Tan Ho: Bioinformatics Specialist
 Salary: $50,000 - $110,000
Tan Ho calls himself the “non-traditional Asian.” He emigrated from Vietnam when he was two-and-a-half years old. His family settled in the Bay Area where he thought he would go into business. Instead, he found his interest developing in science. After graduating from California State University, Hayward with a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences, he joined the government to work on a genome project.
Though his parents were wary about his involvement with the government, he took a position at the Department of Justice in California. Ho helped to collect and manage its DNA databank project. In its first year, the databank contained some 200,000 genetic fingerprints of convicted felons, which can be used to solved “cold” cases.
“I wasn’t paid as much, but it’s a good feeling when you go home, and you know you did something good … You can’t put a price tag on it,” he says.
Ho, 28, is now a bioinformatics specialist at Informax, Inc. His main role in the software company is that of consultant. Ho assesses what scientists need and brings that information back to programmers and other people involved in developing tools for molecular biologists.
“I like being able to help them get to where they need to be in their research,” he says.
Bioinformatics is a growing field in the world of biotechnology. According to www.bioinformatics.org, Fredj Tekaia at the Institut Pasteur defines bioinformatics as: “the mathematical, statistical and computing methods that aim to solve biological problems using DNA and amino acid sequences and related information.” Scientists, such as those working on the Human Genome Project, use computers to store, retrieve and analyze genetic data.
The field faces a worker shortage. The industry will need some 20,000 skilled professionals by 2005, according to a recent study. Salaries range from $50,000 to $110,000, depending on experience and level of education.
According to Ho, the industry is be growing out of its infancy stage.
“It’s still very, very new, but lines are being drawn in the dust as to what’s currently available and what the needs are.”
Ho stresses that a person interested in bioinformatics doesn’t need to already possess talent in both biology and programming.
“The main thing is that the field is so new, there’s plenty of other divisions in a bioinformatics company you can fit into. It’s tough to find people with skills in both … [with both] you would be a hot commodity.” |
