Department of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences
Statistical Science Section
Bachelor of Bioinformatics/Bachelor of Science
 Protein Structure & Molecular Modelling
An example of the sorts of problems that can be tackled by students trained in Bioinformatics is the development of new drugs, using molecular modelling.
"It was only about 6 months ago that pharmaceutical companies began buying up experts in number-crunching and molecular genetics.... Companies that want to stay in the race have suddenly realised that, to explore this new (drug discovery) territory, they will need employees who are adept in computer science, information technology and genetics - a rare combination of skills." ..... Science vol.272, News & Comment
The targets of specific drugs tend to be protein molecules: often, if you can make a drug bind to a key protein in a virus or bacteria, you can knock out an infection. Proteins are complicated structures, but every day new protein structures are being solved and stored as 3D maps in international databases. These protein structure maps can be used as templates to design drugs to effectively bind into clefts and crevices in the protein structure.
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