Curriculum and Other Requirements for the CBB MS, PhD, and MD/PhD Degrees
This section outlines the current CBB curriculum, and other requirements for the CBB MS and PhD degrees (including students enrolled in Yale’s MD/PhD program). Because of the interdisciplinary nature of the field, entering students are quite heterogeneous in their background and training. A welcoming/advisory committee helps students individually tailor the curriculum to their background and interests. The emphasis is on gaining competency in three broad "core areas":
- computational biology and bioinformatics,
- biological sciences,
- informatics (including computer science, statistics, and applied mathematics).
CBB Curriculum for PhD
Take a minimum of ten courses (10) |
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General Curriculum Description |
Example Translational Informatics Focus Curriculum |
Example Biomedical Data Science Focus Curriculum |
Three (3) required graduate courses in computational biology and bioinformatics |
CBB 750: Core Topics in Biomedical Informatics and Data Science |
CBB 750: Core Topics in Biomedical Informatics and Data Science |
CBB 740: Topics in Clinical and Translational Informatics |
CBB 740: Topics in Clinical and Translational Informatics |
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CBB 752: Bioinformatics: Practical Application of Simulation and Data Mining |
CBB 752: Bioinformatics: Practical Application of Simulation and Data Mining |
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Two (2) graduate courses in the biological sciences |
GENE 500b Principles of Human Genetics |
GENE 500b Principles of Human Genetics |
PATH 650, Cellular and Molecular Biology of Cancer |
MCDB 561, Systems Modeling in Biology |
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Two (2) graduate courses in areas of informatics |
CBB 645, Statistical Methods in Genetics and Bioinformatics |
STAT 538, Probability and Statistics |
CPSC 537, Introduction to Databases |
STAT 665, Data Mining and Machine Learning |
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Two (2) additional courses in any of the three core areas (which may be undergraduate courses taken to satisfy areas of minimum expected competency) |
BIS 540a Fundamentals of Clinical Trials |
CPSC 365 Design and Analysis of Algorithms |
IBIO 530a Biology of the Immune System |
CPSC 462 Graphs and Networks |
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One (1) year-long graduate course that is three lab rotations over the fall and spring semesters first year, (graded as pass or fail) |
CBB 711:Lab Rotation |
CBB 711: Lab Rotation |
Complete the following Additional Coursework and Activities: |
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Masters Degree (or PhD) Training in “Translational Informatics or Data Science” for Postdoctoral Fellows
For postdoctoral fellows interested in the emerging field of translational research, we now offer an optional “Focus on Translational Informatics or "Data Science" within our Masters (or PhD) program in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics (CBB). Translational research is concerned with bringing bioscience research discoveries into patient care. The CBB Translational Informatics focus emphasizes the intersection of bioinformatics and disease, and includes topics from both bioinformatics and clinical informatics. Examples include 1) research that uses genomic technologies to help better understand the mechanisms of disease, 2) organizing data from the electronic medical record to help define the clinical phenotype of many diseases, 3) building informatics tools that analyze clinical and bioscience data in an integrated fashion, and 4) the computer modeling of disease processes. (See the description of our CBB program for more detail.) Postdoctoral applicants interested in this program should contact Prof. Michael Krauthammer for information as to how to apply.Master of Health Science (MHS) with a "Clinical Informatics" Focus for Postdoctoral Fellows
Yale School of Medicine now offers a Master of Health Science (MHS) degree with a clinical informatics focus. This degree is designed for postdoctoral informatics fellows who are clinicians. Fellows enrolled for this degree will complete an MHS research project and will also take a variety of courses focused on clinical/ translational research, medical informatics, and related courses and seminars. The specific courses taken by each fellow can be tailored to that individual's background, interests, and career plans. Prof. Shiffman serves as Track Director with Prof. Melnick as Co-Director. The MHS degree is designed to be completed in 2 years.
Coursework required of MHS students in the Clinical Informatics Track is outlined in Table B.
Table B: MHS Clinical Informatics Track Curriculum |
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CBB 740 |
Clinical and Translational Informatics |
CBB 750 |
Core Topics in Biomedical Informatics and Data Science |
CBB 752 |
Bioinformatics: Practical Application of Simulation and Data Mining |
IMED 630 |
Ethical and Practical Issues in Clinical Investigation or MBB 601b |
IMED 625 |
Principles of Clinical Research |
IMED 645 |
Introduction to Biostatistics |
IMED 665 |
Writing Your First Grant (Strongly recommended) |
Electives (2) courses in consultation with their research advisor, the Pathway Director, and the MHS Degree Advisory Committee that reflects their background and career goals. |
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Biomedical Informatics Teaching Seminar – bi-weekly |
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In addition to completing this coursework, the MHS/Clinical Informatics Track student completes and defends a Masters research project focused on some aspect of clinical informatics (see below). A required product of the program is a Master’s thesis averaging 40-80 pages of text. |