Informatics 390C - Intro/Comp Bio & Bioinform

This course is designed to provide Informatics students with a broad, practical introduction to the field of computational biology and bioinformatics. The course will discuss at a conceptual level the models and algorithms used to analyze biological sequence data, as well as practical applications and data analysis. Background in biology is not assumed. The primary focus of the course will be analysis of genomic data, including sequence alignment, genome assembly, genome annotation, phylogeny construction, mutation effect prediction, population genetics, RNA-seq data analysis, and genotype-phenotype association studies. Throughout the course, we will emphasize the unique challenges to working with biological data. Through lectures and hands-on programming problem sets, students will develop the necessary skills to tackle computational challenges in biology. This course counts as a CS Elective toward the CS Major and as an Elective toward the INFORM Major.

Open to juniors and seniors in Computer Science or Informatics. INFO 248 or CICS210&CS240 w/C JUNIOR AND SENIOR NON-CS AND NON-INFORM MAJORS WITH A C OR BETTER IN STATISTC 240 (OR EQUIVALENT) AND ONE OF COMPSCI 119, CICS 108, OR CICS 110 WITH INSTRUCTOR PERMISSION, IF AVAILABLE SEATS. STUDENTS NEEDING SPECIAL PERMISSION MUST REQUEST OVERRIDES VIA THE ON-LINE FORM: http://www.cics.umass.edu/overrides.