Specialization in Bioinformatics: new oportunity for postgraduate education

BELTRÁN, C.; DAURELIO, L.D.; FELITTI, S.A.; KOROL, A.; PRATTA, G.R.; RODRÍGUEZ, G.; ZANOR, M.I.

Rosario

Congreso; 4to. Congreso Argentino de Bioinformática y Biología Computacional (4CAB2C) y 4ta. Conferencia Internacional de la Sociedad Iberoamericana de Bioinformática (SolBio); 2013

Sociedad Argentina de Bioinformática y Biología Computacional (4CAB2C), Sociedad Iberoamericana de Bioinformática (SolBio)

The Specialization in Bioinformatics is the first postgraduate program in Argentina on this novel research vacancy area. It was created on February 2013 by the Superior Council of the National University of Rosario (UNR), as a joint project from its Faculty of Agronomy Sciences and Faculty of Biochemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences. This Specialization prepares postgraduate professional in the management of different computational tools for solving a wide range of biological problems. The specific goals are to develop informatics strategies useful for the prospection, diagnosis and study of biological systems and to create software that could be applied in the resolution of biological issues. This career comprises a total of 360 h (36 academic credits) and admits graduates as Agronomic Engineers, Licentiates in Biotechnology, Licentiates in Statistics, Licentiates in Genetics, Biochemists, Bioengineers, Medics, Veterinary Medics, System Analysis Engineers, or an equivalent university degree. Postgraduate students completing the academic requisites will acquire biological, informatics, computational, and statistical solid knowledge. They will obtain the degree of Specialist in Bioinformatics, whose professional competences are to employ informatics applications in biological sciences, to assume a critical and reflexive attitude in the search and diffusion of novel information, and to collaborate in interdisciplinary teams with a proactive approach. The program of study is organized in three cycles, according to the complexity of subjects under study. Cycle I or Initial is introductory and comprises three courses: Biological Systems and their Organization Levels, Problems and Applications in Bioinformatics, and Programming for Sequences Analysis. Cycle II or Intermediary is methodological and comprises four courses: Programming for Database, Distributed Applications, Univariate Statistics, and Multivariate Statistics. Cycle III or Final is integrative and comprises two obligatory courses: Data mining and Experimental Design, and two elective ones. Students would choose among Population and Quantitative Genetics, Modern Methods in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and System Administration for accomplishing Elective I, and among Digital Image Processing, Logic of Programming, Modeling Biological Process, and Three-way Analysis to achieve Elective II. A Final Monograph is required to fulfill the Specialization. Presently this postgraduate career is on the accreditation process by the National Commission of University Evaluation and Accreditation (CONEAU), and has been approved in the internal evaluation by UNR.