| Title | Bridging life sciences and data science at the first-year undergraduate level |
|---|---|
| Faculty/College/Unit | Science |
| Status | Active |
| Duration | 2 Year |
| Initiation | 04/01/2026 |
| Project Summary | The importance of “dry lab” or data science skills has significantly increased across life sciences disciplines. This shift has led many undergraduate life sciences programs to incorporate data science into their core curricula starting with Data Science 100 as a first-year pre-requisite. However, students with a strong interest in life sciences often perceive data science as disconnected from biological research due to the non-biological examples and data used in the course. To address this, our project seeks to create a new life sciences-focused section of DSCI 100 that preserves the core concepts taught in the course but replaces all the examples, worksheets and final project with biological case studies and data. Through this initiative, we aim to provide students with a more cohesive and applied experience in data science; one that supports their interests in the life sciences and prepares them for the data-driven nature of modern biological research. |
| Funding Details | |
| Year 1: Project Year | Year 1 |
| Year 1: Funding Year | 2026/2027 |
| Year 1: Project Type | Small TLEF |
| Year 1: Principal Investigator | Evelyn Sun |
| Year 1: Funded Amount | 7,961 |
| Year 1: Team Members | Co-Principal Investigators: Evelyn Sun, Assistant Professor of Teaching, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Science Project Team Members: Eden Fussner-Dupas, Assistant Professor of Teaching, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine |