Bioinformatics and Computational Biology University College Cork

Overview

Bioinformatics is a fast-growing field at the intersection of biology, mathematics, and computer science. 

The Bioinformatics and Computational Biology course at University College Cork  seeks to create, advance, and apply computer/software-based solutions to solve formal and practical problems arising from the management and analysis of very large biological data sets. Such applications include genome sequence analysis, such as the human genome, the human microbiome, analysis of genetic variation within populations, and analysis of gene expression patterns.

Major research efforts in the bioinformatics field include sequence alignment, gene finding, genome assembly, protein structure alignment, protein structure prediction, modelling of DNA and protein evolution, analysis of genetic variation in populations, and analysis of gene expression, protein-protein interaction and protein mass spectrometry data.

Another emerging area within bioinformatics is systems biology, which examines how individual biological components (e.g. metabolic pathways, genes, proteins, organelles, cells, physiological systems, organisms) interact in a network to produce observable phenotypes of a whole organism or body system.

Careers Information

Our graduates offer a unique set of interdisciplinary skills making them highly attractive to employers at universities, research centres and in industry. Many research institutes have dedicated bioinformatics groups, while many 'wet biology' research groups employ bioinformaticians to help with data analyses and other bioinformatics problems. Industries employing bioinformaticians include the pharmaceutical industry, agricultural and biotechnology companies. For biology graduates returning to 'wet lab' biology after completing the MSc course, your newly acquired skills will be extremely complementary and useful.

Non-biology graduates seeking non-biology positions will also find that having acquired interdisciplinary skills is of great benefit in getting a qualified job in many sectors due to being able to adapt knowledge across a broad range of disciplines.