Quality, online graduate bioinformatics, biomedical informatics and genomics programs are at a premium for today's MDs, biologists and computer scientists in health-related industries. Stanford's BioMedical Informatics (BMI) Training Program has partnered with SCPD to develop programs to meet these needs.

Mark Musen, M.D., Ph.D. and Head of SMI, discusses some points that set Stanford programs apart from others. "There is great emphasis on technology - how to use computers in medicine. In our biomedical informatics programs we go beyond this, asking 'what are the foundations that allow informatics to be applied?' We have enormous interaction with students in many disciplines; there's a universal need understand the nature of knowledge and how to apply it."

The BioMedical Informatics (BMI) Training Program Associate Director, Betty Cheng, agrees, and adds "There's a focus on the discovery process: we attack problems representing new biology, developing new tools in the process. This requires a true interdisciplinary background-an integration of biology and computer sciences."

The history of the development of computational biology-genomics, proteomics, biomedical informatics-is inextricably tied with web-based technologies. The move to offering bioinformatics courses online was inevitable. Says Musen, "All of us have recognized that more people request our program than we can handle through traditional venues."

Owen McGettrick, a Bioinformatics Consultant in New York, completed the Bioinformatics Certificate Program in 2002 and sees bioinformatics and online learning as a natural mix. " You are viewing the course with the same tools you need to use-it's a blending of study hall and lecture hall."

Students who have completed the Certificate in Bioinformatics program online and several doctoral candidates agree that this three-course online program is fast becoming the breakaway bioinformatics program for MD's and biologists in pharmaceutical, medical and biosciences research worldwide. Two new online programs have just been announced: : the Certificate Program in Computational Genomics, beginning this Winter Quarter and the Professional Master's Degree in Biomedical Informatics, starting Spring Quarter, 2003.

The interdisciplinary, world-class faculty is an unbeatable draw for all BMI programs. This is clear in student responses to faculty teaching the three courses for the Certificate Program in Bioinformatics. "I think Russ Altman is one of the most enthusiastic teachers-it's one of the most amazing things about him. The scope and depth of his course are very good, and you can call in and ask in-depth questions." - Yueyi Liu, Ph.D. Candidate, BioMedical Informatics, Stanford University

"Doug Brutlag is one of the pioneers of the field-he has a really good perspective. His course is an outstanding survey of all the algorithms and fundamental concepts of bioinformatics." - Steve Bennet, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Biochemistry

"Mike Levitt's course is much more targeted to drug design and protein structure prediction. I think it is extremely useful to pharmaceuticals in particular." - X. Shirley Liu, Ph.D., Biomedical Informatics, '02 Whether your background is primarily computational or biology, the Bioinformatics Certificate Program is valuable. Yueyi Liu continues, "You get a thorough, broad view of the field-algorithms in computational biology. Mike Levitt's course is the biology. Russ Altman's course is for those who want to develop the tools, and Doug Brutlag's is more for those who want to use the tools."

The three-course Certificate Program in Computational Genomics, begins in Winter 2003, with Robert Shafer's course, Biomed 234 Biomedical Genomics providing an overview of how genomics is influencing medical research and health-care delivery through guest lectures by experts across the field. One new course being offered in Spring 2003 will be Biomed 262/CS 262 Computational Genomics, taught by Associate Professor Serafim Batzoglou, Associate Professor in Computer Sciences. Cheng, says, "This will be just the second time the course is taught. Serafim Batzoglou developed one of the fastest and best algorithms for assembling DNA fragments in the world. This course is extremely advanced. It will appeal to students with a particularly strong computer background."

Courses for both certificate programs may be applied to the new Professional Master's Degree in Biomedical Informatics, being launched by BMI through SCPD in Winter, 2003. This exciting new degree program is built squarely on the foundations that drive programs and research at the Stanford Medical Informatics (SMI) center and BMI.

For more on the natural blend of bioinformatics and online learning, see our Faculty Spotlight on Professor Douglas Brutlag. Visit and bookmark SCPD's Biosciences and Bioengineering Web Page to explore the ever-increasing portfolio of academic programs, short courses and seminars offered in Biomedical Informatics and other interdisciplinary fields at Stanford