Bioinformatics has made significant strides in the last decade that have led to improvements in health. It is an interdisciplinary field that combines computer science and mathematics to understand biological data. Bioinformatics has numerous applications in fields such as medicine, health, and agriculture. The University of Maryland has an extensive track record of conducting research in this field and has developed several open-source software tools, including Bowtie.

UM-IHC focuses more on translational research in bioinformatics. UM-IHC leverages immense computation to analyze and interpret large amounts of biological data such as gene sequences, transcriptomics, structural genomics, and more. This analysis can be used to make predictions, develop diagnostic tools, and identify drug targets.