Teaching

Teaching statement: Giving seminars and courses related to computational biology is a prime objective of the Computational Biology Group. Our aim is to provide biology students at all academic levels with knowledge about basic concepts of computational and quantitative biology. We believe that – at a time where high-throughput genomic technologies are entering more and more into biological and bio-medical research – it is a prerequisite for all students of biology to be exposed to basic tools of large-scale data analysis. Similarly, quantitative assays and imaging allow for mathematical modeling of biological systems in space and time that produces testable hypotheses. Since formal (mathematical and computational) education receives comparatively less emphasis (and interest) in the classical life sciences, educating students in these fields is a major challenge. In our experience a significant number of biology students are uncomfortable in using mathematics, which may be rooted already in their high school education or even before. The frontal courses offered to biology students may help brushing up basic mathematical skills of some students, but are less likely to be effective for many students who have long lost their interest and self-confidence in solving mathematical problems. We thus attempt to provide also alternative approaches, like our annual hands-on UNIL BSc course: "Solving Biological Problems that require Math" that is directed at undergraduate students (see Concept).

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2014

• UNIL BSc course: "Solving Biological Problems that require Math 2014"
• SIB course on “Statistical genomics and statistical genetics”
• UNIL PhD seminar: "Bi-weekly meeting for graduate students in biostatistics and computational biology"

2013

• UNIL BSc course: "Solving Biological Problems that require Math 2013"
• SIB winter-school on “Clinical Bioinformatics”

2012

• UNIL BSc course: "Solving Biological Problems that require Math 2012"
• Summerschool of the Max-Weber Stiftung

2011

• UNIL Biomedical Master: "Metabolic diseases 2011"
• SystemsX.ch/SIB summer-school ”From Data to Models in Biological Systems”
• UNIL BSc course: "Solving Biological Problems that require Math 2011"
• EPFL doctoral course: "Functional Genomics 2011"

2010

• UNIL PhD literature seminar: "Genome-wide association study of 14,000 cases of seven common diseases and 3,000 shared controls"
• UNIL Biomedical Master: "Metabolic diseases 2010"
• UNIL BSc course: "Experimental design 2010"
• UNIL BSc course: "GGE course module on Genome-wide association studies"
• UNIL BSc course: "Solving Biological Problems that require Math 2010"
• EPFL doctoral course: "Functional Genomics 2010"

2009

• UNIL PhD literature seminar: "Optimality and evolutionary tuning of the expression level of a protein"
• UNIL BSc course: "Experimental design 2009"
• UNIL MSc course: "Genes: from sequence to function 2009"
• UNIL BSc course: "Solving Biological Problems that require Math 2009"

2008

• UNIL PhD literature seminar: "Systematic interpretation of genetic interactions using protein networks"
• UNIL MSc course: "Cartographie, séquençage et structure des génomes 2008"
• Summer school course: "Biologie und Medizin im digitalen Zeitalter: Jenseits der Disziplinen"
• SIB course: "Statistical analysis applied to genome and proteome analyses"

2007

• UNIL PhD literature seminar: "Optimality and evolutionary tuning of the expression level of a protein"
• UNIL MSc course: "Cartographie, séquençage et structure des génomes 2007"
• CIG-DGM joint seminar: "Genome-wide Association Studies"

2006

• UNIL PhD literature seminar: "Diffusion and scaling during early embryonic pattern formation"