Prospectus

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Biological and Biomedical Informatics

Course
2023-2024

Admission requirements

Core course in MSc Bioinformatics and MSc Life Science and Technology, elective course MSc Chemistry

Assumed/Recommended prior knowledge

Students should be familiar with fundamental concepts in molecular biology. Experience in programming is not required.

Description

The course will cover the approaches, algorithms and practical aspects of bioinformatics for omics data analysis, with a particular focus on human health and disease. The following topics will be covered:

a) bioinformatics data resources (global data sharing for omics data)
b) computational analyses of genomic data (genome sequencing approaches, genome assembly, de novo sequencing, resequencing and variation analysis),
c) computational analyses of transcriptome and proteome data (RNA-Seq and microarray analyses, RNOmics, pathway analysis, functional enrichment/over-representation and protein-protein interaction networks)
d) medical informatics (omics in rare and complex disease studies, principles and problems in managing and sharing patient data)

Course objectives

At the end of the course students will:

  • have knowledge of fundamental principles in bioinformatics and computational biology

  • understand biomedical applications of bioinformatics analyses

  • be able to analyse a range of omics data using bioinformatics tools

  • understand the impact of the omics revolution on biomedical informatics research

Timetable

The most recent timetable can be found at the Computer Science (MSc) student website.

You will find the timetables for all courses and degree programmes of Leiden University in the tool MyTimetable (login). Any teaching activities that you have sucessfully registered for in MyStudyMap will automatically be displayed in MyTimeTable. Any timetables that you add manually, will be saved and automatically displayed the next time you sign in.

MyTimetable allows you to integrate your timetable with your calendar apps such as Outlook, Google Calendar, Apple Calendar and other calendar apps on your smartphone. Any timetable changes will be automatically synced with your calendar. If you wish, you can also receive an email notification of the change. You can turn notifications on in ‘Settings’ (after login).

For more information, watch the video or go the the 'help-page' in MyTimetable. Please note: Joint Degree students Leiden/Delft have to merge their two different timetables into one. This video explains how to do this.

Mode of instruction

Lectures, practical classes, literature discussion and assignments

Assessment method

Written examination (50%) and assignments (50%)

Lectures, practical exercises and literature assignments contain material that will be included in the examination.

Reading list

  • Current bioinformatics literature referenced in the lectures and practical sessions

  • Introduction to Bioinformatics, Arthur Lesk, 5th Edition. ISBN: 9780198794141

Registration

From the academic year 2022-2023 on every student has to register for courses with the new enrollment tool MyStudyMap. There are two registration periods per year: registration for the fall semester opens in July and registration for the spring semester opens in December. Please see this page for more information.

Please note that it is compulsory to both preregister and confirm your participation for every exam and retake. Not being registered for a course means that you are not allowed to participate in the final exam of the course. Confirming your exam participation is possible until ten days before the exam.

Extensive FAQ's on MyStudymap can be found here.

Contact

Remarks