Great Ideas in Computational Biology II

Catalog description

This course introduces great ideas that have formed the foundation for the recent transformation of life sciences into a fully-fledged computational discipline. Extracting biological understanding from both large and small data sets now requires the use and design of novel algorithms, developed in the field of computational biology. This course is the second in a two-course sequence, offering a gateway exposure for students showing fundamental algorithmic techniques that are used in modern biological investigations. It is designed for first-year undergraduates in the School of Computer Science, although it is open to other computationally minded students who are interested in exploring the field. Whereas the first course in the sequence focuses on genomics, this second course largely introduces topics outside of DNA, from proteins, to neural networks, to a study of algorithms that nature has evolved to solve problems. Previous exposure to molecular biology is not required. After completion of the course, students will be well equipped to tackle advanced computational challenges in biology. Prerequisites: ( 02-120 or 15-112 ) and ( 21-127 or 21-128 or 15-151 )