While BioinfoTools' main priority is developing its own bioinformatics software, customers can enquire about opportunities to have software developed to personal specifications (see, for example the FAQ on on-request software development), have staff taught bioinformatics skills in areas of interest or other general consulting jobs such as reviewing a customer's bioinformatics development plans, studying a particular family of protein's and so forth. Note that this latter category includes bioinformatics research. All requests will be considered, priority is likely to be given to those which match BioinfoTools' own interests (see the FAQ describing the areas of biology BioinfoTools' own products target).

Customers are welcome to contact us either using our enquiry web page or email directly to enquiries@bioinfotools.com. All enquiries will be treated as confidential.

You will not be charged for initial quotes, discussions about possible courses of action, etc.

To give an idea of the scope of possibilities, sample project ideas are listed below.

On-request software development

Requests to develop bioinformatics software are welcome. These requests can include research-oriented development, where a customer wishes to explore developing new algorithms and tools in some area of bioinformatics.

BioinfoTools will not, in general, consider developing software to communicate with laboratory equipment (e.g. software to drive "robots" or other automated equipment). Please do ask, however, as there may be other solutions to your problem.

Example projects include:

• Modifying existing algorithms
• Developing faster versions of existing methods
• Developing more sensitive bioinformatics methods
• Software to automate reformatting of data sets
• Specialised searches (e.g. considering only the 100 bases upstream of known transcription start sites)
• Graphical user interfaces for text-based software

Training

Training in bioinformatics methods and programming is available, including guest lecturing on individual topics (including for academic institutions).

• Basic bioinformatics issues to either biologists or programmers/ computer scientists
• Lectures on particular bioinformatics topics at a level appropriate to the target audience
• Written documents covering the same issues; you could, for example, ask for the best method for a given task to be identified from the literature and a user manual describing the underlying science and how to use the software be written

Consulting

Consulting jobs can include a wide range of possibilities, e.g.

• Reviewing/assessing a company's bioinformatics development plans
• Advice on methods to use
• Summaries of developments in chosen areas
• Studies on specific families of proteins / protein structures
• Supervision/coordination of bioinformatics projects