Iowa State University
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Bioinformatics & Computational Biology Undergraduate Major (BCBIO)
BCBIO
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Biology Undergraduate Major
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Intro to BCBIO major
 New Major. The new B.S. program in Bioinformatics and
Computational Biology offered by Iowa State University's College
of Liberal Arts and Sciences was approved by the Board of
Regents in summer 2007. Its first class of freshmen entered fall
2008.
 Motivation
 Growing demand for individuals trained in bioinformatics and
computational biology.
 Success of ISU graduate program in BCB.
 Administration. By departments of Computer Science;
Genetics, Development and Cell Biology; and Mathematics.
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What is “bioinformatics”?
 Study how DNA is used by living
organisms
 Study how DNA can be utilized to
solve problems
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Sample ultimate problems
 What is the role of a particular gene?
 Does a particular gene help cause a
disease?
 How does a drug affect a cell?
 Can we insert a gene into corn to protect it
against diseases or pests?
 Can we design a drug to accomplish a
particular purpose?
 Can we build a cell that eats pollution?
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Why would a student choose this
major? (A)
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To prepare for graduate study in Bioinformatics or Computational
Biology. Graduate programs in this field typically recruit students with
dual majors at the undergraduate level, or a degree in computer
science, biology, or mathematics with a documented interest in one of
the other fields. Such approaches to BCB graduate study (1) typically
take longer, (2) provide little introduction to the actual discipline and little
practice translating between two very different languages of science. An
undergraduate degree in BCBIO should make students attractive to the
many bioinformatics Ph.D. programs around the country.
To prepare for certain jobs in the pharmaceutical or biotechnology
industries. The future is hard to predict. There are jobs related to hightech agriculture (new varieties of plants), industrial organisms, biofuels,
pharmaceuticals (designer drugs). Some of these jobs are in Iowa.
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Why would a student choose this
major? (B)
 Interests matching the discipline. Genome analysis, genome
annotation, comparative genomics, computational evolutionary
biology, analysis of gene expression, prediction of molecular
structure, modeling molecular and cellular networks/systems,
data mining/synthesis of disparate data.
 To combine two interests in one degree. There are many
students interested in biology and a second discipline, such as
computer science, mathematics, statistics, physics, or
engineering. BCBIO is one way for students to avoid
surrendering either interest.
 For a diverse learning experience. The large group of
participating faculty provides students with a multidimensional
perspective and a broad range of possibilities to get involved in
research.
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What type of student would probably
be successful?

The student should have an interest and competence in a quantitative
science--computer science, mathematics, statistics, or engineering.

The student must hold a fascination with biology, for it is biology that
motivates all the problems of bioinformatics.

Good communication skills and patience are essential because the
student will need to communicate with both quantitative scientists and
biologists, who speak very distinct languages. It can take years to build an
interdisciplinary team able to solve one bioinformatics problem.

The student must be a strong problem-solver and be creative, as s/he will
need to make connections between disciplines that traditionally don’t overlap
and are largely taught in isolation. Most courses in the program are pure
discipline courses.
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What are the requirements?
In addition to degree requirements in the LAS Curriculum, BCBIO majors must satisfy the
following requirements:
• Complementary Courses for the BCBIO Major (34 cr)
1. Chemistry (177, 177L, 178) or (201, 201L) and 331.
2. Physics 221.
3. Statistics (330 or 341) and 430.
4. Biology 211, 211L, 212, 212L and 314.
• Core Courses within the BCBIO Major (48 cr)
1. Genetics 313, 313L and 409.
2. Computer Science 227, 228, 363, and 330 (or Cpr E 310).
3. Mathematics 165, 166, 265 and (307 or 317).
4. BCBIO 110, 211, 401, 402.
5. BCBIO 490 or 491 (3 cr)
• Bioinformatics Support Electives: 3-9 credits to be chosen from:
BCB 548, 593, 594, 596
Physics 222
BBMB 404, 405
Biology 315, 423, 462, 465, 472
Genetics 340, 410
Statistics 342, 402, 416, 432, 480
Computer Science and Cpr E courses at the 300 level and above
Mathematics 266, 304, 314, 385, 481.
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LAS College Requirements
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Foreign language
Library 160
English composition: 150, 250, (312 or 314)
Arts and Humanities (12 cr)
Social Sciences (9 cr)
Courses must include one satisfying a U.S. Diversity and
one satisfying an International Perspective requirement
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What courses are good for “sampling”
this major?
The program is fully aware that many students do not know what BCBIO
really is. Built into the requirements is an orientation course. It also
brings together students who may not otherwise share many courses
together.
BCBIO 110. BCBIO Orientation (1-0) Cr. 0.5. F. First 8 weeks.
Orientation to the area of bioinformatics and computational
biology. For students considering a major in BCBIO.
Specializations and career opportunities. Offered on a
satisfactory-fail grading basis only.
BCBIO 211. Introduction to Bioinformatics and
Computational Biology. (3-0) Cr. 3. S. Perl programming,
molecular biology, biological databases, sequence alignment,
homology search, identification of sequence patterns,
construction of phylogenetic trees, gene function prediction,
gene structure prediction, genomic annotation and comparative
genomics.
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Graduate Study in Bioinformatics
Many students will continue to graduate school, whether for a masters or
a doctoral degree.
There seems to be a fair demand for M.S. level bioinformaticians in
industry.
The highest paying jobs often are for people with a Ph.D.
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What are the career possibilities for
graduates?
 Academia. There is increasing demand for
bioinformaticians in academia. To prepare for such
careers, students would continue to graduate school
for a Ph.D.
 Biotechnology industry. There is particular demand
in biotechnology pertaining particularly to personal
care, industrial organisms, and agriculture. This
includes jobs in Iowa.
 Pharmaceutical industry. Designer drugs and
predicting the in vivo effect of drugs in silico are two
major, and still largely untapped possibilities for the
pharmaceutical industry where bioinformaticians could
have a role to play.
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Job Search Webpages
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Medzilla.com
Biospace.com
Jobsonline.com
Bioplanet.com
Bioinformatics.fr
Biohealthmatics.com
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What do current job ads seek?
 Biological knowledge
 Database: SQL server, Oracle, Sybase,
Mybase, CORBA, Perl, Java, C, C++, web
scripting
 Genomic sequence analysis
 Molecular modeling tools
 Good bridge between molecular
scientists and computer scientists
 Filter information, data mining
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Is there a minor?
No. Not yet.
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Summary and Conclusion
 Bioinformatics is an exciting, relatively new
discipline (10 B.S. programs in 2003, 40
programs in 2010*) that many believe will
be part of the foundation for the “century of
biology.”
 Students are required to show skills in
mathematics, statistics, computer science,
and biology.
*http://www.collegeboard.com/
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