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Brief History
Our department was launched with a vision to train top-notch manpower in the field of biotechnology. We hope that our graduates will play important roles in the development of biotechnology in Taiwan as well as on the stage of international competition. To complete our goal, our department started with a graduate program in bioinformatics in year 2002. Then an undergraduate program and a graduate program in biotechnology began to accept new students in year 2003. Our undergraduate program in bioinformatics was established in year 2003, which was the first undergraduate program in the field of bioinformatics in Taiwan.
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Important Changes in Departmental Organization
Undergraduate Program in Bioinformatics, which had been an independent program, was included in the Department of Biotechnology in 2004.
Graduate Program in Bioinformatics, with an associated Master¡¦s Program for Career Development, will be included under the Department of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, starting in the Fall semester of 2005.

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Our Mission

Our department thrives to integrate the best of biotechnology and bioinformatics. Biotechnology calls for a through understanding of the fundamentals of life as well as miraculous applications to improve the quality of our life. On the other hand, bioinformatics has the advantage of speed in calculation, data manipulation, and simulation. Our department is the first college-level institution to combine the faculty and equipment of both fields in Taiwan, and we aim to foster the following breakthroughs:
ùþ development of a comprehensive understanding of the basics as well as cutting-edge applications in biotechnology and bioinformatics among students.
ùþ  collaboration among faculty members, using information technology to answer biological questions.
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Objectives

Teaching

Our curricula encompass both theoretical and applicable aspects of biotechnology and bioinformatics, with equal emphasis on lectures and laboratory experience.  We hope to achieve the following goals:

Ø          encourage students to take our Special Programs so that they will develop a thorough understanding of various aspects of modern-day biology;

Ø          stimulate students to participate in laboratory courses and internships;

Ø          strengthen the professional knowledge and skills of our students;

Ø          urge faculty members to make full use of our teaching resources and to share teaching experiences;

Ø          improve the command of foreign languages among students;

Ø          enhance the quality of the biology section of our General Education curriculum at Asia University.

Research

Our faculty specializes in a vast variety of disciplines, including medical sciences, microbiology, food sciences, drug discovery and manufacture, biotechnology management, animal science, plant science, biochemistry, biostatistics, proteomics, microarray analysis, structural biology, and construction of biological databases.  We will continue to recruit outstanding new faculty members and to promote the following areas:

Ø          a further improved teaching environment;

Ø          professional knowledge and skills of students;

Ø          collaboration between academics and industry;

Ø          collaboration among faculty;

Ø          collaboration among our department and other research institutions;

Ø          participation of students in faculty research;

Ø          publication of research articles;

Ø          various forms of academic services.

Services

Our department is a stout supporter of Asia University¡¦s mission of bringing life-long learning experiences to the community.  We have government-approved for-credit and not-for-credit courses designed for everyone to take at their convenience.  In addition, we have a special track of 80-credit curriculum, whose credits can be accepted by universities and applied toward bachelor¡¦s degrees.

Our faculty members are energetic and fully participate in the day-to-day functions of our department.  We have a unique self-evaluation system to check faculty members¡¦ performance in various aspects of departmental business.  Our faculty members also serve as student mentors to help steer young minds toward a productive and enjoyable college life.

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Areas of Specialization

All our faculty members have Ph.D. degrees from credited universities with highly diverse specialties.  They include medical sciences, cell biology, chemistry, animal and plant gene transfer, cell culture, microbiology, food sciences, drug discovery and manufacture, nanotechnology, biotechnology management, statistics, gene survey, proteomics, microarray analysis, structural biology, biological databases, and image analysis, which truly reflect the nature of modern-day biological sciences.

Our department houses some of the most advanced equipment in biotechnology and information technology in specialized laboratories or research centers, including general biology laboratory, general and organic chemistry laboratory, biochemistry laboratory, molecular biology laboratory, cell biology and food science laboratory, common equipment room, bioinformatics research center, genomics research center, proteomics research center.  We also have special software such as statistical packages SAS, SPSS, MATLAB, Microsoft Windows operating system, and other software for databases, graphics, and network operation.  In addition, there are Computer Center and Distance Learning Center at Asia University, which can complement our own facilities.  Our faculty members and students have enjoyed full access to those resources and many remarkable research results have obtained from the integrative use of such a diverse range of facilities.

In addition to equipment and facilities, we have three Special Programs for our students and students from other departments as well:

Special Programs in Biotechnology (18 credits):

Required (Molecular Biology, Introduction to Biotechnology, and Genetic Engineering)

Elective (Food Chemistry, Animal Growth Biology, Basic Enzymology, Applied Microbiology, Basic Biochemical Engineering, Animal Biotechnology, Plant Biotechnology, and Food Biotechnology)

Special Programs in Biotechnology Management (18 credits):

Required (Introduction to Biotechnology, Genetic Engineering)

Elective (Introduction to Bioindustry, Bioethics, Patents and Laws of Biotechnology, Biotechnology Management, Basic Biochemical Engineering, Knowledge Management)

Special Programs in Bioinformatics (17 credits):

Required (Bioinformatics Programming, Basic Bioinformatics, Genomics, Proteomics, Basic Computational Molecular Biology)

Elective (Machine Learning)

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Internships

Internships are a unique part of our undergraduate curricula, which reflect the hands-on aspect of biotechnology and bioinformatics. Undergraduate students can elect either ¡§bachelor¡¦s thesis¡¨ or ¡§extramural internships¡¨ to improve their working knowledge and to enhance their chances of landing a good job or a good graduate program after graduation. Our department will assist students to participate in research in renowned laboratories in Taiwan so that they will have the opportunity to horn their lab skills in preparation of further study.

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Career Outlooks

Ø further study in graduate institutes;
Ø research positions in biotechnology and bioinformatics;
Ø research positions in IT technology and information management;
Ø information analysis and management in teaching hospitals or medical centers;
Ø teaching, R&D, marketing, as well as administrative positions in medical, agricultural, or environmental protection facilities.
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Future Directions

Twenty-first century is the century of biotechnology. There is no denial that biotechnology is the star industry of today and encompassing many mainstream applications of tomorrow. To lay the foundation of Taiwan¡¦s bioinformatics technology, Asia University started an undergraduate program devoted to bioinformatics, which is not only the first such program in Taiwan but is also among the first in the world. Naturally, our graduates will become forerunners in the industry of bioinformatics. During the last year, fifty-four percent of the total research budget of the US government went to biological sciences. Furthermore, Bill Gates, chairman and chief software architect of Microsoft Corporation, has invested heavily in biotechnology. When governments and corporations around the world are rushing to embrace biotechnology, Asia University will be among the leaders in training the future brainpower for Taiwan.
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