Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering (BMES) - Biomedical Informatics Concentration

The biomedical informatics concentration focuses on the management, analysis and visualization of data that is generated in molecular and cellular biology, genomics and other areas of biology and biomedicine. Students are trained in the development of useful computational models of living systems and novel informatics technologies in life sciences. Bioinformatics is an emerging field of science that is concerned with the management, analysis and visualization of the flood of data being generated in molecular and cellular biology, genomics and other areas of biology and biomedicine. The field of bioinformatics enables information at the gene, protein, cell, tissue, organ, and system level to be integrated and interpreted for early detection, accurate diagnosis, and effective treatment of complex diseases such as cancer. The biomedical informatics concentration includes courses in biology, computer science, and information technology. The concentration introduces information handling systems for people in the allied health professions, with specific examples drawn from health care and covers locating, manipulating, and displaying information in the health system setting. Students are also introduced to the mathematical and computational analysis of biological systems. The systems analyzed include the genome, protein and gene networks, cell division cycles, and cellular level disease. Mathematical tools include matrix algebra, differential equations, cellular automata, and cluster analysis. Upon graduation, students will be able to: select, access and integrate bioinformatics related databases for applications in genomics and proteomics; apply biostatistical techniques to analyze high-throughput data for genotyping, gene expression and proteomics data; develop and evaluate computational models to describe and simulate gene regulatory, protein and metabolic networks.