Career In Bioinformatics

What is Bioinformatics?

“Bioinformatics or computational biology is an interdisciplinary field of science that combines computer science, mathematics, engineering and statistics to understand and interpret biological information”. It is the application of computer technology to the management of biological data.

Bioinformatics has become an important part of many areas of biology. It plays an important role in Biomedical Research.

In a simple way we can say that:

“Bioinformatics is the study of information technology in the field of molecular biology”.

Bioinformatics involves the scientific interpretation with the computational information. It involves analysis of various factors which affects the movement in our biological systems. Various kinds of technology are used in this analysis of data. Computers and software tools are extensively used for observations of these databases and preserve them for further analyses.

Bioinformatics plays a very important role in biomedical research.

 

The importance of Bioinformatics is unlimited in the genomic era. It has a several applications in the area of agriculture, environment, health, energy and biotechnology. The “Bioinformatics” term was coined by the Paulien Hogeweg and Ben Hesper in 1970.

Scope of Bioinformatics

To study in the field of Bioinformatics is very interesting and demanding now a days. It is a very interesting subject for those who want to know about the inter-relationship between medical science and human organs. You can easily make career in this field after completing your degree. The future and present scope of Bio-informatics is increasing as the need of medical science is increasing rapidly. It is one of the highly paid sectors in abroad countries. In India, it is also very much growing sector so, that you can make your career here in India also. There are many job opportunities in this field.

The Demand for Bioinformatics Scientists is expected to go up, with many new jobs filled by 2029. This represents an annual increase of 2.44 % over the next few years.

Courses & Duration

Also Check: Courses after 12th Science

In India, various colleges/Institutions offer many bachelor, master and doctoral courses in Bioinformatics. Some of the courses are given here.

Bachelor Degree Courses:

The duration of the bachelor’s degree course is 3 years.

• B.Sc in Bioinformatics
• B.Tech in Bioinformatics
• B.Sc (Hons.) in Bioinformatics
• BE in Bioinformatics
• Certificate in Bioinformatics
• Advanced Diploma in Bioinformatics

Master Degree Courses:

The duration for this course is 2 years.

• M.Sc in Bioinformatics
• M.Tech in Bioinformatics
• PG Diploma in Bioinformatics
• M.Sc (Hons.) in Bioinformatics
• MS in Bioinformatics
• ME in Bioinformatics

Doctoral Courses:

The doctoral programmes should be about 3-5 years duration course.

• Ph.D in Bioinformatics

Skills required to pursue a career in bioinformatics:

• Excellent problem solving skills
• Good knowledge in computer, software and technology
• Good Communication Skills

Specializations:

• Architecture & Content of Genomes
• Metabolic Computing
• Complex Systems Analysis/Genetic Circuits
• Evolutionary Model Building & Phylogenetic Analysis
• Data Mining
• Information content in DNA, RNA, protein sequence and structure
• Nucleic Acid & Protein Sequence Analysis
• Data Storage & Retrieval, Database Structures, Annotation

Admission

Also Check: Courses After 12th

How I get admission in Bachelor & Master Degree Courses?

Below is the eligibility criteria given to get admission in various levels of degree courses in the bioinformatics field:

• Candidate has to complete 10+2 with Science Subject.
• Those candidates want to get admission in master course, they have to require a bachelor degree in Physical, Biological, Agricultural, Veterinary, Fishery Sciences, Horticulture, Pharmacy, Engineering, Technology or Medicine (MBBS/ BAMS / BHMS).
• Candidates can get admission in Bachelor & Master Degree Courses through state & National level entrance exams such as GATE 2024, CSIR/UGC NET 2024-JRF, DBT-JRF, ICMR-JRF examinations.

Also Check:

GPAT 2024
IIST 2024

Top Institute of Bioinformatics Courses in India:

• India Institute of Technology, Delhi
• India Institute of Technology, Kharagpur
• National Institute of Technology, Bhopal
• National Institute of Technology, Rourkela
• Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
• Bharati Vidyapeeth University, Pune

Career & Jobs

Bioinformatics is an emerging scientific discipline & highly remunerative career options.

The career prospect in Bioinformatics has been gradually increasing with the use of information technology in the area of molecular biology.

Bioinformatics Degree holder can work in all sectors of pharmaceutical, biomedical organizations, biotechnology, in research institutions, hospital, industry and even NGOs.

You can work in private & government hospitals and as a teacher in private and public colleges.

They can also be employed in scientific research institutes of private & public sector.

Most of these professionals are working in pharmaceutical and Biotech companies.

You can also find employment in manufacturing industries of various biomedical products.

It is mainly the utilization of information technology to study and interpret information related to biological systems. It is responsible for the data management of biological concepts through computational methods.

Those students have a degree in Bioinformatics, they can be a part of the leading IT Companies. In IT companies, you can work as a “Bio-informationists”.

Today, even RPOs and KPO’s are also employed Bioinformaticians.

In abroad, the job opportunities are good in foreign firms and laboratories.

Specific career areas which fall within the scope of this field are database design & maintenance, proteomics, pharmacology, sequence assembly & analysis, informatics developer, bioanalytics, clinical pharmacologist, etc.

Job Profiles:

• Bioinformatics Software Developer
• Research Scientist / Associate
• Network Administrator / Analyst
• Computational Biologist
• Database Programmer
• Science Technician
• Content Editor
• Pharmacogenomics
• Proteomix
• Professor

Top Recruiters:

• Wipro
• Reliance
• Satyam
• Tata Consultancy Services
• IBM Life Sciences
• Ranbaxy
• Silicon Genetics and Tessella
• GVK Biosciences
• Torrent Pharmaceuticals
• Biscon
• Strand Life Sciences

Salary

You can expect a handsome salary, if you have a degree in Bioinformatics. The starting salary of a degree holder in private companies is Rs. 2 Lacs to 3 Lacs per annum. On the basis of the skills, work profile & experience, your salary arise approx Rs. 6 Lacs to Rs. 7 Lacs per year. In the government sector (Research Institute & Hospital), your salary is fixed approx Rs. 3 Lacs to Rs. 4 Lacs per annum.

In foreign countries, you can earn a salary in between $40,000 and $65,000.

Books & Study Material

• The Ten Most Wanted Solutions in Protein Bioinformatics by Anna Tramontano
• Bioinformatics Basics by Hooman Rashidi, Lukas K. Buehler
• Bioinformatics: A Practical Guide to the Analysis of Genes and Proteins by Andreas D. Baxevanis, B. F. Francis Ouellette
• Bioinformatics: Genes, Proteins and Computers by C. A. Orengo, D. T. Jones, J. M. Thornton, D. T. Jones
• Introduction to Bioinformatics: A Theoretical and Practical Approach by Stephen A. Krawetz, David D. Womble
• Algorithms in Bioinformatics by Marcel turcotte
• Structural Bioinformatics by Graham kemp and Per-GeorgNyholm
• Bioinformatics and Protein database concepts by IIT Bombay

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