Biomolecular Engineering and Bioinformatics is an interdisciplinary program that combines expertise from biology, mathematics, chemistry, computer science, and engineering to train students and develop technologies to address major problems at the forefront of biomedical and bio-industrial research. The program builds upon the research and academic strengths of the faculty in the Biomolecular Engineering Department, as well as many other departments.

The bioinformatics minor is intended primarily for bioinformatics tool users who are majoring in a biological or chemical specialty. The bioinformatics minor is also appropriate for computer science or computer engineering majors who are considering graduate work in bioinformatics. The bioinformatics minor cannot be combined with the biomolecular engineering and bioinformatics major.

Learning Experience

The Biomolecular Engineering concentration is designed for students interested in protein engineering, stem cell engineering, and synthetic biology. The emphasis is on designing biomolecules (DNA, RNA, proteins) and cells for particular functions, and the underlying sciences are biochemistry and cell biology.

The Bioinformatics concentration combines mathematics, computer science, and engineering to explore and understand biological data from high-throughput experiments, such as genome sequencing, gene-expression chips, and proteomics experiments.

Study and Research Opportunities

✔ There are two concentrations in the major: biomolecular engineering (wet lab) and bioinformatics (dry lab).

✔ There is a minor in bioinformatics, suitable for students majoring in the life sciences.✔ All major students have a 3-quarter capstone experience, which can be an individual thesis, an intensive group engineering project, or a series of project-intensive graduate bioinformatics courses.

✔ One of the capstone options for the concentration in biomolecular engineering is the international iGEM synthetic biology competition, which UCSC sends a team to every year.

✔ Students are encouraged to participate in faculty research early, particularly if they intend to do a senior thesis.