Training in Bioinformatics and Integrative Genomics

Project Summary We propose to continue the Bioinformatics and Integrative Genomics (BIG) pre-doctoral training program at Harvard Medical School. Since its inception in 2000, this program has provided rigorous multidisciplinary education in genome sciences for those students with proven excellence in quantitative areas and deep interest in biological and medical applications. Our program aims to train independent investigators who are capable of integrating genome-scale technologies into experimental studies to address fundamental questions in biology and developing computational methods and mathematical models to interpret large-scale genomic datasets. The BIG training program draws on three significant strengths of the local academic environment: the breadth of talented investigators at Harvard Medical School and its affiliated hospitals and research institutes; the rich variety of quantitatively-oriented courses in bioinformatics and genomics offered at Harvard and MIT; and national leadership of BIG faculty in genome-scale disease research, including harnessing of genomic approaches for clinical applications. The BIG pre-doctoral curriculum includes the following: 1) courses in fundamentals of genetics and molecular biology, taken alongside graduate students in the biological sciences; 2) statistics and machine learning, with applications to basic biology, population studies, and clinical medicine; 3) a survey of the larger scope of biomedical sciences, including medical informatics and translational medicine. This training program will continue to produce leaders in both academia and industry who are using genomic sciences to advance biomedical research.