Dealing with Data: Training New Scientists

The data deluge is already here (special section on Dealing with Data, 11 February, p. [692][1]). As a community, we should encourage young scientists to prepare for careers, such as bioinformatics, that will help address data issues. We should also find ways to move beyond specialization in one field and teach interdisciplinary flexibility. Scientists are needed who can communicate with the molecular biologists, pathologists, and geneticists as well as the bio informaticians, programmers, and IT specialists. Unfortunately, the best way to train this next generation of scientists is unclear. Current interdisciplinary PhD programs do not ensure that coursework is balanced across disciplines. One alternative would be to encourage wet-lab trained PhD students to apply for post-doc positions in bioinformatics. This would provide the foundation to understand and communicate with both the bench scientist and bioinformatician, but it also requires that we as a community be willing to take a chance and hire bench-trained PhDs with some bioinformatics affinity over the bioinformatics-only trained PhDs who are currently in short supply. [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.331.6018.692