Advanced Bioinformatics
Advanced Bioinformatics covers computational problems in molecular biology, studying algorithms for sequence modeling, phylogenetics, gene expression, structure prediction, and genome analysis.
Summary
Past student reviews · Colin Dewey
The workload was described as very hard, with exams requiring students to apply concepts that extended beyond what was covered in lectures.
What you’ll be able to do
Select and implement appropriate algorithms and probabilistic models for analyzing genomes, RNA, proteins, and biological networks
Write a manuscript describing a bioinformatics research study, including the motivation for the research, the scientific outcomes, and the detailed methods required to reproduce the study
Read a bioinformatics research paper to identify the key computational techniques and assess the evidence supporting the paper's claims
Identify emerging biological data types and data processing (e.g., single cell biology) and how the data can contribute to their research
Source: UW Guide 1· UW Guide 2
Grade history
↗All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors
Prerequisites
Course mapGraduate/professional standing
- Graduate/professional standing
This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.
Prerequisite text tree
- Graduate/professional standing
Professors
Spring 2027No instructors recorded for this selection.
Historical instructors & teaching patterns
COLIN DEWEY is recorded teaching in Spring 2007, Spring 2008, Spring 2012, Spring 2013, Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2019. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
Calendar & sections
Spring 2027Schedule loads here as you scroll.
| Section | Mode | Enrolled / capacity | Waitlist |
|---|
Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections.
Meeting source records
No records available.
Student experience
the class
Past student reviews · Colin Dewey
Students found the course very difficult, with assessments testing knowledge beyond the lecture scope while covering a broad range of bioinformatics topics.
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2024: 3.70 GPA, 80.0% A/AB (n=10 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.72 GPA, 88.9% A/AB (n=18 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.91 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=11 letter grades).
difficulty & workload
Past student reviews · Colin Dewey
The workload was described as very hard, with exams requiring students to apply concepts that extended beyond what was covered in lectures.
Past student reviews · Colin Dewey
A past student noted that instructor Colin Dewey appeared knowledgeable about every aspect of bioinformatics, including his invention of the RSEM algorithm.
Topics
- Modeling sequence classes and features
- Phylogenetic tree construction
- Gene-expression data analysis
- Protein and RNA structure prediction
- Whole-genome analysis and comparisons
Skills
- Implementing algorithms and probabilistic models for biological data
- Writing reproducible bioinformatics research manuscripts
- Critically assessing computational techniques in research papers
- Identifying and processing emerging biological data types
Grades
Latest available · Spring 2026— not enough history to project Spring 2027.
Grade distribution · % of letter grades
Grades over time
Through Spring 2026
More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data
Not enough comparable courses for Spring 2027 in UW–Madison.
Sources & history
Catalog & offerings
Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.
Catalog observation history
Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.
Selected offering source records
No offering records for the selected term.
Raw records
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Student reviews
Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.
Read original reviews
Grade history
Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.
Explore recorded gradesRecorded 2026-10-14
Model outputs & technical records
LLM outputs across runs
Full model traces
Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.
Model & dataset provenance
{
"model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
"model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
"task_version": "17",
"output_id": "897adf1d3b8c2861be04465cc85b282fcb4a87233a51062416cfe4f2f2a2fa23",
"requirements_status": "valid",
"dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
"observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}