University of Valencia

Academic, scientific or professional interest: The discipline of bioinformatics emerged as a response to the need of analysing biological data of such volume and complexity that requires the use of computer tools. The application of genomics in different areas of knowledge such as medicine, biology, agri-food, pharmacy, etc. generates the need of training of new experts capable of facing the new challenges that the future of these disciplines create. The reduction of the price for these methodologies is very close to its conclusion not only in research, where they are already put in use, but in the own clinical or professional practise. This means that not only the life sciences researchers are going to need to be trained in bioinformatics, but that the same clinical practise or the companies based on biotechnology or biomedicine will demand in few years a good number of specialists in genomic data analysis. Furthermore, from the computer sciences point of view, a new area is open, in which the development of bioinformatic software will become a crucial aspect. As bioinformatics applications on one hand demand greater efficiency due to the increasing volumes of data, and on another, its use goes beyond the area of research and professionalises when it gets to a clinic or pharmaceutical and biotechnological companies, its development needs to be carried out by professionals. Therefore, it must be people with an appropiate computer training, and not "amateur" programmers, who should be responding to these demands of efficient bioinformatic software and with proper quality standars.