Summary
Background: Genomic technologies and particularly bioinformatics have significantly changed biomedical
research along the last decade and are being recognized as potential methods for application
also in medical practice and public health. There exists a growing need for different
collectives of the healthcare sector to receive training in the methods, tools and
databases related with these new areas.
Objectives: This paper describes the teaching experience of our department during the last ten
years and analyzes past activities designed for teaching bioinformatics to different
groups of health professionals. We aim to illustrate the main lessons learned and
offer useful clues to other groups interested in setting up training initiatives in
bioinformatics for health professionals.
Methods: The group selected several methodologies for the training activities (“face-to-face”,
online/e-learning) on the basis of three criteria: 1) the target collective, 2) the
contents of the course, and 3) its length. Courses were evaluated and the results
are hereby presented and discussed.
Results: National and international training courses on bioinformatics, biomedical informatics
and genomics were developed according to specific requirements defined by the profile
of each of the targeted health professional group. These activities provided the students
with the necessary skills for better understanding the use of bioinformatics tools
and databases and the appropriate way of applying them into specific health domains.
Conclusions: The increasing demand of training courses in new technologies related to genomics
and bioinformatics by health professionals provides a good opportunity for the development
of tailored courses based on their specific needs, expectations and demands geared
to bridge the gap between research and practice and facilitating their everyday work.
Keywords
Bioinformatics - genomics - education - biomedical informatics - e-learning
