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Bioinformatics and Computational Biology

This is an archived copy of the 2023-2024 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.iastate.edu.

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Undergraduate study in BCBio is jointly administered by the Department of Computer Science, the Department of Genetics, Development, and Cell Biology, and the Department of Mathematics. The undergraduate B.S. degree is offered through the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Bioinformatics and Computational Biology is an interdisciplinary science at the interfaces of the biological, informational and computational sciences. The science focuses on a variety of topics. These include gene identification, expression, and evolution; RNA, protein, and genome structure; and molecular and cellular systems and networks. The large group of participating faculty provides students with a multidimensional perspective on bioinformatics and computational biology and presents them with broad range of possibilities to get involved in research.

This major will prepare students for careers at the interfaces of biological, informational and computational sciences. BCBio graduates with a B.S. seeking direct employment will find ready markets for their talents in agricultural and medical biotechnology industries, as well as in academia, national laboratories, and clinics. Although some students find employment directly after their baccalaureate training, many students will continue their education in one of the many excellent graduate programs in bioinformatics and computational biology that now exist.

Participation in this field requires that students achieve a high level of competence not only in biology, but also in mathematics, computer science, and statistics. As a result, the program includes required courses from many different disciplines. Graduates demonstrate an above-average ability to synthesize methods from these different disciplines to solve problems.

Student Learning Outcomes

By completing their studies, students earning the BS degree in BCBio are expected to:

1. Develop critical thinking skills by implementing the scientific method through bioinformatics data analysis.

2. Explain and complete simple applications of the common bioinformatics and computational biology methods used for DNA, RNA, and protein analysis.

3. Understand the central dogma of biology and how bioinformatic analyses of high throughput biological next-generation sequencing proteomics datasets can help answer fundamental questions about the biology of DNA, RNA, and proteins.

4. Define systems biology and explain its importance in understanding biology; undertake basic data analyses in systems biology.

5. Identify common formats for biological data and be able to convert among different formats.

6. Summarize fundamental bioinformatics software tools, know when to apply them, and be able to use them.

7. Combine existing software tools into bioinformatic data processing pipelines.

8. Evaluate the limits of traditional algorithms and data analysis techniques as they apply to big data in biology.

9. Identify and appraise noise in high throughput biological datasets and uncertainty in the conclusions of data analysis.

10.  Interpret bioinformatics and computational biology analyses individually and in collaborative learning environments.

As majors in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology students must meet College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and University-wide requirements for graduation in addition to those stated below for the major.

LAS majors require a minimum of 120 credits, including a minimum of 45 credits at the 300/400 level. You must also complete the LAS world language requirement and career proficiency requirement.

Students in all ISU majors must complete a three-credit course in U.S. diversity and a three-credit course in international perspectives. Check (http://www.registrar.iastate.edu/courses/div-ip-guide.html) for a list of approved courses. Discuss with your advisor how the two courses that you select can be applied to your graduation plan.

A. Complementary Courses for the BCBio Major

A minimum of 5 credits from the following:5-8
College Chemistry
and Laboratory in College Chemistry
or
General Chemistry I
and Laboratory in General Chemistry I
and General Chemistry II
or
Advanced General Chemistry
and Laboratory in Advanced General Chemistry
A minimum of 4 credits from the following:4-8
Elementary Organic Chemistry
and Laboratory in Elementary Organic Chemistry
or
Organic Chemistry I
and Laboratory in Organic Chemistry I
and
Organic Chemistry II
and Laboratory in Organic Chemistry II
5 credits from the following:5
Physics for the Life Sciences
and Laboratory in Physics for the Life Sciences
or
General Physics I
and General Physics I Laboratory
or
Introduction to Classical Physics I
and Introduction to Classical Physics I Laboratory
STAT 330Probability and Statistics for Computer Science3
STAT 483Empirical Methods for the Computational Sciences3
BIOL 211
211L
Principles of Biology I
and Principles of Biology Laboratory I
4
BIOL 212
212L
Principles of Biology II
and Principles of Biology Laboratory II
4
BIOL 314Principles of Molecular Cell Biology3
or
Biological Evolution
or
Molecular Genetics
Total Credits31-38

Complementary courses note:The following other STAT courses may be substituted for STAT 330 and STAT 483, with permission of the BCBio Major.
STAT 330: STAT 101, 104, 201, 231, 305, or 341
STAT 483: STAT 301, 342, or 432

 B. Core Courses Within the BCBio Major

GEN 313
313L
Principles of Genetics
and Genetics Laboratory
4
COM S 227
COM S 228
Object-oriented Programming
and Introduction to Data Structures (recommended when developing course plan)
7
COM S 230Discrete Computational Structures3
COM S 311Introduction to the Design and Analysis of Algorithms3
MATH 165
MATH 166
Calculus I
and Calculus II (recommended when developing course plan)
8
BCBIO 110BCBIO Orientation0.5
BCBIO 322Introduction to Bioinformatics and Computational Biology3
BCBIO 401Bioinformatics of Sequences3
BCBIO 406Bioinformatics of OMICS3
BCBIO 490Independent Study1-5
or BCBIO 491 Team Research Projects
Total Credits35.5-39.5

Core courses note: The Com S 227/228 and Math 165/166 core course series is required for BCBio majors.  However, students transferring into the major who have already earned credit for Com S 207/208 and/or the Math 181/182 can substitute those courses for the respective Com S 227/228 and/or Math 165/166 series. Students will need permission of the instructors to enroll in any upper level course that requires a pre-req in Com S 227/228 and/or Math 165/166.

C. Support Electives

3-9 credits to be chosen from the following list:

BBMB 404Biochemistry I3
BBMB 405Biochemistry II3
BBMB 461Molecular Biophysics2
BIOL 328Molecular and Cellular Biology of Human Diseases3
BIOL 423Developmental Biology3
BIOL 451Plant Evolution and Phylogeny4
BIOL 462Evolutionary Genetics3
BIOL 487Microbial Ecology3
COM S 252Linux Operating System Essentials3
COM S 309Software Development Practices3
COM S 319Construction of User Interfaces3
COM S 327Advanced Programming Techniques3
COM S 363Introduction to Database Management Systems3
COM S 425High Performance Computing for Scientific and Engineering Applications3
COM S 426Introduction to Parallel Algorithms and Programming4
GEN 340Human Genetics3
GEN 410Analytical Genetics3
MATH 207Matrices and Linear Algebra3
or MATH 317 Theory of Linear Algebra
MATH 265Calculus III4
MATH 266Elementary Differential Equations3
or MATH 267 Elementary Differential Equations and Laplace Transforms
MATH 304Combinatorics3
MATH 314Graph Theory3
MATH 373Introduction to Scientific Computing3
MICRO 402Microbial Genetics and Genomics3
STAT 342Introduction to the Theory of Probability and Statistics II4
STAT 471Introduction to Experimental Design3
STAT 474Introduction to Bayesian Data Analysis3
STAT 475Introduction to Multivariate Data Analysis3
STAT 486Introduction to Statistical Computing3
STAT 581Analysis of Gene Expression Data for the Biological Sciences3

D. The communications and English proficiency requirements of the LAS college are met by:

ENGL 150Critical Thinking and Communication3
ENGL 250Written, Oral, Visual, and Electronic Composition3
or ENGL 250H Written, Oral, Visual, and Electronic Composition: Honors
And one of the following:
ENGL 309Proposal and Report Writing3
or
Communicating Science and Public Engagement
or
Technical Communication

BCBio majors must earn a minimum grade of C in ENGL 250 Written, Oral, Visual, and Electronic Composition or ENGL 250H Written, Oral, Visual, and Electronic Composition: Honors.

Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, B.S.

Freshman
FallCreditsSpringCredits
BCBIO 1100.5BIOL 2123
BIOL 2113BIOL 212L1
BIOL 211L1CHEM 2313
CHEM 1634CHEM 231L1
CHEM 163L1MATH 1664
MATH 1654LIB 1601
ENGL 1503Humanities choice3
 16.5 16
Sophomore
FallCreditsSpringCredits
BIOL 3133COM S 2283
BIOL 313L1BIOL 3143
BCBIO 3223PHYS 1154
COM S 2274PHYS 115L1
ENGL 2503Social Science choice3
International Perspectives or U.S. Diversity3LAS 2031
 17 15
Junior
FallCreditsSpringCredits
COM S 230 (or Cpr E 310)3COM S 3113
STAT 3303STAT 4833
ENGL 309 (or ENGL 312 or ENGL 314)3Bioinformatics Support Elective3-9
MATH 265 (or other Support Elective)4Humanities choice3
Humanites Choice3Social Science choice3
 16 15-21
Senior
FallCreditsSpringCredits
BCBIO 401 (or BCBIO 444)3BCBIO 490 or 4911-5
Humanities choice3BCBIO 4063
World Language, if needed / Elective3-4World Language if needed or elective4
COM S 363 (Recommended or other support elective)3International Perspectives or US Diversity3
Social Science choice3 
 15-16 11-15
Total Credits: 121.5-132.5

Minor in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology

The administering departments offer a minor in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, which requires the following courses.

BIOL 211Principles of Biology I3
BIOL 212Principles of Biology II3
GEN 313Principles of Genetics3
COM S 227
COM S 228
Object-oriented Programming
and Introduction to Data Structures
7
STAT 330Probability and Statistics for Computer Science3
BCBIO 322Introduction to Bioinformatics and Computational Biology3
BCBIO 401Bioinformatics of Sequences3
BCBIO 406Bioinformatics of OMICS3
Total Credits28

Note: The following other STAT courses may be substituted for STAT 330, with permission of the BCBio Major: STAT 101, 104, 201, 231, 305, or 341

2.  The Com S 227/228 course series is required for the BCBio minor.  However, students transferring into the minor who have already earned credit for Com S 207/208 can substitute those courses for the Com S 227/228 series. Students will need permission of the instructors to enroll in any upper level course that requires a pre-req in Com S 227/228.

Most students pursuing a minor in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology will be biology, genetics, computer science, computer engineering, statistics, or mathematics students who have already taken some of these courses for their major.  The minor must include at least 9 credits that are not used to meet any other department, college, or university requirement.

Graduate Study

Work is offered for the master of science and doctor of philosophy degrees with a major in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (BCB). Faculty are drawn from several departments: Agronomy; Animal Science; Astronomy and Physics; Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology; Biomedical Sciences; Chemical and Biological Engineering; Chemistry; Computer Science; Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology; Electrical and Computer Engineering; Entomology, Genetics, Development and Cell Biology; Materials Science and Engineering; Mathematics; Plant Pathology; Statistics; Veterinary Microbiology and Preventive Medicine; and Veterinary Pathology.

The BCB program emphasizes interdisciplinary training in nine related areas of focus: Bioinformatics, Computational Molecular Biology, Structural and Functional Genomics, Macromolecular Structure and Function, Metabolic and Developmental Networks, Integrative Systems Biology, information Integration and Data Mining, Biological Statistics, and Mathematical Biology. Additional information about research areas and individual faculty members is available at: www.bcb.iastate.edu.

BCB students are trained to develop an independent and creative approach to science through an integrative curriculum and thesis research projects that include both computational and biological components. First year students are appointed as research assistants and participate in BCB 697 Graduate Research Rotation, working with three or more different research groups to gain experience in both “wet” (biological) and “dry” (computer) laboratory environments. In the second year, students initiate a thesis research project under the joint mentorship of two BCB faculty mentors, one from the biological sciences and one from the quantitative/computational sciences. The M.S. and Ph.D. degrees are usually completed in two and five years, respectively.

Before entering the graduate BCB program, prospective BCB students should have taken courses in mathematics, statistics, computer science, biology, and chemistry. A course load similar to the following list would be considered acceptable:

MATH 265Calculus III4
STAT 341Introduction to the Theory of Probability and Statistics I4
COM S 227Object-oriented Programming4
COM S 228Introduction to Data Structures3
COM S 230Discrete Computational Structures3
CPR E 310Theoretical Foundations of Computer Engineering3
CHEM 163College Chemistry4
CHEM 231Elementary Organic Chemistry3
BBMB 301Survey of Biochemistry3
BIOL 313Principles of Genetics3
BIOL 315Biological Evolution3

During the first year, BCB students are required to address any background deficiencies in calculus, molecular genetics, computer science, statistics and discrete structures, with specific courses determined by prior training. Among the total course requirements for Ph.D. students are four core courses in Bioinformatics, three of which are mandatory in the BCB program:

BCB 567Bioinformatics Algorithms (mandatory)3
BCB 568Statistical Bioinformatics (mandatory)3
BCB 569Structural Bioinformatics3
BCB 570Systems Biology (mandatory)3
And also should include
Advanced Molecular Genetics
Student Seminar in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
Faculty Seminar in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
Workshop in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology

M.S. students take the above background and core courses, take at least 6 credits of advanced coursework, and may elect to participate in fewer seminars and workshops. Additional coursework may be selected to satisfy individual interests or recommendations of the Program of Study Committee. All graduate students are encouraged to teach as part of their training for an advanced degree. (For curriculum details and sample programs of study, see: www.bcb.iastate.edu.)