Bioinformatics and Molecular Biology

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Director, Undergraduate and Graduate Degree Programs: Chris Bystroff

Program Home Page: http://www.rpi.edu/dept/bio/undergraduate/bsbioinfo.html

Revolutions in biotechnology and information technology are changing the world. Advances in molecular genetics, coupled with improved capability in robotics, computer science, and other technologies, have made mass sequencing of genetic material a part of the scientific landscape. Numerous genome-sequencing projects have produced complete sequences of viruses, bacteria, and increasingly complex eukaryotic organisms. The complete human genome was completed in 2003, with 20,000 genes and 3 billion base pairs. Today thousands of human geneomes have been sequenced.

The enormous treasure trove of information that the sequence databases and their smaller structural counterparts represent is a priceless resource. Applications include the identification of targets for drug discovery, the study of structural and functional relationships, and work on molecular evolution. Timely advances in computer science have made the storage, organization, and utilization of these very large data collections possible.

Undergraduate Program

Rensselaer’s bioinformatics and molecular biology undergraduate curriculum includes training in mathematics, chemistry, computer science, and physics. At the program’s core are courses in the theory and practice of bioinformatics that deal with topics such as database design, search algorithms, sequence analysis, molecular modeling, and molecular dynamics. The experimental side includes courses in molecular biology sequence and drug discovery.

The curriculum is extremely flexible, allowing for dual majors with other disciplines including computer science, biochemistry and biophysics, and mathematics. Advanced courses are available through the biology program and the biochemistry and biophysics program, including a strong set of advanced laboratory courses. Through appropriate elective selection, students may train for careers as molecular biologists with a computational background, or as computer scientists with a strong background in the biological sciences. The bioinformatics and molecular biology program also serves as an excellent premedical curriculum.

Associated Graduate Programs

The Master of Science in Biology with a concentration in bioinformatics is available for those desiring an M.S. degree before proceeding to professional study in medicine or an allied health field. It may also be useful to students with a B.S. degree in biological sciences who wish to prepare for eventual entry into a doctoral program. It is possible to enter the doctoral programs in Biology, Biochemistry and Biophysics, or Computer Science with a concentration in bioinformatics.

Research Innovations and Initiatives

There are extensive opportunities for bioinformatics and molecular biology majors to pursue undergraduate research in faculty laboratories, sometimes adding a computational capacity to experimental labs, and sometimes by serving as a bridge between computational and experimental biology. Several experimental research programs have benefited from undergraduate researchers who are trained in sequence analysis, molecular modeling, and database design. Bioinformatics research at Rensselaer includes the design and application of algorithms for sequence database searching, sequence alignment, and sequence analysis, molecular modeling, and allied areas in computational chemistry and simulation of biological processes. Closely related research in molecular genetics and biochemistry provides concrete applications for graduate and undergraduate students.

Research in computational biology is funded by a diverse group of agencies including NIH, NSF, the American Diabetes Association, and NASA. Computational biology research projects range from data mining, machine learning, drug discovery, chemoinformatics, enzymology, signal transduction, protein engineering, protein folding, protein design, biosensing, and studies on environmental adaptations of microorganisms.

Faculty

Biology: C. Bystroff, S. Gilbert, L. Ligon, D. Swank, B. Barquera, G. Makhatadze, C. Wang, P. Maxwell, S. Nierzwicki-Bauer, C. Boylen, D. Crone, G. Plopper

Computer Science: B. Szymanski, M. Zaki, L. Newberg, B. Yener

Chemistry and Chemical Biology: C. Breneman, W. Colon, M. Wentland, R. Lindhart, K. Lakshmi, L. McGown

Mathematical Sciences: M. Zuker, K. Bennett

Chemical and Biological Engineering: J. Dordick, S. Garde, M . Koffas, R. Kane, P. Tessier, C. Collins, P. Karande

Industrial and Systems Engineering: M. Embrechts

Physics: A. Garcia

Computer and Information Science at Hartford: H. Younessi

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