Undergraduate Course: Bioinformatics 1 (INFR11160)
Course Outline
| School | School of Informatics |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | **This course replaces Bioinformatics 1 (INFR11016)**
This course introduces the discipline of Bioinformatics to students from both physical science and life science backgrounds. Bioinformatics is an inter-disciplinary subject that develops and implements novel methodologies and tools for analysing and learning from biological data. These data are increasingly large and complex as a result of significant technological developments and their application at scale in biological and biomedical application areas.
In this course, we will cover the fundamental domain knowledge needed from both biological and computational disciplines to enable further study and research in this subject with a strong practical and theoretical emphasis to increase understanding. No previous knowledge of Bioinformatics or programming is required. |
| Course description |
In this course, we will introduce key biological concepts including the main types of molecules we study (DNA, RNA, and protein) as well as the cell biological processes involved in their regulation and function in biological systems. The cornerstone of foundational Bioinformatics lies in the analysis of sequences; strings of characters that encode genetic information in organisms. We will describe the theory and put into practice how we work with and analyse biological sequences through biological sequence databases, process automation, algorithms and tools to allow pairwise and multiple sequence alignment, as well as approaches using high-throughput next-generation sequence data.
This course will involve practical work both in workshop/tutorial sessions and in coursework with real biological case-studies and using the Python scripting language. No previous knowledge of Biology or Python scripting is required.
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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. |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2022/23, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
| Course Start Date |
19/09/2022 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
100
(
Lecture Hours 10,
Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 10,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
78 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
This course will be assessed by two major pieces of coursework.
There will be additional opportunities for formative assessment to assist learning using, for example, weekly quizzes, and the production of digital artefacts such as blog entries, videos, coding scripts and/or infographics. |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Communicate between biological and computational domains to facilitate effective inter-disciplinary working.
- Use and/or implement Bioinformatics tools, services and software in practical research scenarios.
- Have sufficient background knowledge, skills and understanding to discover and apply additional bioinformatics techniques.
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Reading List
The course will have a dedicated University Resource List accessible from the course LEARN website with dedicated reading lists. If students would like to look through the key textbook for the course in advance it can be read online for free from the Univeristy EBook Library:
Pevsner, J., 2015. Bioinformatics and functional genomics Third., Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. https://discovered.ed.ac.uk/permalink/f/gfso8q/44UOE_ALMA51221474230002466 |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | BIO1 |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Ian Simpson
Tel: (0131 6)50 2747
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Lori Anderson
Tel: (0131 6)51 4164
Email: |
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