit hours
Lecture contact hours: 2; Lab contact hours: 3
Web-based and classroom instruction

The course gives a comprehensive entry-level introduction to bioinformatics. It covers a wide variety of topics in bioinformatics, including but not limited to sequence analysis, protein structure, genome analysis, database and transcription profiling. Two major goals are 1) to help students understand the scope, basic concepts and theory of bioinformatics; and 2) to become familiar with tools for bioinformatics-related data analysis. Programming skills are not necessary. A laptop computer is necessary if students want to practice with bioinformatics software and tools in class.

Upon successful completion of the course, students will:

• Describe bioinformatics including basic concepts, ethics, and its role in translational research and clinical practices.
• Identify and visualize whole genome sequences for a specific disease.
• Analyze genetic variations in healthy and diseased genomes that affect health and disease.
• Examine gene expression and gene annotations and their relation to disease phenotypes.
• Integrate proteomics and gene regulation data to determine its effect on gene expression.
• Diagram biological networks for visualizing gene expression, regulation, and protein interactions in disease.
• Review advanced topics in bioinformatics such as metagenomics, microbiomics, etc.