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Engaging undergraduate students in functional genomics research
Author(s) -
Eckdahl Todd T.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.20.4.a16
Subject(s) - context (archaeology) , dna microarray , genomics , functional genomics , computational biology , class (philosophy) , microarray , biology , gene , genome , gene expression , genetics , computer science , paleontology , artificial intelligence
Students at Missouri Western State College have been involved in microarray experiments in the context of a course and during independent research. The adaptation of this technology to this undergraduate environment has been facilitated by the Genome Consortium for Active Teaching. Access to microarrays and support from GCAT faculty has enabled Missouri Western students to study minor groove binding drugs (MGBDs), an important class of antitumor drugs whose abilities to interact with DNA in a sequence‐specific fashion suggest that they may be used to target genes that enable cancer cells to proliferate and avoid apoptosis. The objective of the study was to determine the effects of minor groove binding drugs (MGDBs) on gene expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The results promise to contribute to an improved understanding of the mechanisms of action of MGBDs as an important class of antitumor agents. Assessment measurements showed that the students engaged in the research improved their knowledge of functional genomics and gained an appreciation of the connection between molecular biology and computer science. This research was supported through funding from NIH Grant 1R15CA096723‐01.