REU Site: Genomics and Computational Biology

University Of Georgia Research Foundation Inc, Athens GA

Investigators

Abstract

ABSTRACT This site is supported by the Department of Defense in partnership with the NSF REU program. Hands-on research in Genomics and Computational Biology will bring 10 participants each summer to the University of Georgia (UGA) for ten weeks. Students are recruited nationally from underrepresented groups and will interact with an established interdisciplinary team working on identifying biological circuits for fundamental processes and validating these biological circuits by fitting them to genomics data. Since the discovery of DNA as the genetic material 60 years ago, biologists have been taking apart living systems on a finer and finer scale until they have been able to determine the complete genetic blueprint of many organisms. The challenge of the new millennium is "reassembling the pieces", i.e., moving from genomes to life. One approach to reassembling the pieces is to borrow a metaphor from computer science: the entire chemical reaction network describing what a cell does is a biological circuit. The theme for this genomics and computational biology program is "computing life", i.e., identifying biological circuits for fundamental processes like carbon metabolism and the biological clock and validating these biological circuits by fitting them to genomics data describing what the cell is doing.The program has operated for more than 6 years with more than 63 past participants. Students receive a stipend, housing and meal assistance, research supplies, and travel to and from lab. For more information, students should contact Dr. Jonathan Arnold at arnold@uga.edu or visit http://gene.genetics.uga.edu/FGCB.