The Faculty of Science at Stellenbosch University has delivered its very first MSc-graduate in the new field of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology.
Heléne Fouché will receive her degree, cum laude, at a virtual graduation ceremony on 1 April 2021, together with another 34 MSc- and 21 PhD-graduates. She completed her MSc-thesis under the supervision of Prof Hugh Patterton, director of the Centre for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, established in 2017.
Due to the growing interest in this field, SU now offers an under-graduate stream in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology as an inter-disciplinary BSc-degree, followed by the full complement of postgraduate degrees in this field, from a BScHons and MSc to a PhD degree in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology.
Heléne says her interest in Bioinformatics was piqued during one of the third year modules in Biochemistry, when Prof Patterton presented a submodule on bioinformatics: “I thoroughly enjoyed it and was keen to get more exposure to the subject. At that stage neither an MSc nor a BScHons in Bioinformatics existed. I organised with the Department of Genetics and Prof Patterton to do the project component of my Honours-degree in Bioinformatics."
By the end of her Honours degree the Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology had been established, and Prof Patterton invited her to pursue an MSc in Bioinformatics.
For her research project, Helene developed a bioinformatics tool to study large-scale genomic evolution: “Briefly, the tool identifies all the different ways in which one genome might have evolved into another via genome rearrangements," she explains.
According to Prof Patterton, there are currently many bioinformatics tools to investigate small, single nucleotide mutations, but effective tools to study large-scale alterations in genome sequences are scarce: “Ms Fouché tackled the problem by investigating different methods to compare two evolutionary-related genome sequences, and to identify structural events that generated the evolutionary distance between the two genomes."
She wrote a Python program to implement this method, and then demonstrated the utility and power of the method by analysing the genetic events that accompanied the appearance of modern yeast strains from ancient strains. The software tool is open access, and easy to use by geneticists and evolutionary biologists.
Heléne says the hardest part of the research process was actually getting started and putting in the necessary hours to learn as much about the field as possible: “I most enjoyed the actual programming component of the project, the logic and the trouble shooting."
What is her advice for undergraduate students interested in bioinformatics but without any coding experience: “Do not let it deter you. It is something you can easily pick up as you go along, if you have the will to do so.
“Bioinformatics is a fast growing field and the demand in the sector is high. You can't go wrong in choosing to pursue this direction," she concludes.
Heléne, who is an alumnus of Helpmekaar Kollege in Johannesburg, now works as a junior software engineer, but plans to return to continue with a PhD at a later stage.
Contact details
Heléne Fouche – helenexfouche@gmail.com
Prof Hugh Patterton – hpatterton@sun.ac.za.
