Teaching Methodologies
Theoretical classes: Presentation of new concepts, problems and methods of optimization/data analysis
Practical classes: Application of knowledge, research and information analysis and application of optimization and machine learning algorithms to problems in the area.
Learning Results
In this course, students acquire knowledge about the area of Bioinformatics, making contact with relevant problems from the area of biology that are solved through the application of different computational techniques. The course presents the main web tools, such as databases containing information about the genome of different species and computer applications to manipulate the stored data. An important component of the course will focus on the application of optimization and data analysis algorithms to real problems arising in the field of Bioinformatics.
Program
1. Introduction to Bioinformatics
1.1. Objectives of bioinformatics
1.2. Relevance of bioinformatics
1.3. Examples of Problems
2. Bioinformatics on the Web
2.1. Online Databases: Accessing, Searching and Collecting Information
2.2. Online computer applications
3. Sequence Alignment
3.1. Similarity measures
3.2. Alignment Types
3.3. Pair vs. Multiple alignment
4. Phylogeny
4.1. Construction and analysis of phylogenetic trees
4.2. Maximum parsimony vs. maximum likelihood methods
4.3. Application of clustering algorithms to determine phylogenetic relationships
5. Structural Bioinformatics
5.1. Structural levels of proteins
5.2. Protein Folding
5.3. Tools for Visualization and Structural Analysis
5.4. Protein structure prediction
Internship(s)
NAO
Bibliography
A. Lesk (2020). Introduction to Bioinformatics, (5th Edition), Oxford University Press.
A. D. Baxevanis, G. D. Bader, D. S. Wishart (Editors) (2020). Bioinformatics: A Practical Guide to the Analysis of Genes and Proteins (4th Edition). Wiley.
P. Compeau, P. Pevzner (2018). Bioinformatics Algorithms: An Active Learning Approach (3rd Edition). Active Learning Publishers.
J. M. Claverie, C. Notredame (2007). Bioinformatics for Dummies, Wiley Publishing.