Bioinformatics involves using techniques such as applied mathematics, statistics, computer science, chemistry, biochemistry, and microbiology to examine and solve biological problems at the molecular level (as opposed to, for example, the level of a whole organism or organ).

One example of a very large-scale bioinformatics program is the Human Genome Project, which concentrated on sequencing the entire human genome, and was collectively completed by a large number of scientists around the world. The information collected in this project is being used by Bioinformaticians for a variety of purposes, including the analysis of the genetic basis of human diseases and illnesses, and for the design and discovery of new drugs.

Bioinformaticians must have excellent analytical and problem solving skills, good communication skills, and be comfortable working with computers, as much Bioinformatics work is software-based. They will often spend several years working on the same project, and should be both detail-oriented and have the ability to see the ‘big picture’ even if they’re only working on a small aspect of a given project.