WPI’s master’s in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (BCB) will prepare you to become a truly interdisciplinary scientist with expertise in computer science, informatics, and statistics on the one hand, and life sciences on the other.
While other schools offer Bioinformatics as a concentration within a Biology program, WPI’s BCB department draws equally from three disciplines—Biology, Computer Science, and Mathematics. You will become versed in each and specialize in one, working alongside expert researchers to translate staggering volumes of biological data into new knowledge and uncover meaningful ways to improve health care and the environment.
Through our well-rounded master’s in bioinformatics and computational biology curriculum, you will be expected to develop a base of knowledge In Biology, Computer Science, and Mathematics, but how you do so is up to you—choose courses from virology to environmental challenges; design of software systems to artificial intelligence; and Bayesian statistics to regression analysis.
You can also take unique interdisciplinary courses in topics including biovisualization, biomedical database mining, simulation in biology, and statistical methods in genetics and bioinformatics.
No matter what topics you choose, you will have many chances to apply your growing knowledge to solve real problems through hands-on projects. You will also synthesize your learning with a research-based thesis or industrial internship.
WPI’s research in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology is as diverse as our wide-ranging course selection. You will have many opportunities to work alongside faculty and student researchers who are solving biological problems using mathematical and computational analysis in these areas:
My research is interdisciplinary and spans the fields of bioinformatics of complex disease, computational genomics, systems biology, and biomedical data analytics. We bring expertise in machine learning, data mining and massive data analytics to study molecular mechanisms underlying genetic disorders, such as cancer, diabetes, and autism, and deadly infections, such as pandemic flu. Our approaches benefit from integrating Next Generation Sequencing, high-throughput interactomics, and structural biology data.
I have a long-standing interest in applying computer science and mathematics to solve biological problems. I am currently the Associate Director of WPI’s Program in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, and I am always looking for students with interests in this exciting interdisciplinary area. One of my goals in teaching biology is to help students to think more quantitatively about biological questions. A few years ago, my colleague Dr. Brian White of UMass Boston and I were awarded a grant from the NSF to develop a course, “Simulation in Biology”.
Work in my lab is focused on defining the cellular mechanisms that maintain genome stability in normal cells and understanding how these pathways are corrupted in cancer cells.
Carolina Ruiz is the Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences and the Harold L. Jurist ’61 and Heather E. Jurist Dean's Professor of Computer Science. She joined the WPI faculty in 1997. Prof. Ruiz’s research is in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Data Mining, and their applications to Medicine and Health. She has worked on several clinical domains including sleep, stroke, obesity and pancreatic cancer. Prof.
I have a passion for understanding how living systems work, as well as for sharing my love of biology and research with the next generation of scientists and informed citizens.
The central goal of my lab is to understand the regulatory mechanisms that underlie mycobacterial stress tolerance. We combine genetics, genomics, transcriptomics and biochemistry to understand how mycobacteria respond to, and ultimately survive, stressful conditions.
Professor Wu's research interest lies in applying the power of statistical science to promote biomedical researches. In statistical genetics, he is developing novel statistical theory and methodology to analyze genome-wide association (GWA) data and deep (re)sequencing data to hunt new genetic factors for complex human diseases. In epigenetics, he is studying gene expression regulation mechanisms through chromatin interaction, and RNA silencing pathways in the developmental stages of germ-line cells.
If you’re intrigued by the growing quantitative and digital side of the bioinformatics and computational biology field, now is the time to push the boundaries of what is possible. Explore some of your pressing questions about master’s in bioinformatics salary, job opportunities, and even sample companies that hire our WPI grads on our career outlook page. Are you asking yourself what does a computational biologist do or is a master’s in bioinformatics worth it? We are here to help mold graduates into pursuing a rewarding career.
Do you already have your master’s in bioinformatics and computational biology and are looking to elevate this expertise to solve pressing problems? Our PhD in bioinformatics and computational biology enables students to create and apply the tools needed to predict and prevent disease. Maybe you have a particular interest in experimental and computational biomedical sciences? Our computational biomedical sciences and engineering PhD is offered as a joint program with the University of Massachusetts Medical School, providing students a multidisciplinary and collaborative research experience.
If you know you’re interested in using computational tools and you’re equally interested in biological systems, using the two together leads to a fulfilling and meaningful career. To get started, explore WPI’s BS in bioinformatics and computational biology to discover all the ways you can follow your interests while making a significant impact in the world. You’ll combine computer science, biology, and mathematical sciences to study biological systems with a computational approach. If this cutting-edge field interests you but you are pursuing a different major, a minor in bioinformatics and computational biology can give you a solid foundation in these tools that you’ll apply to a life sciences career or to your overall studies.
