Empowering Genomics Educators: Scalable and Effective Training Models to Build a Skilled Biomedical Workforce through Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences

The Genomics Education Partnership (GEP) is a nationwide consortium of 265 faculty at 213 institutions from 39 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico. Annually, the GEP engages more than 2,400 undergraduates in genomics training and research via Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs). GEP faculty are from many types of institutions and 63% are 4-year Primarily Undergraduate Institutions. This proposal will further enhance the GEP’s commitment to the training of the genomics workforce by 1) developing both scaffolded training and a supportive mentorship network for faculty to implement CUREs (Aim 1); 2) generating new curricula, bioinformatics tools, and workflows that incorporate recent advances in computational biology and sequencing technologies (Aim 1); 3) providing training and virtual platforms for students to share their research and assessing the impact of those dissemination experiences on student retention in STEM (Aim 2). Activity 1.1 will create a network that provides continuous faculty mentorship to address concerns regarding their lack of experience and/or confidence in conducting genomic analyses (Stage 1), uncertainty about how to effectively integrate CUREs into their curriculum (Stage 2), and concerns about unexpected research outcomes and the complexities of guiding students through the research process (Stage 3). Activity 1.2 will develop curriculum and tools for six new and three established science projects that leverage the availability of large genomic datasets (e.g., Hi-C, Nanopore, PacBio Iso-Seq), recent advances in machine learning (e.g., annotation of enhancers), and workflows for analyzing protein signatures (e.g., phylogenetically-focused annotation projects). Activity 2.1 will establish for GEP students a Research Communication Academy to provide science communication training and a virtual National Student Conference to afford opportunities for students to share their research. Activity 2.2 will create a web-based platform to improve communication among GEP members, allow Project Leaders to monitor their projects, and help faculty manage student publications. Activity 2.3 will provide training on reconciling gene models and drafting scientific publications. Activity 2.4 will assess the impact of participating in research dissemination (presentations and publications) on GEP students. Collectively, the proposed work will enhance the genomics training of students and faculty nationwide, thus enabling them to navigate the rapidly evolving landscape of modern science, growing the genomics and biomedical workforce.