US-Mexico workshop on evolutionary genomics of non-model species: next-gen sequencing, data management and hypothesis testing, Irapuato, Mexico, July 19-21, 2011

University Of Georgia Research Foundation Inc, Athens GA

Investigators

Abstract

This U.S.-Mexico award provides funding for U.S. participation in a workshop on evolutionary genomics of non-model species, to take place in Irapuato, Mexico in July 2011. The workshop will be held in conjunction with a larger event, the annual meeting of the American Genetic Association. This award will enable 20 US graduate students and four faculty to attend the workshop, and approximately 20 Mexican graduate students will join them at this workshop. The goal of the workshop is to inform students of recent protocols in next-generation sequencing in population genomics and phylogenomics, and to promote future collaborations between US and Mexican graduate students and early-stage faculty. The focus will be on the application of phylogeographic and phylogenomic methods to non-model organisms, that is, moving beyond lab-model species. The workshop will also consider the pros and cons of the different methods of next-generation sequencing, depending on the type of question and project that they are applied to. The focus of this workshop on non-model organisms is critical, considering the current world-wide loss of biodiversity. This workshop will also help train current graduate students in the use of next-generation sequencing methods, for which there is a great need. Student participants will be recruited from a diverse group of applicants and should help develop a new generation of genomics researchers. This experience will also expose the students to research conducted in international settings, which is a major goal of the Office of International Science and Engineering. This award is funded by the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biology and the Division of Environmental Biology in the Directorate for Biological Sciences and the Americas Program in the Office of International Science and Engineering.