For more information, contact:

Bioinformatics Program

Department of Biological Sciences

Michigan Technological University

1400 Townsend Drive

Houghton, MI 49931-1295

Telephone 906-487-2025

Fax 906-487-3167

www.bio.mtu.edu

Michigan Technological University is an equal opportunity educational institution/equal opportunity employer.

Bioinformatics

Create the Future

It’s a challenge—  To be a success in this discipline,you will need—

n  curiosity about biological functions

n  facility with mathematics

n  quantitative skills in biology, chemistry, and/or physics

n  an ability to develop computational tools and use computers for biological data analysis

Be a pioneer—  The march is on to sequence the genetic material of many organisms, from viruses to monkeys.   The recent sequencing of the human genome was a great scientific triumph for humanity.   The next step will be to use this knowledge with wisdom, and to benefit every organism on earth.

Be a part of it.

It’s an intricate world— Bioinformaticsaddressesthegeneticmakeupoforganismsandcanberegardedasablueprintorbookofinstructionsaboutwhatanorganismis,howitgrowsanddevelops,and,perhaps,howitrespondstoitsenvironment. Thebiologycomponentofthisinquiryismolecular,andyouwilllearnaboutthestructureandfunctionofcells,andhowgenesregulatetraitsinorganisms. Thecomputercomponentwillenableyoutostore,organize,analyze,andusevastamountsofinformation.

Your unique opportunity— Youwillhavetheadvantageofoneofthefewbachelor’sdegreeprogramsinbioinformaticsinthecountry. Justasthereisacomplexinterplayamonggenesinorganisms,bioinformaticsitselfisacomplexfield—withmanydisciplinescollaborating,including:biologicalsciences,physicalandchemicalsciences,computerscience,andmathematics.

BioinformaticsIt’s a small world—

n   Imagine a world so immensely small that it is staggering.

n   A world where scientists identify the genes responsible for pathological conditions or advantageous traits; genes that lead to increased food production, better nutrition, and new treatments for diseases like cancer, diabetes, and neurological and genetic disorders.  

n   Imagine your own body understood so well that scientists could develop medicine just for what ails you. 

  All of this constitutes the world and the promise of bioinformatics, a discipline that merges biology and computer science to unravel the genetic makeup of people, animals, plants, fungi, bacteria, and viruses.

Thecoreoftheprogramincludes: nGenetics nCalculus nMicrobiology nStatistics nBiochemistry nSearchalgorithms nMolecularbiology nDatabasedesign nOrganicchemistry nPhysicalchemistry nComputerprogramming

Aswell,youwillunderstandthemanytechnical,philosophical,andlegalissuesassociatedwithgeneticanalysisandmanipulation.

It’s a promising career— Thisemergingsciencerequirestheworkofmanypeople,sotheemploymentprospectsaregreat,especiallyinindustriesthatdealwithpharmaceuticals,agriculturalproduction,andhumanhealth. Salariesforgraduateswithadvanceddegreesrangefrom$75,000to$100,000.