During these steps, we generate many scripts, and another job of a bioinformatician is to collect these scripts and programs and arrange them as a pipeline. A pipeline is where raw data goes in one side of the pipe and comes as usable data from another.
DKM: I usually design classes/courses about abstract biological and statistical concepts, such as the molecular species concept or dimensionality reduction techniques. After that, I need to create computational tasks that will help students to apply these concepts and better understand them. Another recurring task is to collect DNA or RNA sequences that were generated by biologists and attribute biological meaning to these sequences. This is done by comparing the sequences to one another or to sequences deposited in biological databases. After understanding the biological meaning of such sequences, I store those sequences in a database, write a report about them and send the report to the students writing their thesis or researchers conducting a study. I do all that using Linux high-performance computers.
What is your favorite part of your job? What are your job's biggest challenges?
SB: Deep analysis of the data and addressing biological questions is my favorite part of my current position. However, some professional bioinformaticians are not necessarily involved in addressing the question directly. Rather, they focus only on the technical part of the analysis. The biggest challenge is to keep up with the pace of change in the field. As bioinformatics is quite dynamic, you must regularly update yourself to stay relevant in the field.
