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Bioinformatics: In the Bioinformatics Division, faculty members are involved in the acquisition, representation, modeling, integration, interpretation, and transformation of biomedical data. Their work spans a range of activities including biochemical systems theory, biological process modeling, biomarker identification, machine learning, analysis and interpretation of genomic and proteomic data, text data mining, identification of gene regulatory networks, ontology development, and the design and implementation of clinical decision aids. They combine multidisciplinary research and collaborative arrangements with basic and clinical sciences to provide an integrated approach to the development of new ontological approaches, and synthesis of new and existing knowledge in medicine and the biological sciences. Faculty members in all three Divisions have extensive external peer-reviewed funding. DBBE houses and supports two institutional research resource units: The Collaborative Unit and the Data Coordination Unit (for descriptions, see Specialized Research Resources).
Bioinformatics sits at the interface between biology, mathematics, statistics, and computer science and students entering our program come from diverse backgrounds. Each student's plan of study is tailored to their background so that those with strong quantitative skills receive necessary training in biology and those with a background in biology or chemistry receive training in algorithm development, statistics, and mathematical modeling. All students are required to take a core set of courses introducing the three areas of research within the department (biostatistics, bioinformatics, and epidemiology).
Division Head: John Schwacke, Ph.D
Degree Requirements
Requirements for the master's degree include a minimum of 36 semester hours of credit. Course requirements are specified in the student handbook.
Seminar
All students are expected to attend the weekly department seminar. Seminar presenters include special guests, department faculty and students.
Basic Written Examination
Candidates for the M.S. degree are required to take a Basic Written Examination upon successful completion of the core courses. This examination is intended to test the student's knowledge and understanding of the basic materials given in the core courses.
Thesis
M.S. candidates are required to write a thesis that demonstrates familiarity with analytic methods. The thesis represents original or collaborative research. It should document the student's ability to conceive, implement, analyze and discuss a biometrical problem in a scholarly manner.
Requirements for the doctorate degree include a minimum of 36 semester hours of credit. Course requirements are specified in the student handbook.
Seminar
All students are expected to attend the weekly department seminar. Seminar presenters include special guests, department faculty and students.
Basic Written Examination
Students in the Ph.D. program are required to take a Basic Written Examination upon successful completion of the core courses. This examination is intended to test the student's knowledge and understanding of the basic materials given in the core courses.
Ph.D. Advanced Examination
Students in the Ph.D. program are required to successfully complete the advanced qualifying examination prior to entering candidacy for the Ph.D. The advanced qualifying exam is a test of the student's ability to quickly address a sample problem, drawn from the literature, identify the key issues, and present and defend a preliminary plan of study. The student is expected to demonstrate a command of the applicable theory and methods.
Dissertation
Ph.D. candidates are required to identify a research topic, become familiar with the relevant literature, prepare and defend a plan of research, execute the research plan, and document their findings in the form of three publishable papers. The background research, papers, and unifying conclusions form the basis of the student's dissertation. Students are required to defend their research.
Last updated August 24, 2006
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