Renewal is requested for a long-standing and successful training program in bioinformatics at North Carolina State University, with support for 8 predoctoral trainees and 2 postdoctoral trainees. The application builds on the success of the bioinformatics graduate program at NC State, which has produced nearly 50 Master's and 60 PhD graduates in Bioinformatics since the beginning of the program in 1999. The program and environment have been substantially updated to focus on environmental health bioinformatics (EHB) training, supported by additional faculty and new research programs. Past doctoral graduates are employed in academic, government, or industry positions. The graduate training program has prerequisites in mathematics, statistics, computing, and genetics. Ph.D. candidates are engaged in coursework in bioinformatics, computer science, genetics, genomics, and statistics for two years, and are expected to complete their program within five years. The substantial re-focusing of the program on environmental and related health sciences has included recruitment of additional faculty members, the addition of existing NC State faculty who bring substantial environmental expertise, and a new strength in spatial-environmental analysis. A new combined data/informatics structure for student committees will ensure appropriate progress and focus to ensure student success.
The Environmental Health Bioinformatics training program will provide enhanced training and education to data scientists who will develop an improved understanding of the complex interplay between the environment and the genome, fostering new approaches to reduce the burden of diseases that affect United States citizens.
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