University of Memphis Receives $1 Million Grant To Establish Bioinformatics Program

NEW YORK, Aug. 20 (GenomeWeb News) - Universityof Memphisofficials said today that the university has received a $1 million grant from a philanthropic foundation to establish a Master's program in bioinformatics.

"Bioinformatics is critical for a lot of research that's being done in the biological sciences," said Ralph Faudree, the provost of the university. "We want to have a program that's interdisciplinary. It will be a changing and upgrading of the current bioinformatics concentration within the computer science department."

Funds for the new program were granted by the Assisi Foundation, a philanthropic organization that supports healthcare issues and scientific research.

Faudree said the university will use the money to hire a chairman for the bioinformatics program and two new faculty, as well as graduate assistants and guest lecturers. The university is currently in the process of recruiting the chairman and new faculty members for the program.

Ultimately, the bioinformatics department will probably include several faculty from the biology department, two faculty from the computer science program and one faculty member who specializes in math sciences, Faudree said.