ABOUT THE PROGRAM

Brief Outline

The course provides competence in computational biology/bioinformatics by providing training in the areas of cell and molecular biology, computer science, statistics and bioinformatics. Lectures, seminars and hands-on projects, both in-house and during corporate or academic internships, form part of the learning process at IBAB.

Contemporary and common genetic engineering techniques/laboratory procedures which include gene cloning, DNA sequencing and protein purification etc. are integral to the IBAB curriculum. Extensive research time and net connectivity is provided to allow access to the enormous amount of data and information available on the World Wide Web and to develop bioinformatics products of interest and practical utility. Such an approach provides students with an understanding of how biological experimentation is carried out and also the kind of theoretical inputs that are required to meaningfully design and conduct experiments and possibly design new protocols. This kind of facility is available at only a few bioinformatics centers and IBAB is taking an integrated approach.

Every student is provided an access to a fully loaded high-end Pentium 4 PC, round-the-clock unlimited access to the internet. Lectures are delivered by in-house faculty, distinguished academics and industry scientists from leading institutions/companies. A very large amount of time is devoted to learning through material available on line, journals, seminars/tutorials, group discussions etc. Thus the extensive lecture/tutorial program is supplemented by an enabling environment and associated self-learning through assignments and project work.

The 18 months course is structured into a trimester system the first two semesters being devoted to in-house training (as outlined above) and a full-time internship to be executed in the third semester, either in-house or at other academic/industrial institutions.

18 months (3 semesters).

(A) 1st Semester	: Sep-Feb (six months)
(B) 2nd Semester	: Mar-Aug (six months)
(C) Internships	: Sep-Feb (six months)

There is a 15-day break between each semester.

Subjects

I Semester

Introduction to computers and operating systems
Introduction to C
Internet/www in bioinformatics
Introduction to various bioinformatics software
Mathematics and statistics for biologists/bioinformatics
Foundation course in molecular/cell biology
Foundation course in chemistry
Basic biochemistry and biomolecular structures

II Semester

Introduction to PERL and Java
Databases and Data structures basics
Fundamentals and advances in microbiology
Biotechnology lab course
Methods for sequence analysis
Bioinformatics in drug design and discovery
Computational analysis of cellular signalling
Computational methods for gene structure prediction
Biomolecular modelling and simulations
Introduction to Microarrays
Intellectual property issues
Entrepreneurship in bio-related areas
Basics of clinical trials
In-house project

III Semester

Internships

“IBAB has given my career and life a whole new dimension, and I will be ever indebted for this.”

"The professional qualifications and personal dedication of the staff, the team work, the interaction and the sharing highly intensify the learning atmosphere...."

"In the 'outer' world you are a physicist, a biologist or a computer wizard as is certified in your degree. At IBAB, they teach you how to be all in one."
   
"IBAB is my second home now. I love it's personality, it's colour, it's intensity and the warmth of the people. At IBAB we are birds of different feathers flocking together."

"This is to thank you and IBAB as a whole for the wonderful platform that has been provided to us. Not just the professional front, but IBAB has also played a vital role in our personal developments. "