BIOINFORMATICS
Room 107, Scates Hall
(901) 678-3550

Ramin Homayouni, PhD
Program Director

Email: rhomayon@memphis.edu
http://cas.memphis.edu/binf/

I. Master of Science in Bioinformatics

Bioinformatics is an emerging multidisciplinary field which combines mathematical and computer science approaches to solve biological problems. The Master’s in Bioinformatics is designed to train highly skilled individuals with fundamental understanding of computer programming and data structures, statistical analysis of data, as well as genomics and systems biology.

A. Admission Requirements

  1. Admission to the Graduate School;
  2. GRE scores are required and are an important factor for admission;
  3. Two letters of recommendation;
  4. A minimum score of 550 on the paper-based TOEFL, 210 on the computer-based TOEFL, or 80 on the internet-based TOEFL (for students whose native language is not English), passing scores on the IELTS will be accepted in lieu of TOEFL scores;
  5. Undergraduate degree in biology, computer science, or related field with a minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.

B. Prerequisites

  1. Satisfactory completion of the following courses (or their equivalents) as determined by the Program Director:
    1. Computer Science
      1. Computer Programming (COMP 4001)
      2. Advanced Data Structures and Algorithms (COMP 3160)
    2. Mathematics
      1. Calculus I and II ( MATH 1321 and 2321)
      2. Introduction to Statistical Reasoning and Application (MATH 1601)
      3. Discrete Structures (MATH 2701)
    3. Biology
      1. Biochemistry I (BIOL 4511-6511; same as CHEM 4511)
      2. Cell Biology (BIOL 3130)

C. Program Requirements:

  1. Candidates must satisfactorily complete 37 credit hours of graduate course work (27 of which must be 7000 level or higher) as approved by the Program Advisor and distributed as follows:
    1. Major Field Core (13 credit hours):
      2. BINF 7980 Research Seminar in Bioinformatics
      COMP 6030 Introduction to Algorithms or COMP 7712 Algorithms Implementation and Problem Solving
      COMP 7295 Introduction to Bioinformatics
      MATH 6635 Introduction to Probability Theory
      MATH 7221 Statistical Methods for Analyzing Gene Expression Data

    2. Biology: 6 credit hours chosen from:
      BIOL 7131 Cell and Molecular Biology
      BIOL 7470 Advanced Bacterial Genetics
      BINF 7701 Introduction to Genomics, Proteomics & Bioinformatics
      BIOL 7703 Molecular Biology of Cancer
      BIOM 7004 Life Sciences for Biomedical Engineering I

    3. Electives: 9 credit hours chosen from:
      BIOL 6480 Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology
      CHEM 6415 Computational Chemistry
      CHEM 7711 Approximate Chemical Modeling Methods
      COMP 6081 Software Development
      COMP 6262 Programming in UNIX
      COMP 6601 Models of Computation
      COMP 7115 Database Systems
      COMP 7116 Advanced Database Systems
      COMP 7117 Topics in Database Management Systems
      COMP 7118 Data Mining
      COMP 7282 Evolutionary Computations
      COMP 7290 Molecular Computing
      COMP 7717 Topics in Algorithm
      COMP 7740 Neural Networks
      MATH 6607 Introduction to SAS Programming
      MATH 7641 Analysis of Variance
      MATH 7642 Design of Experiments
      MATH 7643 Regression Analysis
      MATH 7647 Nonparametric Methods
      MATH 7657 Multivariate Methods
      MATH 7660 Applied Time Series Analysis
      MATH 7680 Bayesian Inference
      MATH 7685 Statistical Computing and Simulation
      MATH 7695 Bootstrap and Other Resampling Methods
    4. Thesis: 3 credit hours BINF 7996 Thesis or BINF 7992 Bioinformatics Project

BIOINFORMATICS (BINF)

7701. Introduction to Genomics, Proteomics & Bioinformatics. (3) Accelerated introduction to molecular and genomic sciences, covering basic concepts of gene and protein structure/ function, genome sequencing and annotation, single nucleotide polymorphism, genetic variation, gene expression, and functional genomics and proteomics. PREREQUISITE: Permission of Instructor.

7980. Research Seminar in Bioinformatics. (1). Current research topics in Bioinformatics.

†7991. Bioinformatics Internship. (1-3). Supervised practical experience conducted in industrial, academic research or clinical research organizations. The project must be approved by the program director and may be supervised by any faculty in the program. A written report is required. May be repeated for a total of 12 semester hours. NOTE: Credit is not applicable toward Bioinformatics Master’s Degree.

†7992. Bioinformatics Project. (3). Research project conducted in lieu of a Master’s Thesis under the supervision of a faculty advisor. The project must be approved by the program director and may be supervised by any faculty in the program. A written report and an oral presentation are required for satisfactory completion of the course.

†7996. Bioinformatics Thesis. (1-3). Supervised research in preparation for advanced degree thesis. May be repeated for up to 6 hours.

†Grades of S, U, or IP will be given.