Bioinformatics in the Undergraduate Curriculum: Opportunities for Computer Science Educators

Biology has become an increasingly data-driven science. Modern experimental techniques, including automated DNA sequencing, gene expression micro arrays, and X-ray crystallography are producing molecular data at a rate that has made traditional data analysis methods impractical. Computational methods are becoming an increasingly important aspect of the evaluation and analysis of experimental data in molecular biology. Bioinformatics is the term coined for the new field that merges biology and computer science to manage and analyze this data, with the ultimate goal of understanding and modeling living systems [1]. The emergence of bioinformatics provides new challenges and opportunities for computer science educators. This panel assembles four individuals who collectively have experience teaching bioinformatics at both liberal arts colleges and universities, and who also have industry experience in bioinformatics, to discuss various approaches to incorporating bioinformatics into the undergraduate curriculum.