The core seeks to encourage research and training at the interface between biology and the mathematical sciences. The educational goals of the core are to:

• Promote methodological research to develop useful statistical, mathematical, computational and bioinformatics methods and tools for the analysis of genomic data, including Next-Generation Sequence data.
• Foster the use of innovative analysis methods to address problems in genomic studies of human health and disease
• Provide interdisciplinary training to students and fellows
• Provide educational opportunities, such as formal, university-supported courses and workshops, to educate students and researchers as to the available tools in this expanding and challenging field of statistical genomics and bioinformatics.

To accomplish these goals, the following educational opportunities are available from time to time:

Introduction to Statistical Genomics: Starting in the summer of 2014, the director of the KUMC Bioinformatics Core, will be teaching Introduction to Statistical Genomics (BIO 799/BIO 855). This survey course will provide a high-level introduction of various statistical and bioinformatics methods involved in the study of biological systems.  In particular, this course will provide an overview of the analytical aspects involved in: the study DNA, RNA, and DNA methylation data measured from both microarray and next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies. This course will be held in a block format with 4 hours of lectures a day for two weeks (one week in June and one week in July), with readings and homework assignments assigned throughout the summer semester.

Applied Bioinformatics Journal Club:  The journal club involves researchers and students from K-State, KU-Lawrence and KU Medical Center, hosted via PolyCom, each Wednesday from noon-1 p.m., in Robinson 5030 on the KU Medical Center campus. Paper discussions focus on pros and cons of current data analysis software. If one lab runs into difficulty with software odds are good they're not alone. Therefore, group troubleshooting for independent projects is also encouraged. Additional Information on the journal club and the weekly posting of the paper for discussion can be found on   their website.

Department of Biostatistics & Data Science Seminar Series:  The Department of Biostatistics & Data Science faculty host seminars on the third Friday of each month during the academic calendar year at 11:00am - 12:00pm. Topics range from analysis methods for clinical trials to methods for the analysis of 'omic data. Additional information on the seminar series and upcoming seminar speakers can be found on the  Biostatistics website.

Workshops and Seminars: From time to time, half-day workshops are hosted on various bioinformatics and statistical topics. These workshops will provide researchers with introduction to the state-of-the-art bioinformatics and statistical tools available for the study of biological systems. The last workshop on Aug. 18, 2013, was "Statistical Genomics and Bioinformatics Workshop: GWAS and RNA-Seq Studies", which was sponsored by KU Medical Center Department of Biostatistics & Data Science in affiliation with Kansas - INBRE and University of Kansas Cancer Center.