Bioinformatics Scientists
We often hear the phrase "DNA analysis" in the movies we watch, but have you ever wondered what DNA actually is? DNA stands for "deoxyribonucleic acid," known in Arabic as "the nucleic acid" — it's the molecule that carries the genetic material inside human body cells, and it's what makes every person different from another, based on the hereditary traits they got from their parents. For decades, scientists have been conducting studies on the genetic material of thousands of people, because this helps develop methods for treating diseases and discovering new drugs. After running thousands of experiments, researchers have managed to gather an enormous, countless amount of data, but they found it difficult to analyze this massive volume of information, so they turned to computer technology to tally and analyze the data. The field that combines computer technology with biology and medicine is called "bioinformatics." Bioinformatics scientists are responsible for designing and developing the computer programs used to tally and analyze the data produced by experiments conducted on human volunteers.
Meet the Writer: Waleed Abo Omiraa
What You'll Actually Do
The core tasks and responsibilities that fill a typical day.
- Keep abreast of new biochemistries, instrumentation, or software by reading scientific literature and attending professional conferences.
- Provide statistical and computational tools for biologically based activities, such as genetic analysis, measurement of gene expression, or gene function determination.
- Direct the work of technicians and information technology staff applying bioinformatics tools or applications in areas such as proteomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, or clinical bioinformatics.
- Develop new software applications or customize existing applications to meet specific scientific project needs.
- Develop data models and databases.
- Create or modify web-based bioinformatics tools.
- Design and apply bioinformatics algorithms including unsupervised and supervised machine learning, dynamic programming, or graphic algorithms.
- Create novel computational approaches and analytical tools as required by research goals.
- Compile data for use in activities, such as gene expression profiling, genome annotation, or structural bioinformatics.
- Communicate research results through conference presentations, scientific publications, or project reports.
- Manipulate publicly accessible, commercial, or proprietary genomic, proteomic, or post-genomic databases.
- Consult with researchers to analyze problems, recommend technology-based solutions, or determine computational strategies.
- Analyze large molecular datasets, such as raw microarray data, genomic sequence data, or proteomics data, for clinical or basic research purposes.