BIO, CHEMISTRY AND COMPUTERS!

BIO, CHEMISTRY AND COMPUTERS!

5	Name: Sander Timmer Date of birth: 21-02-1986 Education: firstly higher vocational education in Bio-informatics; now doing an university education in Bioinformatics Profession: Trainee at the European Bioinformatics Institute, Cambridge, GB Function in 25 years? Probably something very challenging... Hobbies: Holidays, travel, attending concerts and good food

Which education have you followed?
At the moment I am studying Bioinformatics at university; before that higher vocational education in Bioinformatics. I didn't really know what I wanted to do when I was at secondary school - I only had a vague idea of 'something with computers, but not only with computers'. At an open day I realised that a new course would be starting which proved to be a combination of biology, chemistry and computer science: Bioinformatics.

Why did you choose this field?
The combination of computer science and biology appealed greatly to me. The analysis of complex biological problems (for instance the relationship between genes and certain types of schizophrenia) requires a well-thought out approach, especially in view of the increasingly larger data sets.

What is an average work day like?
Part of an average work day consists of consultations with managers and other researchers and there are presentations and workshops almost every day. A walk around the lake after lunch if the weather is fine and lunch in the pub on Fridays - we are after all in England… There is also a daily coffee break for the whole institute. Work is done in between.

What makes your field so special?
Because science is international, therefore bioinformatics as well, it is quite easy to do your work experience or take certain subjects overseas. Moreover bioinformatics is a broad discipline so there are many pathways to be taken during and after your studies. In my opinion this makes the course a lot more challenging and broader than many others.

Have you discovered anything in particular?
At the moment I am working in Cambridge (GB) on the 1000-genomes-project. That is an international collaboration project to map out the variation in hereditary material between population groups. With this data we will be able to see the differences between people more clearly. This knowledge can be used later for cancer research for instance.