Translational Bioinformatics Focus

Students interested in the study of Translational Bioinformatics (TBI) may apply specifically to this emphasis area within the Pathobiology Area Program. TBI is a new exciting field of biomedicine that is concerned with bringing discoveries from molecular biology, genetics, biochemistry and other biomedical fields into the patient care using computer algorithms.

In many respects it overlaps with traditional bioinformatics and computational biology but puts an emphasis on practical realization of computational approaches for the benefit of the patient, especially in context of personalized medicine. There are two tracks in our TBI program: Translational and Cancer Bioinformatics (TCBI) and Pathology Informatics (PI). TCBI doctoral students will conduct research related to computational methods for disease diagnostics and therapeutics (a.k.a., theranostics) while PI doctoral students will study computerized methods to improve Laboratory Information Systems (LIS), Digital Pathology (DP) as well as cutting-edge Whole-Slide Image (WSI) processing algorithms.

The TBI emphasis area program is led by Pathology and Anatomical Sciences faculty in close collaboration with faculty from University of Missouri Informatics Institute (MUII), Department of Health Management and Informatics (HMI) and Department of Computer Science.

The University of Missouri (MU) is unique in affording access to a wide variety of resources on the same campus, some of which include the School of Medicine, College of Arts and Sciences, College of Engineering, College of Veterinary Medicine, Bond Life Sciences Center and University of Missouri Health Care. This proximity facilitates access to exceptionally diverse and cutting-edge resources, with myriad cross-disciplinary opportunities for translational research and education.

Degree Requirements

TBI PhD students are required to complete the minimum requirements of the MU Graduate Studies. These include 72 semester hours beyond the baccalaureate degree, including research and readings credits, to be approved by the doctoral advisor. Further details are available online from the MU Graduate School. They also take courses in molecular biology, biochemistry, statistics, data mining, machine learning and the ethical conduct of research, as well as participating in journal club, outreach activities, and teaching. Students must pass comprehensive exams and defend a research proposal, and must complete and defend a written dissertation.