Computational biology (“Comp.Bio.”) is a rapidly developing field. Bioinformatics/Computational Biology research draws students from diverse backgrounds including applied mathematics, informatics, statistics, computer science, physics, chemistry, and biology to study biological composition, structure, function, and evolution at the molecular, cellular, and systems levels. The resulting vibrant and interactive community of researchers spans multiple length scales, time scales and academic disciplines, and the rich curriculum and collaborative, multidisciplinary research environment is fertile ground for training of students in this new and growing discipline.
Building on foundations of computer science, mathematics and molecular biology, Comp.Bio. in the graduate group addresses diverse questions: the simulation of molecular and cellular systems; the organization of data from phylogenomics, metagenomics and molecular ecology projects; new challenges in molecular imaging; and new medical technologies. Examples of research areas include molecular modeling of proteins and their complexes, designing new proteins and protein interfaces, mapping the evolution of proteins and enzymatic function, statistical analysis of genomes to identify transcription factor binding sites, mining protein expression data to reveal drug targets in pathogen genomes, and studying the genetic variation in human membrane transporters. In many cases, several laboratories collaborate to tackle multiple facets of these challenging problems. A growing emphasis is being placed on the interfaces between bioinformatics and biophysics, systems biology, chemical biology, pharmacogenomics, human genetics, and bioengineering.
Computational Biology faculty in the Graduate Group:
David Agard, UCSFAdam Arkin, UCB
Patricia Babbitt, UCSF
Steven E. Brenner, UCB
John Canny, UCB
Michelle Chang, UCB
Maurice Cohen, UCSF
Irina Conboy, UCB
Hana El-Samad, UCSF
Teresa Head-Gordon, UCB
Ian Holmes, UCB
Donna Hudson, UCSF
C. Anthony Hunt, UCSF
Richard Karp, UCB
Hao Li, UCSF
Mohammad Mofrad, UCB
Jean Pouliot, UCSF
Philip Sabes, UCSF
David Schaffer, UCB
Kimmen Sjölander, UCB
Chao Tang, UCSF