CATALOG - University of Maryland University College

COURSE DESCRIPTIONSBIFS (Bioinformatics)BIFS 613 Statistical Processes for Biotechnology (3)(Formerly BIOT 613.) Prerequisite: Knowledge of basic statistics.A study of statistical tools—such as Bayesian statistics, Markovprocesses, and information theoric indices—and how they canbe used to analyze sequence homology, the presence of motifs insequences, gene expression, and gene regulation. Topics includeinformation content, mutual information, long-range correlation,repeats, Fourier analysis, and linguistic methods.BIFS 614 Data Structures and Algorithms (3)(Formerly CSMN 614.) An introduction to the definitions, implementations,and applications of the most basic data structures used incomputer science, including abstract data types. Basic formalism andconcepts used in algorithm design and the analysis of algorithms arealso introduced. The relative efficiency of the algorithms studied isestimated by informal application of these concepts. Algorithms anddata structures discussed include those for sorting, searching, solvinggraph problems, and dynamic programming.BIFS 617 Advanced Bioinformatics (3)(Formerly BIOT 617.) An overview of the basic programmingtools for performing bioinformatic analyses in both the UNIXand MS DOS/Window environments. Focus is on the use ofPerl and BioPerl as the basic programming tools. Basic programmingskills are developed and practiced on such problems as codonusage/bias, open reading frame, CpG islands detection, and geneidentification.BIFS 618 Java for Biotechnology Applications (3)A study of basic concepts in Java and object-oriented programmingin bioinformatics application development. Emphasis is on Webbased,graphical, and database-driven application design. Reviewcovers the function and design of some Java-based bioinformaticstools. Some commonly used libraries in the BioJava project areintroduced, and developments of reusable modular-applicationobjects are examined. Basic problem-solving skills in the field ofbiotechnology using Java programming are developed throughpractical projects.BIFS 619 Gene Expression Data Analysis (3)A study of high-throughput technologies for transcriptome andgenomic aberration profiling. Topics include statistical theories, algorithmsand data analysis tools for microarray experiments, array comparativegenome hybridization, SNP array experiments, and supervisedand unsupervised machine learning technologies for class discoveryand classifier identifications. Practice is provided in the preprocessof empirical gene expression profiling and the postprocess ofmicroarray data analysis for identifying differentially regulated genesrelated to biological functions. Several legacy databases and data integrationstrategies in gene expression profiling are explored throughdata mining and functional annotation of interesting genes; statisticalprinciples and theories are illustrated.BIOT (Biotechnology Studies)BIOT 601 Molecular Biology for Business Managers (3)A thorough grounding in the fundamentals of biology, includinga broad review of the life sciences with emphasis on molecular biology.Topics include the basic concepts and processes of cell biology,molecular biology, and immunology. The components of a cell, theprocesses occurring in a single cell, and the functioning of a multicellularorganism are explained. Discussion also covers the use ofmodel organisms to understand basic and applied biology.BIOT 630 Introduction to Bioinformatics (3)(Formerly BIOT 610.) An introduction to bioinformatics.Emphasis is on the interpretation of data. Topics include new,sophisticated DNA, RNA, and protein sequence analyses andpattern recognition and DNA computing, as well as more traditionalmathematical modeling (using Bayesian probability andbasic algorithms, machine learning and neural networks, andMarkov models and dynamic programming). Discussion alsocovers the analysis of tridimensional structures, phylogenicrelationships, and genomic and proteomic data.BIOT 640 Societal Issues in Biotechnology (3)An examination of current societal issues in biotechnology fromseveral perspectives. Topics include the commercialization of biotechnology;biohazards; managerial views of legal issues and bioethics;the need for public scrutiny; environmental and culturalissues; and the role of governmental regulatory agencies in researching,developing, and commercializing biotechnology. An overviewof the early history and modern developments of biotechnologyis provided.74GRADUATE CATALOG | 2008–2009