3 Credit Hours

Instructors

Eric G. Moss, Ph.D
Department of Molecular Biology
School of Osteopathic Medicine, UMDNJ
mosseg@umdnj.edu

Bruce Byrne, Ph.D. (Coordinator)
Informatics Institute, UMDNJ
byrne@umdnj.edu

B.J. Swartz, MLS
University Libraries, UMDNJ
swartz@umdnj.edu

Goal:

Students will be given an introduction to the field and the use of its tools for sequence analysis, molecular modeling, integrated informatics environments, including an introduction to computing on the web and within a UNIX environment.

Pre-requisite:

None in Bioinformatics. Familiarity with the basics of Molecular Biology and Chemistry.

Administrative Issues:

• Check your email
  • Forward emails, as necessary, to another account if that's the one you look at.
  • When at all possible, we will use the wiki for questions about class content rather than email so everyone can share in the discussions
• Regular attendance is expected of all students. Contact the instructor for that week's unit in the event of any absence.

Grading:

Participation	30%
Assignments / Quizes	50%
Final practicum	20%

• Be active in class and with the Wiki. Those behaviors make you active learners and constitute 30% of your grade.
• Assignments
  • You are to do your assignments on your own, picking them up and returning them to your WebCT account.
    • Due dates and times are listed on both on the assignment page and in WebCT.. Generally, these dates will be 10 days after the class.
    • If you have questions about your assignments, post them to the appropriate Wiki page for answers, as demonstrated in class.
  • Late papers will lose 10 points for the first day and 1 point for every day, thereafter unless an extension is requested (with very good cause) and granted before the due time by that module's instructor
• The final is an exercise in practical use of bioinformatics tools. We will review these issues extensively in the second to last class.

Ethical and Professional Issues:

• Listen to assignment instructions carefully. When asked to work alone, do so; when permitted or encouraged to collaborate, do so.
• Be generous in your citations of others' work.
• Use your own words to express yourself, even in reporting on the work of others.
  • Copying and pasting does not yield result in much learning or count as a synthesis.
• Respect copyright when using images on the Wiki

Recommended textbooks:

• Bioinformatics for Dummies, 2nd ed. Clavier & Notredame, 2006

Please see the Notes page for a schedule of topics for the semester.