Printer FriendlyUMass Lowell provides an academic and research program where students acquire biological and chemical expertise, as well as programming skills and knowledge of computer science to communicate with each other on a meaningful and productive level. The net result is the better use of modern computational tools and the development of new tools in all areas of bioinformatics that are simultaneously more biologically relevant and computationally sophisticated.
To accomplish this goal, we use a three-fold approach:
- First, students are educated in the use and limitations of emerging software tools and technologies (application).
- Second, student biologists, chemists, mathematicians and computer scientists are encouraged to discover ways in which the tools of mathematics and computer science can be used to solve complex biological problems (development).
- Finally, a new generation of bioinformaticists is trained to program computational tools with the biological perspective needed to solve evolving biomedical problems.
The Bioinformatics Program at UMass Lowell differs from many other programs in its interdisciplinary approach to the study of bioinformatics and in its emphasis on software tool development rather than solely on tool usage.
Each department provides its own set of requirements for the Bioinformatics Option and each specifies the minimum courses which the student bioinformaticist must master in order to work in an interdisciplinary and evolving environment. These provide a strong multidisciplinary background for each student. Although the core curriculum is specific it still allows flexibility for electives supporting the student's selection of a focus for their personalized bioinformatics program.
If you have any questions related to bioinformatics research or academic programs at UMass Lowell, please do not hesitate to contact Prof. Georges Grinstein or any other faculty member.