UNE to offer bioinformatics course

NSW's University of New England (UNE) is to offer a course in bioinformatics next year, in recognition of the increased importance of the field for both mathematicians and biologists.

The course, to be offered at the university's Armidale campus, will initially be tapping into the existing student population to ensure prospective applicants already have a good understanding of either mathematics or biology before they begin the course.

"We will not initially create a new department for the course," said Prof Anatoly Ruvinsky, a geneticist at the School of Rural Science and Agriculture at UNE. "We will build on the existing expertise, energy and knowledge that we have in other departments and offer the course for third-year students of either mathematics and computer science or biological science."

Ruvinsky said the new unit was the seed from which bioinformatics would grow at UNE. "We're at the beginning of a difficult process," he explained. "It's not going to be easy and [setting up the course] will require significant efforts, but it must be done."

UNE intends to ultimately establish an Institute of Genetics and Bioinformatics. This would be offered to a range of students including mathematicians, information technologists, geneticists, and representatives of other biological disciplines, said Ruvinsky.

"We need to train bright young people who can go on to teaching and research in the field. It's very important for us not to miss this opportunity," he said.