Project Profile

WNY Genetics in Research Partnership: Expanding Exposure, Career Exploration and Interactive Projects in Basic Genome Analysis and Bioinformatics

Description

This project will develop an ongoing partnership with disadvantaged schools across a 14-county region of New York that will facilitate teacher and student recruitment, preparation, and mentorship for careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Project activities will focus on basic genome analysis and bioinformatics, and the partnership will be directed by the University at Buffalo Department of Biotechnical and Clinical Laboratory Sciences (BCLS) and the New York State Area Health Education Center System (NYS AHEC). Thirty biology teachers annually from partnering schools will attend a two-week summer workshop at the University at Buffalo where they will receive training in use of the Integrated Microbial Genomes Annotation Collaboration Toolkit (IMG-ACT) of the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute. During Semester I of each school year of the project, NYS AHEC will organize college and career exploration sessions to familiarize students with the gene annotation project and to provide a "real world" context. Students will develop career plans by the end of Semester I as well as indicate their interest in participating in gene annotation activities during Semester II. During Semester II, each teacher will work with at least 5 students (150 total per year) on a genome annotation project using the IMG-ACT. Each spring, a Capstone Symposium will be held, bringing participating students and teachers together to present their projects and to interact with university faculty, researchers and bioscience employers. Formative and summative evaluation activities will be conducted for all teacher and student participants who participated in multiple years of the project to assess broader based outcomes related to changes in knowledge, behavior and dispositions toward STEM-related careers.

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PROJECT DETAILS

Award Number
1311902
Project Duration
2013 - 2017
Category
Strategies
Organization(s)
State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
~
Project Work State
NY
Target Gradespan(s)
High school (9-12)
Project Setting(s)
Formal Education
Informal Education
Geographic Location(s)
Urban
Project Status
Expired
Additional Disciplines
Bioscience - biotechnology
Additional Target Participants
Educators
Students
Boys
Girls
Students eligible for Free/reduced price lunch
Students with disabilities
American Indian or Alaskan Native
Asian
Black or African American
Hispanic or Latino
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
White