The Genome Solver Project: Faculty Training in Bioinformatics for a Cure

Genome Solver, an NSF-funded project, engages in workshops to train faculty in basic bioinformatics skills. In the current iteration, Genome Solver On-the-Go, instructors travel to individual schools to help create local hubs of expertise. In addition, we have recently developed a community science project so that faculty and their students can join in our research, in which we collect instances of bacteriophage genes embedded in bacterial genomes so that we can understand more deeply how this form of horizontal gene transfer impacts bacterial evolution. To measure the impact of the program, we have also collected student learning data using a pre-/post-quiz format from approximately 650 students at five different schools. The data suggest that bioinformatics instruction leads to learning gains on a variety of bioinformatics topics. We interpret this to mean that the Genome Solver workshops are an effective means of encouraging faculty to engage in bioinformatics instruction. More about Genome Solver, including the upcoming workshop schedule, the community science project, curriculum materials, and most importantly, the members of the community can be found at http://genomesolver.org.