Bioinformatics is devoted to advancing the scientific understanding of living systems
through computation. The Bioinformatics and Biological Computing Unit promotes and supports
the adoption, use, and development of bioinformatics tools for advancing biological research.
Since bioinformatics is such a broad field, our efforts are focused on those topics that are
most needed by Weizmann researchers; currently, most of our work is in the area of molecular
biology. In order to provide expertise across a wide range of bioinformatics tools, the group
includes scientists with advanced training in both the life sciences and the computational /
mathematical sciences.
Our website contains a variety of information about bioinformatics resources available at
the Weizmann Institute and elsewhere. Click on a link on the blue bar above to find out
about tools, training, and consulting that we offer, as well as related activities.
Sign up for our email list to stay in touch with
local bioinformatics updates.
Our Primary Activities Include:
Training: We teach several courses, including an introduction to bioinformatics
for biologists, Perl and relational database programming, and microarray data analysis.
We also sponsor a series of workshops on topics in the field; they typically include lectures
in the mornings and hands-on sessions in the afternoon. In addition, we help host a seminar
series, with presentations by Weizmann researchers and visitors from elsewhere.
Consulting: Our helpdesk provides email, telephone, and in-person consulting on
using bioinformatics tools. Support is primarily available for "sequence to function" analysis
of molecular biology data and microarray data analysis. Support for design of databases and
software systems is also available. Although we occasionally perform entire data analyses,
we generally guide the researchers who request our help so that they can learn to use the
tools on their own.
Infrastructure: Many people use our computers to access commonly needed
bioinformatics software and databases. Both commercial and public-domain tools are available.
Some groups also use our computers for developing the new generation of bioinformatics software
and for running advanced, custom data analyses. In addition, we provide computational support
to the Biological Services Department.
Poster for Life Science Open
Day - May 17, 2004 for Bioinformatics & Biological Computing-, DNA Microarray-, and Mass
Spectrometry- Units