Applied Bioinformatics MSc

Study Applied Bioinformatics at Cranfield

Study Applied Bioinformatics at Cranfield

Why this course?

1. The only Bioinformatics MSc in the UK offering a truly bespoke postgraduate experience

Cranfield University is the only solely postgraduate university in the UK, which means that every single lecture and practical session within the Applied Bioinformatics MSc is tailored to master's level. Unlike other Bioinformatics MSc courses you may come across, you won’t be sharing any modules or lectures with other undergraduate students or MSc courses. This gives our Applied Bioinformatics MSc a truly tailored postgraduate experience.

2. A variety of programming languages

Experience taught us that there is no such thing as a single preferred programming language in the field of bioinformatics. Every programming language has its strengths and advantages depending on the task in hand. For example, Java can be quite powerful if you are developing a visualisation and/or standalone application, while R and Python are excellent choices for machine learning and statistical analysis. Perl, on the other hand, is a very easy programming language to learn by biologists and forms the foundation of most of the legacy tools and frameworks developed for the human genome project, and still being used to date. This is why the Applied Bioinformatics MSc is the only course in the UK that offers three dedicated programming modules as part of the taught component, covering R, Java and Perl. Furthermore, other programming languages such as Bash, JavaEE, SQL, JavaScript and Python are also comprehensively covered. This means that upon the completion of this course, you won’t only have the skills and expertise to develop optimised bioinformatics tools for various tasks, but you will also find it relatively much easier to learn new programming languages that were not covered during the course as you will have the foundation in interpreted, object-oriented, and statistically-focused languages.

3. A truly NGS- and 3GS-focused course

Analysing sequencing data from the latest sequencing platforms such as Illumina® Pacific Biosciences ® and 10x Chromium® nowadays is a standard skill required for most bioinformatics jobs (a quick search on LinkedIn for bioinformatics jobs should prove this!) This is why the course includes two dedicated modules on analysing sequencing data. The first module, 'Next Generation Sequencing Informatics', focuses on preprocessing and analysing Illumina® short-reads sequences for performing sequence alignment, gene expression profiling using RNA-Seq, and genotyping for variant discovery. The second module, 'Advanced Sequencing Informatics and Genome Assembly', provides hands-on experience in performing de-novo sequence assembly using short and long-reads sequencing data, as well as providing computer practical sessions in developing and optimising your own assembler using the overlap-layout-consensus (OLC) and de-bruijn-graph (DBG) algorithms.

4. Industrial and research applications

Drug discovery: Applications of bioinformatics in drug discovery is not only covered in the Applied Bioinformatics MSc course but is an integral part of the delivery of the course. Leading experts from multinational pharmaceutical industry such as Enrico Ferrero (GSK) and Lee Larcombe (nexaSTEM) are core members of the teaching team of this course and actively deliver several lectures and hands-on computational practicals. These industrial partners also offer a number of thesis projects for our students each academic year.

Plant genetics: The Bioinformatics Team at Cranfield University works very closely with the Agrifood theme, which includes the Crop Water Use and the Plant Science Laboratory Groups. The Course Director has an established track record as PI or CoI several plant genetics-focused research projects. If plant genetics and food security is your research of interest, you will be given the opportunity to join one of our research team for your thesis project.

Infectious diseases: We have a long-term ongoing collaboration with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). Together, we work closely in establishing a molecular understanding of several infectious and tropical diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria and Chagas disease. Each year, we offer three to four research MSc thesis project placements for our Bioinformatics students to work closely with LSHTM’s world-renowned leading experts on one of their ongoing research projects. Over the past few years, we published a number of research articles based on such thesis projects. Our MSc students were either the leading or co-authors on these.

Example article 1

Example article 2

This MSc is supported by our team of professional thought leaders, including Professor Andrew Thompson who is influential in this field and an integral part of this MSc.

To study for a formal award at Cranfield you will need to demonstrate that you can communicate effectively in English in an academic environment. You can meet this requirement in the following ways:

• If you have previously obtained a higher education level qualification from a UK university and have been taught and assessed in English (note that international applicants applying for Master’s courses in Cranfield’s School of Management are required to have studied in the UK for the full duration of the course).
• If you are a national of or have a obtained a higher education level qualification from a country on the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) list of majority English speaking countries:
  
  

  Antigua and Barbuda	Ireland
  Australia	Jamaica
  The Bahamas	Malta
  Barbados	New Zealand
  Belize	St Kitts and Nevis
  Canada*	St Lucia
  Dominica	St Vincent and the Grenadines
  Grenada	Trinidad and Tobago
  Guyana	United States of America

  
  
  *You will usually be required take an English test if your studies were not taught and assessed in English.
• If you have been continuously employed in the UK for a minimum of five years immediately prior to the start of the course, providing you are able to supply a reference from your current employer which explicitly confirms you are able to communicate effectively in English.
• By providing a satisfactory English test certificate that meets the requirement of the course you have applied for.

Your career

Industry, alumni and current students talk about Bioinformatics at Cranfield

Bioinformatics is a fast-growing field that offers progressive career opportunities for forward-thinking people who are ready to grasp the challenge; people who understand both the biological and computing aspects of this science.

Our MSc opens doors to careers in industry, public research establishments, and university research. The multidisciplinary nature of our course has allowed our students to follow diverse career paths in various medical-related sectors.

Successful graduates have been able to pursue or enhance careers in a variety of key areas such as:
Pharmaceutical and biotech companies, plant research institutes, food sector, public institutions, bioinformatics, IT companies.

Cranfield Careers and Employability Service

Our Careers and Employability Service can help you find the job you want after leaving Cranfield. We will work with you to identify suitable opportunities and support you in the job application process for up to three years after graduation. We have been providing master's-level training for over 20 years. Our strong reputation and links with potential employers provide you with outstanding opportunities to secure interesting jobs and develop successful careers. The increasing interest in sustainability and corporate and social responsibility has also enhanced the career prospects of our graduates.

Previous students have gone on to jobs within prestigious institutions including:
The Sanger Institute, The European Bioinformatics Institute, Institut National du Cancer (France), Centro de Investigación Prínciple Felipe Ií (Spain), GlaxoSmithKline, PubGene, Tessella, UCB, the Wellcome Trust, Inpharmatica, Invitrogen, Oxford Gene Technology, Cancer Research.

Others have chosen to continue their research training by undertaking a PhD either at Cranfield or elsewhere.

Cranfield graduates are very successful in achieving relevant work. For professionals already in the industry, Cranfield qualifications enhance their careers, benefiting both the candidate and their employer.