Personalized medicine is one of the fastest-growing fields in bioscience with no slowdown in sight. It’s changing the way people are diagnosed, treated, and how we pursue preventative care, says Janani Rangarajan, a bioinformatician who has witnessed the benefits of individualized medicine in her own family.
“Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has emerged as a powerful tool in the field of cancer research and treatment,” she says, referring to the sophisticated technique that allows comprehensive analysis of a patient’s genetic makeup so doctors can effectively target medicines to an individual.
Big Data Wranglers
Working behind the scenes are the bioinformaticians who bring an understanding of biology to their programming. They work at the intersection of biology, computer science, and statistics, helping to decipher the intricacies of DNA sequences that are revolutionizing drug discovery.
For example, a patient’s DNA sample is scanned for thousands of known mutations and abnormalities typically linked with particular types of cancer. The results of analysis often reveal which patients are ideal for receiving targeted treatment for personalized medicine or new therapies as part of clinical trials.
A Promising Job Outlook
For the tech-savvy biologist and the biologically-inclined programmer, there is plenty of opportunity.
“Everybody’s sequencing their genes now,” Rangarajan says. “It’s become the future of personalized medicine which means there will be a lot more handling of this kind of data. It’s going to keep expanding.”
The Next Generation of Bioinformaticians
As chair of the UCSC Silicon Valley Extension Bioinformatics certificate program, Rangarajan has been ensuring the next generation of bioinformaticians gets a boost into the field through a series of fast-paced, practical courses introducing basic concepts for people who want to get started in the field.
The certificate program provides the necessary foundation for people interested in transforming mountains of raw biological data into usable analysis.
“Once you understand the core concepts, you’ll understand what the industry is all about,” she says.
Is This Field for You?
People who want to get a taste of the field can get an overview in a new online course —Personal Development Seminar: Concepts in Next-Gen Sequence Analysis—that introduces people to the industry and next-generation sequencing. View the syllabus for this course.
Paul Saunders, who is teaching the online course, earned a Bioinformatics certificate from UCSC Silicon Valley Extension well into his career. He has held leadership positions in several companies in the region. In his course, he’ll show students how to get and process raw data. He’ll also be discussing programming needs for a bioinformatics career.
“The bioinformatics analyst needs to know what to look for, Rangarajan says. “You need to always understand the basics in addition to being a good programmer so you understand what a mismatch is. You need the foundation.”
What Great Bioinformatics Have on Their Resume
- A strong programming background (Python or R Programming)
- Application development experience
- Market awareness about the industry
- Some understanding of statistics
- Interest in molecular biology
- Skills with Big Data and Relational data
- The desire to make a difference