Discover how Langara College’s Bioinformatics program helped student Mike Wu gain research experience, complete a successful co-op placement, and earn a PhD offer from UBC.
When Mike Wu first enrolled at Langara College in 2019, his goal was straightforward: become a pharmacist. But after experiencing the realities of the pharmacy profession and feeling unsure about his path, Mike found himself at a crossroads. That’s when the emerging field of bioinformatics caught his attention, and with it, a new future.
"I heard a lot of stories about people practicing pharmacy," said Mike. " I realized it wasn’t really for me."
After the pandemic hit, Mike discovered Langara’s newly launched Bioinformatics program, which offers a unique blend of biology and computer science. He reached out to the program coordinator and their conversation helped him decide to switch path.
Once in the program, Mike quickly realized he had found the right fit. “I did pretty well in biology and computer science,” he said. “That gave me confidence to think ‘maybe I could actually do real projects in bioinformatics.’”
Real research opportunities
At Langara, Mike went beyond simply attending classes and dove headfirst into research. During his second year, a classmate encouraged him to apply for a student researcher position with Langara’s Applied Research Centre (ARC).
He soon found himself working on several projects dealing with diverse high throughput biological data, referred to as "omics" data. Under the supervision of Dr. Ido Hatam, Mike assisted in the construction of pangenomes for the plants and under the supervision of Dr. Ji Yong Yang, he contributed to analyzing metabolomics data from Humulus lupulus (Hops) and samples prepping.
These projects allowed Mike to gain valuable hands-on skills. “We used high-performance cluster computers to analyze genome sequences,” explains Mike. “It was great to actually use computational tools to work with real biological data.”
Mike appreciated that Langara’s smaller size made research opportunities more accessible. “The highlight of this program is the chance to do real research, work closely with faculty, and build experience that you would usually only get at larger universities,” Mike said.
It’s cutting-edge work. Nothing boring or old-fashioned.
In addition to his work with ARC, Mike also became a teaching assistant in Langara’s Computer Science department, assisting first-year students; a role that further deepened his knowledge and confirmed his love of teaching.
The power of co-op
Another defining moment of Mike’s Langara experience was his co-op placement at ProCogia, a Vancouver-based data science consultancy. During his year-long co-op, he worked on Eversus, a cloud-based multi-omics analytic platform, gaining critical experience in cloud computing, workflow design, and advanced bioinformatics analysis.
"I learned a lot from the co-op, from cloud computing to different computational tools and how to put together different types of analysis.”
Beyond technical skills, Mike emphasized the importance of the professional experience the coop provided: “You must deal with people, communicate with coworkers and managers. It was a great experience for me.”
A bright future ahead
Now, Mike is taking the next big step: he’s been accepted into the PhD program in Bioinformatics at UBC.
His decision to pursue graduate studies was deeply influenced by his co-op experience. “During my co-op, I worked with so many PhDs. They were so knowledgeable, and I realized that to reach that level, I needed to continue my studies,” Mike said. “Plus, I discovered how much I enjoy teaching. My dream is to become a professor one day.”
Applying for graduate school wasn’t easy, but Mike focused on highlighting his real-world experiences rather than just grades. “The professors told me it’s not about where you graduated from. It’s about your experience and your passion,” he said.
Looking back, Mike credits Langara’s Bioinformatics program with giving him the skills, experience, and confidence to move forward.
“This program builds you up one step at a time,” Mike said. “I went from someone who had zero knowledge in the field to someone capable of doing intermediate to advanced research work.”
Mike’s success story highlights the unique strength of Langara’s Bioinformatics program: a combination of strong academic foundations, real-world research opportunities, and career-focused co-op placements.
