Biology 526H: Computational Genetics
Fall 2008
Modern
biology has been revolutionized by the application of computational,
statistical and mathematical tools to new genetics and genomics
technologies. This interdisciplinary course will explore the
fundamental mathemetical principles that underly sequence and genome
analysis tools being used by contemporary researchers. Topics include
sequence alignment, genome annotation, analysis of sequence
variability, phylogenetics, and analysis of gene expression and its
regulation.
4 credit hours, including a 1-hour computer lab.
Note that this course is taught in the fall semester of alternate years.
Instructors
- Todd Vision, Associate Professor of Biology
- office hours: Tuesday 1-3pm, 102 Coker Hall
- Thomas (Toby) Clarke (TA)
- phone: 843-4508
- email: thclarke@email.unc.edu
- office hours: Wed 1-3pm.
Enrollment
This course is intended for advanced undergraduates and beginning
graduate students in the life sciences. Students should have taken the
following UNC courses or their equivalents, or receive permission from
the instructor.
- BIOL 202: Genetics and Molecular Biology (or equivalent)
- COMP 101: Computers: Power Tools for the Mind (or equivalent)
- STOR 155 - Introduction to Statistics (or equivalent)
Enrollment is limited to 15 undergraduate and 5 graduate students.
Honors students are given priority for the undergraduate seats. A grade
point average of 3.2 is required for all undergraduates.
No
specific programming language is required as a prerequisite, The R
statistical programming language will be used in this course, but no
prior experience is assumed. Familiarity with UNIX command line will
also be helpful.
Schedule
Tues & Thurs 11:00am-12:15pm, Hamilton 150
Lab: Thurs 1:00pm-1:50pm, Hamilton 150
Reading
 | Introduction to Computational Genomics: A Case Studies
Approach
Nello Cristianini and Matthew W. Hahn
Cambridge
University Press (ISBN-13 978-0-521-67191-0). |
Supplementary readings will be made available via class handouts and
through the Blackboard site. Several advanced books are on reserve at
the House Undergraduate Library.
Computer Labs
In
the first two-thirds of the semester, the lab sessions will be an
opportunity for guided work on problem-set assignments. In the
final third of the semester, the lab sessions will provide an
opportunity to work on independent projects under the beneficient
eyes of the instructor and TA.
The statistical programming language R will be used for computer labs.
For more information
Please see the syllabus.