Do your students show interest during biology classes? Are they eager to work in the science of life field, but they are also passionate about computer science? If they don’t know how to combine these two fields, they let them know about the Bioinformatician career! Bioinformaticians work at the crossroads between the science of life and computer science. They design software to help researchers develop new drugs, improve quality control in agribusiness or preserve biodiversity for example. Are your students curious about how to become one of them? Scroll down to know more!
Meet the professional
Myriam Badawi is a Bioinformatician currently working at the Biology Department of Le Mans University. Myriam does research in Bioinformatics, Evolutionary Biology and Genetics. Her current project is on evolutionary genomics of micro-algae.
Watch the interview
Skills
Programming
For a Bioinformatician is essential to know how to programme to develop specific software for a wide variety of purposes such as biodiversity preservation.
Scientific Computing
It consists of the collection of tools, theories and techniques required to solve a computer mathematical model of problems in science.
Translation
A great part of the scientific research is in English, so it’s necessary to have a proper understanding of the English language and translation skills.
Leadership
You might lead a team, so as a Bioinformatician leadership is an essential skill to carry out your job.
Critical Thinking
Being a Bioinformatician requires strong critical thinking skills to create software and databases to collect information from the living.
Problem-Solving
You need to get used to facing daily complex problems, and also understand and solve them.
Download the career sheet
Advice to take away
The job of bioinformatician requires a double competence in the fields of life sciences and computer science. Access to the profession is reserved for holders of a Master degree. Candidates are strongly advised to choose high school, and then move on to a degree in biology or computer science. Only then will they have to specialize.
Disclaimer
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0: all the materials and content presented on this STEM Job profile have been provided by TIWI (Teaching ICT with Inquiry), a project co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.