Developing the field of bioinformatics will
be important for cancer research of the
future.
Image: iStockphoto
Imagine trying to work through millions of bits of information, attempting to work out why a cell had suddenly turned cancerous, or why, in a population of one billion, some individuals started smoking, while others did not? Our capacity to capture new information is exploding, but how do we make sense of it? Erin Wilson reports.
In recent decades rapid developments in genomic and other molecular research technologies and developments in information technologies have combined to produce a tremendous amount of information related to molecular biology, developing improved treatments for cancer, epilepsy, heart attacks and diabetes. Bioinformatics is about understanding this information.
Professor David Bowtell, Director of Research at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre explains: “Bioinformatics is pivotal to cancer research, especially for cancer genomic and genetic studies, which are generating enormous amounts of data. Bioinformatics is critical to analysing multidimensional data and providing insights into the pathways that control cell growth, survival and therapeutic response. The rapid development of sequencing technology will completely revolutionise human genetics studies, with cancer research leading its application to human health. Novel bioinformatics approaches will be key to mining the huge amount of data derived from high throughput sequencing studies and will create a very significant demand for individuals with this skill set.”
The University of Melbourne is contributing to meeting this demand by offering new training opportunities for bioinformatics researchers. The University’s new Master of Science (Bioinformatics) research training program will provide graduates from biology, computing, or mathematics and statistics with the foundations of a bioinformatics career. Students will spend a significant portion of the program based in a medical research institute or academic research group. They will solve real bioinformatics problems and learn how to undertake research, with the potential to proceed to a PhD.
“This program is designed to give students a broad education in bioinformatics with strong foundations in computer science, biology and statistics,” Academic co-ordinator of the Bioinformatics stream, Dr Andrew Lonie says.
“In the future, a bioinformatics specialist may just find the key to switching off the first cancerous cell mutation or why we open that pack of cigarettes.”
To support students in this program, a number of $5000 bursaries are available, provided by the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) and the $100 million Victorian Life Sciences Computation Initiative (VLSCI).
Editor's Note: A story provided by the University of Melbourne. This article is under copyright; permission must be sought from UniMelb to reproduce it.
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