Centre for Computational Natural Sciences and Bioinformatics

Ph.D in Computational Natural Sciences or Bioinformatics

Ph.d. (Bioinformatics)

About the Program: Students admitted to the program have to complete a course work followed by breadth and depth examinations apart from the thesis work.

Objectives:

· To provide opportunity to work on a challenging research problem in the area of Bioinformatics and computational biology.

Advantages (for the student):

· The students will acquire sound concepts and learn to independently carry out research.

Duration: 3 – 5 yrs

Eligibility: Eligibility criteria: BE/BTech in CS/IT/Biotech/Bioinformatics or Master's degree in Programming/Maths/Sciences.

Admission Process: The students from BTech (CSE)/MSc (Maths) may take Computer Science/Maths as subject paper, while the students from the Sciences background will have CNSB as subject paper which comprises of three sections: Physics, Chemistry and Biology + Bioinformatics, and students, depending on their background are expected to attend any one Section as a major and another section as a minor part. The questions will be multiple-choice. For outstanding candidates applications are entertained round the year.

Curriculum (Semester-wise):

Breadth requirements:

Breadth requirements are to be satisfied by clearing the following 8 courses, with good grades, in the four areas outlined below:

Computer Science: ‘Programming + Basics of Databases + ITWS’

Courses: Computer Programming

ITWS1A

Problem Solving

Advanced Problem Solving

DBMS

Biology: Equivalent of

Introduction to Biology

Advanced Biology’

Chemistry and Structural bioinformatics: Equivalent of

Advanced Biomolecular Architecture

Biomolecular Structure Interactions and Dynamics

Biostatistics and Bioinformatics: Equivalent of

Biostatistics

Introduction to Bioinformatics

Advanced Bioinformatics

· Specific courses may be waived for students who prove their respective backgrounds. If a student feels that (s)he has the required basic knowledge, (s)he may seek a certificate to this effect from the teacher of the course and get it ratified by the coordinator of the Bioinformatics program. The center may also ask the students to take qualifier examinations in the breadth areas instead of taking the respective courses.

· Students either need to do the required courses or acquire the relevant knowledge by independent/self study. When a course with a title matching with a topic above is being offered, students may take that course. If such a course is not offered, then a related course may be taken.

In any case the students need to complete their ‘minimum number of courses’ as part of depth requirements, as elaborated below. The minimum course requirements should be satisfied with no PCO credits.
Satisfactory performance is defined as getting a grade of B or higher in each of these courses.

Depth requirements:

Students are required to clear any four courses of level 4000 or above. They may choose options from offered electives or from approved breadth equivalent courses.
It may be noted that the above represents the absolute minimum number of courses that a student must take, irrespective of his or her background. Depending on their backgrounds, and as per advice of supervisor, some students may have to do more courses.
Students are encouraged to take additional courses to build breadth and depth of knowledge in areas of their choice.

List of Courses:

	Bioinformatics
Breadth equivalent	Programming + ITWS + Basics of Databases
	Biostatistics + Introduction to Bioinformatics + Advanced Bioinformatics
	Advanced Molecular Architecture/Advanced Biomolecular Architecture + BMSID
	Introduction to Biology + Advanced Biology
Possible electives (IT)	Datastructures, DBMS, Data Mining, AI and Soft Computing, Pattern Recognition
Possible electives (Domain)	Computational Modeling and Simulation, Structural Bioinformatics, Computer-Aided Drug Design

Regulations: Visit URL

Admission procedure: Visit http://www.iiit.ac.in/admissions/pgee

Faculty: Visit http://www.iiit.ac.in/people/faculty

Research Centers: Visit http://ccnsb.iiit.ac.in/

Contact:

1. Prof Abhijit Mitra (Head); abi_chem@iiit.ac.in; +91 40 6653 1171
2. Dr Nita Parekh (Program Coordinator); nita@iiit.ac.in; +91 40 66531183

PhD (Computational Natural Sciences)

Students admitted to the program have to complete a course work followed by breadth and depth examinations
apart from the thesis work. The expected duration is between 4 - 5yrs.

Duration: Around 5 years; typically all course work is finished in the first year (2 semesters) followed by research work for the thesis.

Eligibility: Master's degree in Physics, Chemistry, Maths or other areas of fundamental science or BTech in CS/IT/Biotech/Bioinformatics

Admission procedure: Admissions are mainly through Post Graduate Entrance Examiniation conductued some time between Feburary and April every academic year. Visit http:/www.iiit.ac.in/admissions/pgee

Curriculum: For the course component, there are (a) depth and (b) breadth requirements, and the student need to satisfy BOTH. The recommendations may differ from student to student since the students come from a varying backgrounds, for example MSc (Maths/statistics, Physics/Chemistry/Biology and their interfaces, Biotechnology and Bioinformatics) and BTech (CSE, Biotechnology, Bioinformatics, other Engg. branches). The students are required to satisty the requirements for ALL streams listed below:

Below are the breadth requirements for Sciences Stream (Stream I) :

At least 2 courses from the set :
Equilibrium Thermodynamics and statistical thermodynamics + Elementary classical mechanics and nonlinear dynamics (biology, chemistry and allied areas majors) + Elementary quantum mechanics+ Introduction to biology (non-biology majors) + Advanced molecular/biomolecular architecture + Structural bioinformatics OR Biomolecular structure, interaction and dynamics.

Courses offered so far:
Advanced Molecular Architecture
Advanced Biomolecular Architecture
Classical Mechanics and Elementary Quantum Mechanics
Quantum Mechanics II (including Physics of Quantum Computing)
Thermodynamics & Statistical Mechanics
Introduction to Biology
Biomolecular Structure Interaction and Dynamics
Intro Bioinformatics / Elements of Bioinformatics / Algorithm for Structural Bioinformatics / Advanced Bioinformatics

The level desired is defined by matter included in the following text books:
Berkeley Physics, vols. 1-5;
Physical Chemistry by P W Atkins and the contents of courses offered.

Below are the breadth requirements of Techniques and applied areas (Stream II):

At least one of the following:
Mathematical and numerical methods + Bioinformatics

Courses offered so far:
Numerical Techniques and Computing
Numerical Analysis
Numerical Methods in Structural Mechanics
Numerical Methods for Computer Science

Below are the breadth requirements of Computer Science related knowledge (Stream III):

At least one of the following:
Programming & Basics of Databases
ITWS

There are courses offered for the B.Tech. Students or M.S./M. Tech students of 'IT in X' areas that may be taken for this stream

Students either need to do the required courses or acquire the relevant knowledge by independent/self study. When a course with a title matching with a topic above is being offered, students may take that course. If such a course is not offered, then a related course may be taken. If a student feels that (s)he has the required basic knowledge, they may seek a certificate to this effect from the teacher of the course or the coordinator of CNS program.

Depth Requirements:
Any four courses CNS/BI 4000 or above will be required. These may or may not be part of the list mentioned above in the breadth qualifier streams. Students may choose options from offered electives or from core courses.
Grades: A minimum of grade 'B' is desired for the courses taken.
Options: A student should consult the faculty for choosing courses that are relevant to his/her background.

Regulations: Visit Regulations URL

Faculty:

For a listing of all IIITH faculty, visit here.

Research Centers: For CCNSB website, visit here. For a listing of all research centers at IIITH, visit here.

Contact:

1. Prof Abhijit Mitra (Head); abi_chem@iiit.ac.in; +91 40 6653 1171
2. Prof Harjinder Singh (Program Coordinator); laltu@iiit.ac.in; +91 40 66531277