Applied Workshops in Bioinformatics – Introducing Bioinformatics into Undergraduate Education at UBC

TitleApplied Workshops in Bioinformatics – Introducing Bioinformatics into Undergraduate Education at UBC
Faculty/College/UnitOther...
OtherMichael Smith Laboratories
StatusCompleted
Duration2 Year
Initiation04/01/2004
Completion03/31/2006
Funding Details
Year 1: Project TitleApplied Workshops in Bioinformatics – Enabling Students Use of Bioinformatics
Year 1: Project YearYear 1
Year 1: Funding Year2004/2005
Year 1: Project TypeSmall TLEF
Year 1: Principal InvestigatorFrancis Ouellette
Year 1: Funded Amount20,000
Year 1: Team Members

Francis Ouellette, UBC Bioinformatics Centre, Biotechnology Laboratory
Brian Ellis, Biotechnology Laboratory / Faculty of Agricultural Sciences
Carl Douglas, Botany, Faculty of Science
Michael Murphy, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Science
Anne Condon, Computer Science, Faculty of Science

Year 1: Summary

The application of computers to biology, also known as bioinformatics, is an important interdisciplinary field of modern science which is used to further innovative research at UBC. There is a gap between this specialized area of research and the hands-on training available to students and trainees in this field. This project aims to increase access and exposure to bioinformatics for undergraduate and graduate students at UBC, in line with the Trek 2000 strategies of integrating information technology within the learning environment, increasing the competitiveness of UBC researchers through their mastery of cutting-edge research opportunities and expanding the interdisciplinary research and learning at university. This initiative will build upon the small bank of resources and workshop-style training currently available to bioinformatics users through the UBC Bioinformatics Centre.

The objectives of this project are: to develop a modular curriculum that will give students and trainees the skills necessary to understand and apply bioinformatics to their own research; to deliver a pilot series of topic-specific bioinformatics workshops; to evaluate, improve, and re-deliver these hands-on workshops; and to provide provide stable bioinformatics modules that can be delivered as workshops or incorporated into existing courses at UBC. These modules will complement and enhance existing bioinformatics courses, such as MICB 405, ISCI345, CPSC 445 and CPSC 545, offered across different disciplines at UBC.

Year 2: Project YearYear 2
Year 2: Funding Year2005/2006
Year 2: Project TypeSmall TLEF
Year 2: Principal InvestigatorJoanne Fox
Year 2: Funded Amount17,775
Year 2: Team Members

Joanne Fox, UBC Bioinformatics Centre, Michael Smith Laboratories
Anne Condon, Computer Science, Faculty of Science
Carl Douglas, Botany, Faculty of Science
Brian Ellis, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences / Michael Smith Laboratories
Steven Lund, Wine Research Centre, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences
Michael Murphy, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Science
David Ng, Advanced Molecular Biology Laboratory, Michael Smith Laboratories
Francis Ouellette, UBC Bioinformatics Centre, Michael Smith Laboratories

Year 2: Summary

Bioinformatics, the application of computer science to biology is an important interdisciplinary field of modern science which is well placed to appeal to students in a wide variety of disciplines at early stages in their education. There is a gap between this specialized area of research and the undergraduate learning opportunities available to students in this field. "It's not a matter of a lack of interest, it's a matter of exposure” comment from Matt Ingham, 4th year undergraduate student in the Integrated Sciences program at UBC. This project aims to capitalize on this interest by increasing exposure to bioinformatics earlier in undergraduate education at UBC, in line with Trek strategies of integrating cutting edge research technologies into undergraduate learning, providing the best possible educational experiences for our students, encouraging our students to pursue rewarding careers, and expanding interdisciplinary research and learning at the university.

The first year of this TLEF funded project has been very successful in developing, delivering. and evaluating a pilot series of topic-specific workshops in bioinformatics aimed at senior undergraduate and graduate level students. During our second year, we will build upon this now rich bank of curricula to reach out to all undergraduate students.

The objectives of this project are: to convert our more specialized workshop curricula (designed as half-day sessions for small groups) into short biointormatics teaching units aimed at capturing the interest of wide audiences of undergraduate students in larger classroom settings; to develop, test, and evaluate a set of these bioinformatics teaching materials in four specific courses at UBC; and, to provide and maintain an online resource for teaching bioinformatics that enables the distribution, development, and evaluation of these teaching units.