Bioinformatics

Overview

This Bioinformatics programme from University of Birmingham is composed of five taught modules, one group project, and one independent project. The taught modules provide you with foundational knowledge and skills in statistics, computer programming, and molecular biology, and then exploit this skillset to help you to understand and participate in the ongoing revolution in biological data science.

The course begins with a fast-paced introduction to essential capabilities. Through individualised and student-centered teaching, as well as heterogeneous group work, it will prepare wet-bench biologists and clinicians interested in data analysis, as well as statisticians or computer scientists wishing to work in biology for studies in modern bioinformatics.

You will then be introduced to the sequencing modalities that have reduced the cost of obtaining the human genome from over a billion pounds to less than a thousand dollars, and the many applications in the biomedical and environmental sciences enabled by these technologies. Beyond DNA and RNA sequencing, you will learn how mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy have opened protein sequencing and metabolomics – the study of all small molecules, or metabolites present in a system. You will learn how to integrate these datatypes with high-content imaging to map molecular changes onto four-dimensional representations of complex systems, including the human nervous system and fresh-water ecologies.

Closely supervised individual projects will prepare you to tackle real-world research or industrial problems at scale, and highly interactive group projects will enable teams to tackle challenges too complex for individuals. Projects are developed in collaborations with our world-leading faculty and our many industrial partners in the West Midlands, ensuring that you are equally prepared for academic or industrial career paths. 

Why study this course?

• Learn how to analyse each major omics data-type – beyond next generation sequencing, understand mass spectrometry, emerging single molecule techniques, genome engineering, and integrative analysis toolsets that reveal synergies between these and other distinct modalities such as Health Partners

• Gain a foundation in statistical machine learning to prepare for a career in the information sciences

• Explore the frontiers of biosciences, from precision medicine, to precision agriculture, and emerging fields including molecular ecosystems biology and topological data analysis.  
• Expand our foundational understanding of human genome biology working with experts in the West Midlands Genomic Medicine Centre: University Hospital Birmingham is a major contributor to the 100,000 Genomes Project, which is closely integrated with this MSc in Bioinformatics
• Discover new opportunities in one of the fastest growing industrial and academic fields in the United Kingdom and beyond.