Computational Biology and Life Sciences

Brief overview of the research field

The measurement methods of medical practitioners and biologists are becoming ever more precise and varied. Many of the collected data are available online, so researchers can simultaneously see the blessing and the curse of vast amounts of data. The task of this research field is to develop models and systematically analyze the available data in order to reveal relationships. The results then become much more useful to specialists in other disciplines. Examples of applications range from the decoding of the genome, to computer-assisted assessment of the efficacy of a therapy, to predicting the global course of an epidemic.

In Saarbrücken, the bioinformatics degree program is geared specifically to this area. The Center for Bioinformatics focuses exclusively on related themes. Research in this area is also carried out at the Max Planck Institute for Informatics and the Department of Computer Science.

Professors in this field