Biology Talk

Guest

Ever wondered what it takes to discover a new drug, or to understand
the underlying mechanism of a disease? It takes chemistry and biology,
but it also takes computer science. The complexity of biological
systems and vast amounts of data that new technologies produce require
computer know-how.

Today there is an acute need for graduates with just such a
multidisciplinary background, both in academia and in industry. In
industry, this need expands beyond biotechnology, pharmaceutical and
health care sectors, and is felt in such areas as homeland security
and information technology.

The Bioinformatics and Medical Informatics (BMI) program (http://
informatics.sdsu.edu/) at SDSU is strategically located at the heart
of the largest Biotechnology hub in the United states in beautiful San
Diego. The program offers a unique graduate level multidisciplinary
education for individuals who aim at high paying jobs in the industry
or want to continue their education towards a PhD degree.

The program is carefully designed for students with a background in
chemistry, biology, computer science, mathematics, physics or
engineering. The first year of the program is spent on areas
complementary to the student's background, while the second year is
spent on the student's specialization. The program offers two paths,
one for a traditional Master's of Science with a thesis, and the
second for a Professional Science Master's (PSM) degree comprising an
internship and courses in business to better prepare students for
industry.

The traditional MS is for those who wish to continue towards a PhD
degree while the PSM is for those who wish to find employment in the
industry. The PSM option is the fast track to management in
pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical/clinical industries.

To apply, please visit http://www.csumentor.edu/. Make sure to chose
Fall 2008 for the application year, San Diego State University as the
campus, and Bioinformatics and Medical Informatics as the major.
Application deadline is April 1.

For more information, please visit http://informatics.sdsu.edu/.