Have you always wanted to know what a bioinformatics scientist does and where to start in this career field? Don’t worry, and other people are also as curious as you might be.
You need to know that bioinformatics is a vast subject with numerous medical and technical sub-topics. It is usually integrated or combined with computer science, statistics and mathematics to support life sciences by solving problems at the microscopic level.
What is Bioinformatics?
Bioinformatics is an interdisciplinary field that brings together computer science and biology. It is used within molecular biology to analyze, understand, and interpret data and find patterns in the DNA sequence that may not be easily observed using simple visual inspection.
With today’s technology, DNA sequencing can be done extremely quickly and at a low cost (i.e., a few cents/run).
The problem is that tons of data (petabytes worth) make finding the correlation between sequences challenging. Bioinformatics scientists develop computational methods to deal with these kinds of issues.
Why Bioinformatics Scientist?
Bioinformatics scientists are vital to the team attempting to solve the cancer puzzle. They are the ones who work with datasets and algorithms to understand better how cancer works or what treatments will work best for each patient.
Bioinformatics also has many other applications outside of oncology, including:
Genomics: looking at all of our genes, their interactions, and how they interact with our environment.
Proteomics: looking at all proteins in our bodies to understand how they work together or against each other.
Epigenetics: looking at how our environment interacts with our genes to create different outcomes.
Pathology: trying to find out what happens when things go wrong in cells (cancer) and what causes those things to go wrong (mutations).
Why Study The Ability To Analyze And Interpret Biological Data?
The ability to analyze and interpret biological data is a critical skill for those entering the field of science. This skill can be learned and honed through practice, but it can also be taught in a classroom setting.
The ability to analyze and interpret biological data is a critical skill for those entering the field of science. This skill can be learned and honed through practice, but it can also be taught in a classroom setting.
For example, when an individual studies their DNA to see how their genes may affect their health, they analyze biological data.
Analyzing this information helps them understand it better and allows them to make decisions based on what they have learned from that analysis.
Another example would be when someone is studying an organism’s genome by sequencing its DNA. They would then use that information to determine its role in regulating cellular processes or other functions within the organism’s body (e.g., bacteria).
Understanding how biological systems work can help us develop new treatments for diseases or even discover new species!
5 Things a Bioinformatics Scientist Do
A bioinformatics scientist is a person who applies computer science to the analysis of biological data. They are required to know both fields and an understanding of how they can be integrated.
Bioinformatics scientists perform several tasks:
- Analyzing the Data
They analyze large amounts of data from experiments to create a model of how specific cells work together in human bodies.
For example, they can use sequencing machines to sequence DNA from a patient’s cancer cells to identify mutations that occur during the development of cancerous tumors.
This will help doctors determine which drugs will be most effective for treating their condition
- Programming / Development:
Bioinformatics scientists are expected to develop tools and programs to aid in data analysis. This includes creating scripts and functions that can be used by other researchers or even rewriting existing programs to make them more efficient or user-friendly.
- Database management:
Bioinformatics scientists typically work with large amounts of data, so database management is an essential skill for this position. In addition to managing the database, they must also be able to query it effectively and efficiently.
- Research:
Bioinformatics scientists often research to gain more knowledge about specific subjects within their field of study. They may collaborate with other researchers on projects or work independently on their research topics.
- Training:
Bioinformatics scientists are often responsible for training new members of their lab or department who are just beginning their careers in the field. This could include teaching them new techniques or helping them learn how to do an excellent job in the area.
