PHYS 315 Computational Biology (Same as Computer Science 315 and INTR 315) (Not offered 2008-2009; to be offered 2009-2010) (Q)
This course will provide an overview of Computational Biology, the application of computational, mathematical, and physical problem-solving techniques to interpret the rapidly expanding amount of biological data. Topics covered will include database searching, DNA sequence alignment, phylogeny reconstruction, RNA and protein structure prediction, microarray analysis, and genome assembly using techniques such as string matching, dynamic programming, suffix trees, hidden Markov models, and expectation-maximization.
Format: lecture, three hours per week; laboratory, 1.5 hours per week. Evaluation will be based on weekly problem sets, programming assignments, and a few quizzes.
Prerequisites: programming experience (e.g. CSCI 136), mathematics (PHYS 210 or MATH 105), and physical science (PHYS 142 or 151, or CHEM 151 or 153 or 155), or permission of the instructor. Enrollment limit: 20 (expected: 15). Preference given to students based on seniority.
AALBERTS