I am a master's student of statistics. I have been in the field of econometrics and have taken projects on machine learning. However, I wish to change field. Can I have a supervisor who will be willing to mentor me through bioinformatics, taking my previous and current research areas into consideration? Or do I need another master's degree in bioinformatics or a related field before I can proceed to Phd?
Bioinformatics is not something one need to cope with if a person has interest in it. For a person with statistics background, it will be easier to work in bioinformatics analysis and interpretation. And learning and applying it don't need any degree however, degree is something which you need to decide for and about what your future plans are.
I do not think you need another masters degree in bioinformatics since much of bioinformatics revolves around statistics and machine learning. Your background in statistics are handy here and you will navigate so easily.
go for PhD in Bioinformatics you are a statistician and there is need of statistician in the field of Bioinformatics. you have a big scope in this field my suggestion to you is go for PhD in the field of Bioinformatics
Bioinformatics is the application of computational tools to answer biological questions that require big data or analysis beyond human expertise. Most times, Bioinformatics don't stand alone but require relevant fields like genetics and omics as scaffold. Your statistics background would be an added advantage. How proficient are you in programming languages like python and Perl? you will need to get accustom to Bash Scripting in Linux OS and take some courses in genomics, molecular evolution at graduate school but you don't have to take a degree just to understand bioinformatics. Of course, getting a Supervisor for PhD depends on how well you could convince any professor that you would be an excellent take.People have crossed from Geology to Zoology to study Genetics of fossil animals, and from Economics to Ecology. As a data scientist you should cope but you would have to root yourself in the field you would be applying the bioinformatic and data science expertise.
Best of Luck!
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