Master of Science in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology

About

The use of computational techniques and information systems has revolutionized research in the biological sciences from the analysis of DNA sequences and the understanding of gene expression and regulation to the structural modeling of proteins and RNAs and the evolutionary relationship between species. Saint Louis University's Master of Science in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology program brings together expertise from SLU in biology, chemistry, computer science, mathematics and statistics, biochemistry and molecular biology. Students in our program learn how to apply computational techniques to answer complex research questions. The 30-credit bioinformatics and computational biology program is designed for students with academic backgrounds in the life sciences, mathematics, computer science, health sciences, engineering and statistics. The curriculum consists of a mix of required courses that build a strong foundation in bioinformatics and computational biology and elective classes that allow students to specialize in their expertise. Bioinformatics and computational biology program students must complete either a research experience with faculty or an internship with a biotech firm in the St. Louis area, home to one of the largest concentrations of biotech companies in the United States. This requirement gives our M.S. students the opportunity for hands-on experience working with academic researchers or private industry. Graduates will be able to apply and combine existing tools for processing and analysis of biological data sets. Graduates will be able to design and implement in silico experiments for biological problems. Graduates will be able to use small- and large-scale quantitative data sets to model complex biological systems. Graduates will be able to work as part of multidisciplinary teams in corporate or academic environments. Graduates will be able to effectively communicate research approaches and findings. 

Career Path 

Graduate career path includes Bioinformatics Scientist, Computational Biologist, Genomics Data Analyst, Proteomics Data Analyst, Transcriptomics Specialist, Systems Biology Researcher, Clinical Bioinformatics Specialist, Biomedical Data Scientist, Structural Bioinformatics Specialist, Pharmacogenomics Specialist, Evolutionary Bioinformatics Researcher, Personalized Medicine Analyst, Drug Discovery Bioinformatics Scientist, Biostatistician (Computational Biology Focus), Biological Database Curator, Synthetic Biology Data Analyst, Algorithm Developer (Bioinformatics), Bioinformatics Software Engineer, Cancer Genomics Researcher, Computational Neuroscientist, Immunoinformatics Specialist, Biotech Product Development Specialist, Metabolomics Analyst, Microbiome Data Scientist, Environmental Bioinformatics Specialist.