Course Description
Technological advances have driven a genomics revolution impacting nearly every biological discipline and application. These advances have dramatically increased the scale and scope of genomic datasets and the rate they can be produced. Unfortunately, while producing genomics data is now relatively cheap and easy, it is still a challenge to properly analyze these data. Computational genomics and bioinformatics encompass the methods and tools we use to extract biologically meaningful information from these complex genomic data.
CSB472 will teach you the fundamentals of biological data analysis. This course emphasizes understanding how core bioinformatic algorithms work, the strengths and weaknesses of related analytical approaches, and the important parameters embedded in these analyses. CSB472 is not an applied methods course, nor a course to for developing new bioinformatic tools, but rather a course designed to provide a basic understanding of the principles and algorithms underlying genome analyses. We will examine the fundamentals of sequence alignment, database searches, phylogenetic analyses, genome annotation, gene prediction, and gene expression data analysis. Since CSB472 is more focused on fundamentals than application, students primarily interested in working with bioinformatic tools rather than understanding how the tools work should consider taking CSB352 instead of CSB472.
Prerequisite
BIO230H1 / BIO255H1
Recommended Preparation
BIO260H1 / HMB265H1
Lecturer(s)
Prof. D. Guttman
Prof. A. Yang
Contact Hours
24L, 12T
Recommended text(s)/Readings
Jonathan Pevsner, Bioinformatics and Functional Genomics, 3rd edition (2015)
Evaluation (Subject to change)
One assignment/presentation: 15%
Midterm: 30%
Final: 30%
Quizzes: 15%
Participation: 10%
Last updated on August 22nd, 2022