Definition
In the UK, a bioinformatician is a healthcare scientist who applies computer science and information technology to analyse and interpret biological data, for example by writing data analysis algorithms and managing data storage.
Use in clinical context
Interpreting biological data is an important part of the genomic testing process, from taking a patient sample to delivering results. Bioinformaticians are crucial for this data interpretation, as they develop and/or manage the data filtering process to ensure the most relevant variants are available for interpretation by clinical scientists.
To find out more about bioinformaticians and their role in genomics, see the NHS health careers clinical bioinformaticians page and this case study from Genomics England.
Related terms
Artefact (genetics) | False negative | Read | Read depth | Read length | Variant calling | Variants of uncertain significance
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