Bio and IT - A powerful combination Bioinformatics combines biology & biochemistry with modern, intelligent techniques from computer science. Almost every laboratory has at least one computer. Visible as Laptop or integrated in a machine. Continuous increasing amounts of data from these laboratories can not be evaluated any longer only by hand or with simple spreadsheet applications. For example the decoding of the human genome became possible only through bioinformatics at all. And the amount of biological data still increases. Great Britan started to decode the genome of about 100.000 patients (sequencing). Investment: over 100 Millionen Pounds. Goal: Targeting cause of diseases in the human genotype and finding new more efficent drugs against certain kinds of tumors or drug resistances. But this is just one example for a bioinformatics project.

University of Applied Sciences Emden/Leer In Emden you can study biotechnology focusing on bioinformatics (BT/BI) and specialize on bioinformatics in the master's degree course in Applied Life Sciences (MALS). During focusing on bioinformatics you will learn state of the art techniques in genomics, systems biology and image processing. In our department you can participate in various projects which are deliberately adapted to your own learning speed. Besides, the projects and training periods in our bioinformatics courses are processed in small teams. Also the practical orientation is very important to us: all projects and trainings are based on actual questions from biology, biotechnology, medicine or computer science.

3D protein structure „Finally after 5 years of research I discovered the approximate structure (function,etc) of protein XYZ“
A bioinformatician: „During lunch break my PC did this for 5 proteins…“
A dialogue like this can be heard very often. For example, in bioinformatics you will learn modern techniques from applied computer science that can be used to discover, analyze and predict a protein structure or function. Therefore you will get to know the basics and also simple and direct usable tools. Of course in practice the intelligent IT-usage is inseperable connected to experimental research. Up-to-date practical courses in microscopy and histology as well as laboratory work in genetics offer a well-founded and broad education in the fields of biotechnology and bioinformatics. A strong focus on individually adjustable projects makes it possibile that you can decide on your own how your bioinformatics project is divided into parts of laboratory work and research with the pc. It is up to you: all bioinformatics projects in the laboratory, in-silico, or any other combination. Prior knowledge is not necessary, everything you need to know we will elaborate together.

Focus bioinformatics: exellently qualified According to your personal interests and main focus you can specialize on the biotechnology industry or applied computer science industry. A possible field for your activity may also be the pharmaceutical industry (like Roche, Bayer, Schering), which is looking intensively for specialized bioinformaticians with knowledge both in biochemistry and computer science. Explicitly in genomics, personalized medical approaches, image processing or applied research interdisciplinary qualified graduates are keenly sought. Besides major companies, this well-founded and broad education will also help you in small and middle-class companies, in which you can take on different tasks. For interested students the master's degree course in Applied Life Sciences offers the possibility to qualify for a doctoral program (in cooperation with a partner university).