Bioinformatics and Systems Biology

Please note that obtaining an invitation and a visa will take at least a month. We ask you to apply for the Master’s program before July 15, 2021, in order to take the entrance exams and receive your documents in due time.

Discover more info at the Program's Website!

Career Options

Bioinformatics experts in the fields of personalized medicine, the pharmaceutical industry, biotechnology, software development, and many others. Besides, graduates may continue their academic careers by entering the leading PhD programs in Systems Biology.

Program Description

Currently, computational methods are widely used in biology mostly due to the fact that research inevitably comes with Big Data. Thus, one needs to possess the skills to be able to work with large amounts of data and to interpret them correctly. 

Our program trains a new generation of professionals capable of developing and applying bioinformatics methods to solve unconventional problems arising in fundamental and experimental biology. The students will gain an opportunity to complete the full path from high-throughput data to computational analysis and to testable hypotheses in several research areas.

The program has two specializations:

1. Data Analysis in Biology and Medicine: we teach students with biological and medical backgrounds the skills of programming, data processing and statistical analysis and their application in different fields of bioinformatics.

2. Algorithmic Bioinformatics: this specialization is designed for students with informatics, mathematics, and other technical backgrounds who want to apply their knowledge to bioinformatics. It also Includes advanced courses in statistics and algorithms, as well as introductory courses in molecular biology.

Benefits of the Program

• the Program is conducted in collaboration with the Bioinformatics Institute in St. Petersburg and International Laboratory “Computer Technologies” at ITMO;

• the students will work with some of the best computer science experts from ITMO and Biology specialists from all over the world;

• the students have the opportunity to do their internships at major research institutions and laboratories, as well as work on projects under the supervision of world-class professors from Washington University in St. Louis, University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis, Broad Institute, Harvard Medical School, etc.

Content of the Program

1 Semester

• Introduction to Bioinformatics - 3 credits
• Data Processing and Analysis - 3 credits
• Higher Mathematics (elective course) - 2 credits
• Introduction to Linux (elective course) - 2 credits
• Foreign Language in Professional Activity - 2 credits
• Creative Technologies / High Tech Business Creation / Thinking - 4 credits
• Research Work - 9 credits

Specialization 1. Data Analysis in Biology and Medicine

• Statistics - 3 credits
• Discrete Mathematics - 3 credits
• Programming in Python - 3 credits

Specialization 2. Algorithmic Bioinformatics

• Advanced Statistics - 3 credits
• Molecular Biology - 3 credits
• Algorithms and Data Structures - 3 credits

2 Semester

• Systems Biology - 4 credits
• Population and Medical Genetics - 4 credits
• Scientific Python - 3 credits
• Applied Statistics (elective course) - 2 credits
• Applied Bioinformatics (elective course) - 2 credits
• Foreign Language in Professional Activity - 2 credits
• Applied Artificial Intelligence (online course) - 3 credits
• High Performance Computing - 3 credits
• Research Work - 9 credits

3 Semester

• Structural Bioinformatics - 4 credits

• Applied Bioinformatics (elective course) - 2 credits
• Negotiations, Influence and Conflict Management / Emotional Intelligence / Internationalization of Research - 4 credits

• Research Work - 6 credits

• Research Internship - 6 credits

Specialization 1. Data analysis in Biology and Medicine

• Metagenomics - 4 credits

• Molecular Phylogenetics - 4 credits

• Biotechnology - 4 credits

Specialization 2. Algorithmic Bioinformatics

• Bioinformatics Algorithms - 4 credits

• Optimization & Sampling - 4 credits

• Advanced Machine Learning - 4 credits

4 Semester

• Research Internship - 15 credits 

• Senior Internship - 9 credits 

• Thesis Defence - 6 credits 

*The applicants are required to pass the entrance examination successfully.

The list of entrance examination questions

Student review

Want to know more? Read the full interview of Sedreh Nassirnia by ITMO.NEWS to learn more about the major and her experience.

How to apply?

To apply, please follow our step-by-step application guide.

Want to enroll at ITMO without entrance examinations or tuition fees? Learn more about our contests and competitions that will give you this amazing opportunity! 

Contacts

• ITMO International Admission Office, international@itmo.ru 
• Alexey Sergushichev, Head of the Program, alserg@itmo.ru
• Lada Antonova, Program Coordinator, bioinf@itmo.ru 

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