Career in Bioinformatics


Bioinformatics is an interdisciplinary field of science to interpret biological information. It is a combination of  computer science, mathematics, engineering and statistics. It is the application of computer technology to the management of biological data. The term "Bioinformatics" was coined in the year 1970.

Bioinformatics has become an important part of many areas of biology. It plays an important role in Biomedical Research. It deals with inter-relationship between medical science and human organs.

You can easily make career in this field after completing your degree. There are many levels of course  such as  Bachelors, Masters, Certificate, Advanced Diploma, , PG Diploma, PhD. Career scope of Bio-informatics is rapidly on the rise as there is an increasing need of medical science globally.  Bioinformatics career scope and job prospects have become widespread due to the merging of the information technology sector and molecular biology. Job prospects are in all sectors of biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and biomedical sciences, research institutions, hospitals, and industry.

Bioinformaticians need a solid background in computer science and also a good understanding of biology. Since bioinformaticians work closely with biologists, they need the ability to communicate complex topics in an understandable way and keep up-to-date with new developments in biology.

Bioinformaticians are needed to perform tasks such as:
  • Modeling: Estimation of protein structures and simulation of molecular interactions
  • Data Processing: processing and analyzing sequencing data, for example, from next-generation sequencing or single-cell sequencing
  • Virtual Screening: discovery of leads (potential new drugs) using computational methods
  • Data Science: analysis and interpretation of data
Bioinformatics professionals work in various job roles such as Application Support Specialist, Bio-Analyst, Bioinformatics Programmer & Analyst, Bioinformatics Trainer, Clinical Pharmacologist, Computational Chemist, Territory Manager - Genomics Business Development, Research Associate in - vitro Biology, Assistant Research Analyst, Research Associate - Cancer Biology.

Bioinformatics is very research-oriented and many graduates join PhD programs. The ones joining industry usually work in non-bioinformatics positions, for example, as IT consultants, software developers, solutions architects, or data scientists. Bioinformatics graduates often have more practical experience writing software than computer-science graduates. They are keen learners. Their proficiency in multiple disciplines demonstrates that they can easily adapt to new situations. Note that bioinformatics is more related to computer science than biology. There are extremely few biologists who make the transition to bioinformatics.


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