Postgraduate Course: Bioinformatics 1 (INFR11016)
Course Outline
| School | School of Informatics |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | A primary requisite for relevant, and efficient, research in Bioinformatics is that scientists from both fields (biology and informatics) are involved, or consulted. Team work can only be successful if all parties have a basic ground knowledge of the respective other field and, most importantly, that they can communicate with each other. The aims of the course are to help you overcome both of these difficulties in your future careers. The course will cover topics that include core biology concepts that relate to bioinformatics, biological data and their source and structure as well as common tools for their analysis.
The course will also involve group-based practical work on using and developing bioinformatics solutions.
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| Course description |
The course will cover the following:
Essential Biology
* DNA/proteins
* Evolution
* Chromosomes and Cells
* Molecular structures
Bioinformatics
* Biological sequence analysis and alignment
* Bioinformatics resources and databases
* Functional genomics
* Proteomics and network analysis
* a site visit to see bioinformatics research in action
Relevant QAA Computing Curriculum Sections: Databases, Developing Technologies
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | This course is open to all Informatics students including those on joint degrees. For external students where this course is not listed in your DPT, please seek special permission from the course organiser.
Parts of this course assume a basic knowledge in biology beyond general high school standards (i.e. is suitable for everyone with a University education in a biology-related field).
Students with a higher education in a biology-related field can ask to be exempted from the first half of the course (excluding assessed coursework and exam).
There will be tutorial-style sessions where python will be used to perform basic sequence analysis. All steps will be explained, and no specific programming is required. |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2017/18, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
100
(
Lecture Hours 10,
Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 10,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
76 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
70 %,
Coursework
30 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Coursework is assessed though two practical reports (each worth 15%) on using/deploying the students own bioinformatics services and the remainder through a final examination in the December diet.
You should expect to spend approximately 30 hours on the coursework for this course.
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| Feedback |
Not entered |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
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| Main Exam Diet S1 (December) | Bioinformatics 1 | 2:00 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Communicate about essential and modern biology and how it relates to Informatics
- Describe basic biotechnology in the context of its underlying theoretical basis with an emphasis on the technologies routinely used in modern biological sciences.
- Use and/or implement a suite of core bioinformatics tools/services and describe their application.
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Reading List
* Julia E. Richards , R. Scott Hawley Chapter 3 - The Central Dogma of Molecular Biology : How Cells Orchestrate the Use of Genetic Information The Human Genome A User's Guide, 2011. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-091865-5.00003-5
* An Introduction to Bioinformatics Algorithms, Jones & Pevzner, MIT Press.
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Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Douglas Armstrong
Tel: (0131 6)50 4492
Email: |
Course secretary | Ms Katey Lee
Tel: (0131 6)50 2701
Email: |
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