RCN-UBE: The Build-a-Genome Network

Loyola University Maryland, Inc., Baltimore MD

Investigators

Abstract

This RCN-UBE network project seeks to foster a community dedicated to incorporating synthetic biology research into undergraduate curricula. Synthetic biology, the design and creation of biological systems not found in nature, is a powerful and increasingly common research approach, thereby demanding its inclusion in scientific training programs. The Build-a-Genome network will host annual workshops for educators from diverse undergraduate institutions, develop teaching materials and software that allow students to engage in design and synthesis of genes and genomes, coordinate the exchange of ideas, expertise, and pedagogical results, and increase understanding of synthetic biology among the broader community. The Build-a-Genome network's approach accomplishes many of the goals of Vision and Change, including integration of research into the curriculum, exposure of students to the interdisciplinary and collaborative nature of the scientific process, and enhancing students' abilities to model and create new genomes and systems and to apply the process of science. Because it exemplifies biology's shift towards interdisciplinary study by integrating biology, mathematics, chemistry, and computer science, Build-a-Genome will effectively train and position students for the science jobs of the future. The Build-a-Genome Network will develop and support diverse synthetic biology workflows that can be implemented at the undergraduate level including the following: synthesis of bacteriophage genomes, synthesis of yeast neochromosomes, and induced rearrangement of synthetic yeast chromosomes. Annual workshops will introduce network participants to the Build-a-Genome course workflows and the broader synthetic biology field, facilitate the collective creation of teaching modules on synthetic biology ethics, and encourage discussions about course implementation. The Build-a-Genome network will have a robust online working site where protocols will be iteratively refined, common software tools will be disseminated, assessment mechanisms and scientific expertise will be shared, and collaborations among students and institutions engaging in genome synthesis will be coordinated. Network activities will impact institutional curricula, produce lab manuals and teaching modules, broaden knowledge about synthetic biology among non-research-intensive schools, and result in presentation of research and pedagogical results at meetings and in publications. The network will include faculty from varied fields and institutional settings, including 2- and 4-year colleges, minority-serving institutions, a community lab, and a postdoctoral training program. As a result, diverse undergraduate students will gain valuable course-based research experience at the interface of genomics, bioengineering, and synthetic biology. This project is being jointly funded by the Directorate for Biological Sciences, Division of Biological Infrastructure, and the Directorate for Education and Human Resources, Division of Undergraduate Education as part of their efforts to address the challenges posed in Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action (http://visionandchange/finalreport/). Funding is also provided from the Directorate for Biological Sciences, Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.