Free Bioinformatics Courses Online

Bioinformatics 

Bioinformatics is a subdiscipline of biology and informatics that involves development of computational methods to solve practical and theoretical problems derived from the management, storage, extraction, manipulation, analysis and visualization of biological information.

Bioinformatics includes the concepts of biology, biotechnology, data science, mathematics, statistics as well as computer science. It involves usage of computational, data analytics and data visualization tools to capture and present the biological data. Bioinformatics is a crucial part of modern day medicine and vaccine development, and is one of the most trending streams in the field of biology with ample employment opportunities.

To learn more about the topic, read - What is Bioinformatics?

What is Taught in Bioinformatics Courses?

We have listed some of the broad level Bioinformatics topics that are usually covered in Bioinformatics courses –

1. Databases
2. Computational biology
3. Human genetics
4. Chromosome analysis
5. Structural biochemistry
6. Databases for gene identification
7. Nucleotide and protein sequence analysis
8. Protein modeling and function
9. Molecular simulation of macromolecules
10. Data Mining
11. Information content in DNA, RNA, protein sequence and structure
12. Nucleic Acid & Protein Sequence Analysis
13. Data Storage & Retrieval, Data Structures and Algorithms, Annotation

Elgibility for Bioinformatics Courses

Bachelor's degree in Bioinformatics - For bachelor's or graduate level Bioinformatics courses, you would need to have 10+2 or equivalent degree with Physics, Chemistry and Biology from any recognized board/university/institute.

Master's program in Bioinformatics - For master's or postgraduate level Bioinformatics courses, you would need to have a graduate degree in science, computer science, statistics, math or related subject from any recognized board/university/institute.

Best Bioinformatics Courses Online

Here we have listed some of the best Bioinformatics courses from top e-learning platforms for both beginners and experienced professionals willing to learn the concepts of Bioinformatics. 

1. Biology Meets Programming: Bioinformatics for Beginners by Coursera
2. Bacterial Bioinformatics by Coursera
3. Plant Bioinformatics by Coursera
4. Hacking COVID-19 ? Course 2: Decoding SARS-CoV-2's Secrets by Coursera
5. Biomedical Equipment: Repairing and Maintaining Biomedical Devices by edX
6. Foundations in Biosimilars and Biologics by edX
7. Bioinformatics Capstone: Big Data in Biology by Coursera
8. Advanced Diploma in Bioinformatics by NIELIT
9. Comparing Genes, Proteins, and Genomes (Bioinformatics III) by Coursera
10. Finding Mutations in DNA and Proteins (Bioinformatics VI) by Coursera
11. Clinical Bioinformatics: Unlocking Genomics in Healthcare by FutureLearn
12. Demystifying Biomedical Big Data: A User's Guide by edX
13. Principles, Statistical and Computational Tools for Reproducible Data Science by edX
14. Finding Hidden Messages in DNA (Bioinformatics I) by Coursera
15. Molecular Evolution (Bioinformatics IV) by Coursera
16. Bioengineering: An Interface with Biology and Medicine by Coursera
17. Computer Aided Drug Design by NPTEL

Demand and Scope for Bioinformatics Courses

Bioinformatics is a strategic field, with long-term prospects for sustained growth. It is a highly sought-after profile in the labor market and is essential in research groups in the field of agro-biotechnology, vaccine development, health care, among others. Currently, there is a great deficit of bioinformatics specialists, while there are ample job opportunities across fields like –

1. Pharmaceuticals
2. Chemical laboratories
3. Biocomputing companies
4. Preventive and precision medicine
5. New drug development
6. Clinical diagnostics
7. Genetics
8. Biomedical research
9. Proteomics (analysis of protein sequences and structures) and ecology, especially in simulation

Conclusion

We can already see the impact of bioinformatics in medicine.

In Oncology, for example, alterations of the genome that affect the efficacy or toxicity of treatments are already being studied.

In prenatal health, it is possible to identify alterations in the fetus in a simple way.

In rare diseases, diseases of complex clinical diagnosis can be precisely differentiated and identified.

In agrotechnology sector, which includes development of new drugs in veterinary medicine, animal improvement through the identification of new markers or molecular targets and the development of seeds is already possible.

Undoubtedly, the importance of bioinformatics will grow even more in the near future, leading to a paradigm shift in medical and agro practices. Expect more job oopportunities in the years to come.