Scientific experiments always lead to the creation of data. For the past few decades, the researches in the fields of molecular biology along with the genomic technologies have led to the creation of an unthinkable volume of biological research data. The management, analysis and sharing of these data were of utmost important so that they can be utilized for the welfare of the human race. This led to the birth of a new discipline where information technology, statistics and mathematics were combined with biology. This new discipline came to known as bioinformatics.

Courses in Bioinformatics

Bioinformatics courses are offered at both UG and PG levels. Some of the subjects covered under the courses are bio-programming, genomics, molecular modeling, drug designing, computational biology, bioinformatics software & tools, biological databases, and biostatistics.

Bioinformatics colleges in India

There are many universities and colleges in India that offer various courses in Bioinformatics. Some of them are listed below.

• Madurai Kamaraj University
• Institute of Bioinformatics and Biotechnology
• Amity Institute of Biotechnology
• Indian Institute of Information Technology
• Bharthiyar University
• Tamil Nadu GD Naidu Agricultural University
• University of Calcutta
• SRM University
• University of Hyderabad
• Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology
• Satyam Sri Services
• Mar Athanasios College for Advanced Studies
• Periyar University
• University of Pune

Career Profiles

Bioinformatics is one of the fastest growing industries in India. Both private and public sectors offer various job openings in the field of Bioinformatics. Some of the career profiles in this field are mentioned below.

• Bioinformatics Specialist
• Marketing Department
• Bioinformatics Java Developer
• Programmer
• Bioinformatics Research Scientist
• Systems Engineer
• Database Designer / Administrator
• Bioinformatics Computing Consultant
• Technical Support
• Applications Analyst
• System Analyst
• Bioinformatics Research Analyst

Applications in Human Welfare

Bioinformatics help the researchers in accessing the large volume of research data. It also allows them to submit and share their own resources. Various projects like the human genome project, transgenic organisms have been extremely successful only because of bioinformatics. Bioinformatics has exceeded all expectations when it comes to designing drugs. Several fields of medicines such as molecular medicine, personalized medicine and preventative medicine are explored with the help of bioinformatics. It also helps in modeling proteins using existing proteins as templates for the creation of new ones. The understanding of the DNA has seen a new light just because of bioinformatics. In crop improvement, it helped in developing HYV seeds, draught resistant, disease resistant and insect resistant crops. A few experiments have also helped in increasing the nutritional value of the crops.

Bioinformatics has also grown as a business field and creates a great employment scope for the youth. It has done greatly for our benefit and the future seems to have a lot more in store for us.