What are good resources for an undergraduate student to start getting familiar with bioinformatics and, if possible, get some practical experience? Any favorite websites, blogs, videos, etc?
Thanks!
Bioinformatics is a very broad field, could you tell me which field is your interest?
Hey,
you can get started on Coursera. This platform has several courses on Bioinformatics, from beginner to advanced. On Github you can connect with many people in the bioinformatics field, it's a community. This site has many scripts and A&Q. But, you try to choose an area of bioinformatics: genomics, transcriptome, metagenomics, machine learning, proteomics, metabolomics, structural proteins and others, because this will help you to have an initial focus and acquire skills.
Tania Quesada Marisol Altamirano Cabrera Camila De Paula Dias
Some recommendations to explore:
1. Online Courses and Tutorials:
- Coursera (https://www.coursera.org/): Coursera offers a wide range of bioinformatics courses, including introductory courses and specialized topics. Some popular courses include "Bioinformatics Specialization" by the University of California, San Diego and "Genomic Data Science" by Johns Hopkins University.
- edX (https://www.edx.org/): edX provides bioinformatics courses from renowned universities and institutions. "Bioinformatics: Introduction and Methods" by the University of Toronto and "Introduction to Bioinformatics" by the University of California, San Diego are highly recommended.
- Rosalind (http://rosalind.info/): Rosalind is an online platform that offers bioinformatics problems and challenges with interactive tutorials in various programming languages. It's a great resource to practice and apply bioinformatics concepts.
2. Bioinformatics Websites and Databases:
- National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/): NCBI provides a vast collection of biological databases, tools, and resources. It includes the GenBank database, PubMed, BLAST, and more.
- Ensembl (https://www.ensembl.org/): Ensembl offers genome annotation and analysis tools for various species. It provides access to genomic data, gene annotations, and comparative genomics.
- UniProt (https://www.uniprot.org/): UniProt is a comprehensive resource for protein sequence and functional information. It includes protein databases, tools for sequence analysis, and protein annotation.
3. Online Communities and Forums:
- BioStars (https://www.biostars.org/): BioStars is a popular Q&A platform for bioinformatics and computational biology. It's a great place to ask questions, find solutions, and learn from the community.
- SeqAnswers (https://www.seqanswers.com/): SeqAnswers is a forum dedicated to next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies and data analysis. It covers a wide range of topics related to NGS and bioinformatics.
4. Books and Textbooks:
- "Bioinformatics Data Skills" by Vince Buffalo: This book provides practical guidance on bioinformatics data analysis using command-line tools and scripting.
- "Bioinformatics for Dummies" by Jean-Michel Claverie and Cedric Notredame: This beginner-friendly book covers the basics of bioinformatics and provides an introduction to various tools and techniques.
5. Research Internships and Projects:
- Reach out to professors or researchers at your university who are involved in bioinformatics or computational biology research. Inquire about opportunities to join their labs as an undergraduate research assistant or intern. This can provide hands-on experience and exposure to real-world bioinformatics projects.
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