The Next Bioinformatician

Bioinformaticians use statistical models to investigate some of the most puzzling mysteries in biology. Without answers to many questions in molecular biology, data science techniques are used to isolate only insightful data within the millions of repetitions of ACGT. Molecular research has found that many of science’s unsolved mysteries are locked up in the genome, and bioinformaticians have the important job to make meaning of the patterns, mutation profiles, and structure at the molecular level.

The growth of bioinformatics has been a global project. Shared databases have allowed open access to published sets of biological data, enabling the development of analysis tools for far simpler and speedier data analysis than the architects of the Human Genome Project ever thought possible. There exists tremendous room for creativity, growth, and development for qualified and highly motivated millennial scientists in the biosciences, and opportunities for those who already have a background in biology, medicine, or mathematics.1

Bioinformatics is set to be inherited by the next generation of data scientists, the millennials who were grew up using cell phones and laptops. These risk-taking innovators are not intimidated by the diverse skill set required to work in the field. The tech industry as a whole is younger than many other professional fields, and according to a survey by PayScale, the average age of employees at the fastest growing tech companies in the United States are well under 35 2. Millennials are more interdisciplinary than previous generations, welcoming diversity in their approach to problem-solving, so long as it improves efficiency and accuracy.

Why are millennials so suited for biotech?

1. Millennials think globally. As innovators, millennials want to change the world, and many gravitate toward fields that the general public has not fully engaged yet — emerging multi-disciplinary industries like bioinformatics.
2. Millennials strive for the greater good. The generational gap between millennials and the previous generation is vast, and young ventures often hold a higher value in social responsibility, which is often the motivation behind their research, and imbues their discoveries.
3. Millennials learn quickly! Millennials who are just entering their careers may look fresh-faced, but most are knowledgeable in new technologies and theories. And, unlike others who may have worked in the field longer, the millennial can quickly adapt to evolving technologies.

Millennials are used to relying on electronics and global connectivity to reinforce their understanding of the world, so IT skills come naturally to many. With advances in computing and NGS sequencing, biotech companies have sprung out of accelerators, incubators, and garages across the country, and young scientists are stepping up to the challenge of not only innovating bioinformatics approaches, and enabling discovery through data insights, but they are also laying down the foundations of bioethics regarding the data they work with.

1Hohe, Margaret. Bioinformatics-Seen From a Start-Up’s Perspective. Science. Web. http://www.sciencemag.org/careers/2000/09/bioinformatics-seen-start-ups-perspective

2Ramasubbu, Suren. From Gen X to Y and Z: Technology and the Generation Gap. Huffington Post. Web. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/suren-ramasubbu/from-gen-x-to-y-and-z-tec_b_7645410.html