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Training Experimental Biologists in Bioinformatics

DOI: 10.1155/2012/672749

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Abstract:

Bioinformatics, for its very nature, is devoted to a set of targets that constantly evolve. Training is probably the best response to the constant need for the acquisition of bioinformatics skills. It is interesting to assess the effects of training in the different sets of researchers that make use of it. While training bench experimentalists in the life sciences, we have observed instances of changes in their attitudes in research that, if well exploited, can have beneficial impacts in the dialogue with professional bioinformaticians and influence the conduction of the research itself. 1. Introduction Bioinformatics uses biological information to study biological problems in a wide range of scales with the help of computer science methods. The adoption of Bioinformatics methodologies reaches areas that go from simple quantitative assessments that can help to solve a single focus problem, to projects that lead to the development of fully fledged workflows, employing a wide diversity of tools for addressing large-scale, data intensive analytical tasks. It is very difficult to build an exhaustive, categorized list of the multidisciplinary skills that are required. The diversity of backgrounds and professional aims of the trainees, the constant evolution of Bioinformatics methods, and the heterogeneity of the data resources are the major sources of difficulty that a provider of quality training needs to identify and characterize. Practical skills in Bioinformatics need to be acquired on top of existing knowledge. The first exposure to Bioinformatics methods has often been the result of participating in workshops, summer schools and training courses, collaborations and direct transfer of skills from colleagues, or just self-study. Most people that use Bioinformatics professionally have graduate level studies in Biochemistry, Biology, Medicine, Biotechnology, and more rarely, in Mathematics, Computer Science, Chemistry, or Engineering. The need for cross-disciplinary training exists, naturally, as Bioinformatics resulted from the confluence of these disciplines. 2. The Origin of the Needs It has become absolutely crucial for experimentalists to acquire at least basic skills to query, retrieve, and relate the biological information that is constantly accumulating in various databases. Otherwise, the risk of becoming “illiterate” and being outpaced in the respective field rises sharply. This pressure has very much revolutionized the experimentalists’ attitude in research, increasing awareness about the data and information resources, aimed at identifying

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