Careers in Bioinformatics

Biology is no longer restricted to its qualitative quests. The large amount of information being generated from the Genomics and proteomics study and other linked techniques has transformed biology into an increasingly quantitative science. There is a growing need for Bioinformatics skill to deal with this explosion of information. For numerous, especially those who are really little acquainted with the topic, Bioinformatics deals with study, development, or application of computational tools and approaches for expanding the use of biological, medical, behavioral or health information, such as those to acquire, store, organize, archive, analyze, or visualize such information. It entails the creation and advancement of algorithms, computational and statistical tactics, and theory to solve formal and practical troubles posed by or inspired from the management and analysis of biological information. To put it in simpler terms, Bioinformatics is where the domain of fundamental biology meets with those of mathematics, statistics and computational sciences to analyze the information generated by large number of individual experimental data. If your college or university does not have an exact Bioinformatics track offered in their catalogue, try a data mining degree to acquire the proper skills.

The Bioinformatics domain is expanding quickly and wide and this has already been stimulated to a significant extent by the completion of the human DNA sequence in the spring of 2003. The world bioinformatics market value is expected to be around billion dollars by the year 2007. Contemplating the present spending in the biotechnology sector towards informatics and relevant hardware, software program and services and the growth of the biotech business around the world, there would be a substantial amount of spending on bioinformatics. Though India has still a little space among the world bioinformatics leaders, the opportunities for growth are huge. With revenues reaching around million dollars in the year 2005, India is all set to touch an expected mark of billion dollars by the end of year 2010.

Since the domain of Bioinformatics is rooted in life sciences as well as computer and details sciences and technologies, an enormous want has emerged for people skilled in not only the fundamentals of biological science but with a sound grasp of computational science as well. Men and women with formal training, or experience in bioinformatics are not finding it challenging to search for employment. There is a excellent need for bioinformaticists in both the industrial and academic spheres. In truth, job opportunities in the field are so very good that, at the moment, possible employers are obtaining it hard to meet their requirement of skilled bioinformatics talent. This is an even greater concern for academic institutes as the flow of skilled manpower is often biased towards the industries, attributed to lucrative salaries and long term employment positive aspects.

The rise in opportunities in this field has led to an boost in the number of bioinformatics academic programs around the country. There are far a lot more academic training programs obtainable now than they were a couple of years ago, with more universities planning to roll out their programs. The Department of Biotechnology, under the Ministry of Science and Technology, India had established the Biotechnology Information System (BTIS) network way back in 1987 to create an infrastructure that enables it to harness, biotechnology via the application of Bioinformatics. BTIS is nowadays recognized as one of the significant scientific network in the world dedicated to present the-state-of-the-art infrastructure, education, manpower and tools in bioinformatics. Under BTIS, there are Ten Distributed Info Centers. The Apex Center is situated at the Department of Biotechnology. There are 46 Sub-Distributed Details Centers, located in different universities and investigation institutes of national significance. Long term courses at the level of post MSc Diploma in Bioinformatics are being provided at Pune University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Calcutta University and Madurai Kamaraj University, in this inter-disciplinary location. More details about the Distributed Info Centers and Sub-Centers scattered across the various states of India could be obtained from the BTIS official site.

Significant institutes/universities in India, offering a specialized course in this line are Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology (IBAB), Bangalore, Indian Institute of Technologies, Delhi, Indian Institute of Technolog,Kharagpur, Center of Cellular and Molecular Biology (Hyderabad), National Institute of Immunology (New Delhi), Institute of Microbial Technology (Chandigarh). Madurai Kamaraj University in Madurai claims to have been the 1st in the country to initiate a bioinformatics programme and advanced diploma in bioinformatics at its School of Biotechnology. There is an Advanced (Graduate) Diploma in Bioinformatics offered by the Bioinformatics Center at the Jawaharlal Nehru University. An Advanced Diploma in Bioinformatics is being provided at the Bioinformatics Center at The University of Pune. Bioinformatics Institute of India is conducting a 1 year correspondence course on Business Program in Bioinformatics, Biomedical Informatics, Clinical Trial and Clinical Research, Pharma Regulatory Affairs, Biotechnology. BII is also offering a variety of online programs by way of their web website.

When it comes to tapping a career in bioinformatics, what one may possibly basically require is: fundamental information of biology along with some exposure to computational tactics and concepts. However, there is good scope for even those with Computer Science, Physical Chemistry and Physics background. In fact according to specialists, in particular niches of the bioinformatics workshop like developing and applying numerical algorithms and data mining, laptop or computer programmers, Physical Chemists and Physicists tend to be much more skilled as compared to their biological counterparts. The growing field of bioinformatics has produced great room for individuals with IT background with keen interest in biology, specifically molecular biology. The abilities that are usually sought from an aspirant with an IT background are – (a) Basic and basic understanding of molecular entities like DNA, RNA, Proteins and molecular processes such as Transcription and Translation, which is for most component taken care by the training supplied by the company. (b) Proficiency in utilizing and administering databases like Oracle, SQL Server, MySQL, Sybase. (c) Programming skills in JAVA, C, C++, PERL, web scripting etc. (c) Good understanding (in specific instances) of operating system platforms like UNIX and LINUX. (d) Informatics related problem solving abilities.

When it comes to tapping a career in bioinformatics, what one could basically require is a powerful fundamental knowledge of biology along with some exposure to computational strategies and concepts. Nevertheless, there are opportunities even for graduates in Statistics, Physical Chemistry and Physics. According to experts, in certain niches of the bioinformatics such as developing and applying numerical algorithms and data mining, Physical Chemists and Physicists tend to be more skilled when compared to their biological counterparts. There are ample opportunities for those with an IT background with powerful interest or knowledge in the biological sciences, especially molecular biology. People with just a biological sciences or computer sciences degree along with a Master’s degree in bioinformatics or computational biology is one finest profile to get going with the bioinformatics careers. People with a master’s degree are normally looked on favorably by recruiters as it gives the basic foundation along with some practical encounter which is usually lacking at a graduate level. A bit of working encounter in IT may possibly add a feather to your cap. Nevertheless an undergraduate degree in bioinformatics is also an choice that can be considered.

The main employer of bioinformatics talent is currently the drug designing business and the bioinformatics software program and solution based businesses. Other people including biotechnology firms, specifically those involved in personal care products, industrial organisms and agriculture have also shown great promise. Some prominent areas inside bioinformatics where opportunities are arising are Proteomics, Pharmacogenomics, Functional Genomics, Sequence Mapping and Analysis, Information Mining and Management etc. Whilst hunting for jobs related to bioinformatics, these days, some usual titles to take into account would be:

For Biologists: Bioinformatician, Geneticist, Computational Biologist, Biostatistician etc.
For an IT professionals: Applications Programmer, Programmer Analyst, Object Modeler, Top quality Assurance Engineer, Software development Engineer, Bioinformatics programmer / Analyst / Developer etc.

Apticraft Systems (P) Ltd, a software program company based company in Indore employs biologists and software specialists to develop software for use in life science investigation. Founded in 2001, Apticraft Systems is the vision of a couple of laptop or computer savvy technocrats, who have been actively involved in this field for the last 10 yrs. At Apticraft Systems, the goal is to generate top good quality software making use of the greatest software development practices. Apticraft has successfully offered its software development expertise and value added services to contractual clients who cater to renowned academic research institutions, government agencies, pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms, around the world.