For Immediate Release

Contact: John M. Martino
Phone Number:  (215) 895-1186
Date: 07/13/00

University of the Sciences in Philadelphia Preparing To Meet the Growing Need For Bioinformatics Specialists

A new type of scientist is emerging…one who is equally comfortable with the microscope and the computer terminal, and who knows how to integrate both in order to answer crucial health and genetic questions. Bioinformatics specialists, as they are called, represent one of the hottest career paths in science and industry. Higher education institutes are scrambling to meet the increasing demand for training these multidisciplined professionals.

What is bioinformatics?
In general, the field known as bioinformatics includes advanced techniques that allow researchers to collect and process data toward the understanding of the life and death of organisms. More specifically, it is the integration of mathematical, statistical and computer methods for the science of storing, extracting, organizing, analyzing, interpreting, distributing and utilizing biological information (e.g., DNA and protein structures and genetic interactions).

Bioinformatics has been described as "the future of the life sciences" and one of the key disciplines of the new century. The tools of bioinformatics help researchers gather and standardize data from basic research and computer modeling, and combine and manipulate extensive electronic databases to create three-dimensional models of complex molecules.

The mass sequencing of genetic material from organisms ranging from bacteria to the fruit fly to agricultural species, along with the widely publicized Human Genome Project, are creating an enormous amount of data for scientists to comprehend. The use of bioinformatics is crucial to the success of these research programs and to the documentation of the approximately 80,000-gene blueprint for human life. With this knowledge, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies will be able to design new medicines to improve human health.

An auspicious convergence
In the latter half of the 20th century, two fields stood out for their speed of progress and their effect on society: biomedicine and computing. Now these two exponential growth areas are converging! Their association is quite natural, because biologists and computer scientists both use similar techniques to find meaningful patterns in jumbles of symbols. The computer binary code consists of the digits 1 and 0. The genetic alphabet consists of just four letters, A, C, G and T (which represent the four chemical units that make up DNA). This makes computers extremely compatible with genetic research, for understanding how thousands of genes interact with each other in complex networks.

Dr. Randy J. Zauhar, associate professor of biochemistry and director of the new bioinformatics graduate program at University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (USP), explains, "The rapid expansion of this field has been fueled by increased computing speed and digital storage capacity, as well as by the intense competition among pharmaceutical companies. Drug discovery and development is notoriously expensive, but software systems can compress the timeframes and thus reduce the cost."

Before bioinformatics, researchers had to manually wade through reams of scientific literature. Now they can use high performance computational tools, algorithms, community software and related research to mine vast storehouses of genetic data, securing vital information for research and product development, and medical diagnostic and therapeutic uses.

Authorities such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science confirm that biological research is rapidly becoming data-driven. To advance science, data from thousands of sources will have to be standardized, pooled and reevaluated. The universal availability and storage of this data is not only changing the way investigators do research, it is also creating new opportunities for researchers willing to bridge information technology and life science.

Hot career opportunity
The biomedical community perceives an alarming shortage of suitably educated people who can plan, design, implement and distribute these biological databases, algorithms and software in research laboratories, hospitals, and biotechnology and pharmaceutical firms. Bioinformatics specialists are already in great demand, and the rapid growth of the field is expected to continue.

According to the NIH, in the near future, every medical and research center is going to require biological data managers as part of its infrastructure. Frost & Sullivan, a Calif. consulting firm, has predicted a growth rate of 10 percent annually in the bioinformatics market. And the National Science Foundation estimates that 20,000 bioinformatics workers will be needed by 2005.

Training a new generation of researchers
The convergence of computing and biomedicine is only beginning to be reflected in universities and schools of medicine. Up until a few years ago, only a handful of colleges and research institutions fostered the kind of cross-departmental work required to meet bioinformatics challenges, let alone educate students about them.

Now, universities are starting to address the need to train and support this new kind of scientist, by developing curriculums in database design and search algorithms, genomics, sequence alignment, sequence analysis and molecular modeling. The last five years have seen tremendous growth in the number of programs offered, at universities such as Stanford, Georgia Tech, George Mason, Johns Hopkins, Harvard, MIT, and most recently, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, which expects to admit the first students to its graduate program this fall, followed by initial enrollment for an undergraduate program.

Dr. James C. Pierce, assistant professor of genetics and biotechnology at USP and director of the undergraduate bioinformatics program, observes, "As one of the few programs applying this discipline at the undergraduate level, we're providing the biology degree of the 21st century. Because the new analytical tools for data mining are creating this new, bioinformatic viewpoint, biology can now be an exact science, like physics. And by its very nature, bioinformatics prepares you for any career in life science. Whether you want to study medicine, genetics, microbiology, ecology or ornithology, today's scientist needs to be able to apply the relevant databases and software tools. Bioinformatics is the foundation for the manipulation and understanding of scientific information. In short, it's a revolution in science."

Bioinformatics requires an interdisciplinary approach that includes biological science, computer science, mathematics and library science. Students take courses in introductory calculus, probability, statistics and graph theory, modeling and simulation, as well as molecular biology, genomics, chemistry, and database design and programming.

Dr. Zauhar notes, "USP is in a unique position to serve the needs of life science professionals in the metropolitan Philadelphia area who are eager to enter this exciting new field. Our close ties to the local pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry make us a natural home for working scientists who want to make a shift in their careers, and we will offer them a practical, hands-on curriculum. The graduate program will be focused on the special requirements of returning professionals who want to gain specific skills in programming and database design, along with up-to-date training in the theory and practice of bioinformatics."

"The ability to sequence organisms has now been proven by independent genomics companies like Celera, and all of the major pharmaceutical manufacturers are trying to develop in-house genomics departments, as well. With the keen interest in recruiting bioinformatics specialists, there's a real opportunity here for biological scientists who can manage computer databases," concludes Dr. Pierce.

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