Dr. Rosa Alcazar, in collaboration with Dr. Stephanie Coffman, Dr. Malachi Whitford, and partners at Johns Hopkins University, Carnegie Science, and Stanford School of Medicine, has developed a Research in Genomics Biol-12 course for our students at Clovis Community College. This multi-institutional group of scientists and educators hope their efforts enhance a STEM identity and broaden participation from populations underrepresented in data science.
Biol-12 is a taste of what it’s like to be a genomics data scientist, providing students access to tools found at research institutions and primarily to upper-level students: instruction in genomics, current datasets, cloud computing tools, high-quality R tutorials, interactions with scientists, and an opportunity to pursue authentic research questions and share findings.
Dr. Alcazar has opened “Science Talks”, guest speakers within the Biol-12 course, to all interested students regardless of their academic path. On Sept 16th, a neuroscientist from Johns Hopkins University Dr. Lindsay Hayes gave her science talk on “Prenatal immune stress induces a diminished immune activation in the brain that impacts neural circuit connectivity” and on Sept 23rd Dr. Matt McCoy from Stanford School of Medicine presented on “The role of gene complexity in the evolution and function of nervous systems”. Both scientists were available for an “Ask Me Anything” session and this was followed by a genomics data science activity in RStudio, tailored specifically for Biol-12 students. Two more talks are currently being scheduled for this semester and an announcement will soon be released.
