Research Training for Computation and Informatics in Biology and Medicine

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The Computation and Informatics in Biology and Medicine (CIBM) training program is helping to produce the next generation of researchers of biomedical problems with strengths in both informatics and biology. The interplay between computational and statistical methods in the biomedical sciences continues to expand rapidly so that now both computer modeling and informatics play key roles. Our faculty and trainees have been developing robust algorithms for the analysis of molecular data. Increasingly, questions in the biosciences are being phrased for these more quantitative approaches, and computer scientists are discovering new computational approaches in attempting to address biological problems. Furthermore, the power of new hardware, algorithms, and software is transforming our thinking about complex systems research. These advances are only possible when computer scientists understand enough about the problems to design usable tools and when bioscientists understand what is possible using computational and information technologies. CIBM has focused on the development of novel bioinformatics algorithms to analyze molecular data, including genome sequences, proteins (levels, interactions, structures), and regulatory pathways. We propose that for phase two of the program that we continue this focus and to further distinguish our program by adding a unique translational medicine component. In a collaboration with the Marshfield Clinic, our trainees will have the added opportunity to develop algorithms to predict clinical parameters, such as disease susceptibility or treatment response, from combined molecular and clinical data. A strong training program, including a multidisciplinary core curriculum has been developed at CIBM, and the environment at the University of Wisconsin in biology and computational sciences provides a rich setting for research training at the graduate and postdoctoral level.