Dataset Information

Dissecting the Molecular and Neural Circuit Bases of Behavior as an Introduction to Discovery-Driven Research; A Report on a Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience.

ABSTRACT: Herein we discuss a Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) developed in order to engage novice undergraduates in active learning and discovery-driven original research. This course leverages the powerful genetic toolkits available for Drosophila melanogaster in order to investigate the cellular and molecular bases of cold nociception. Given the relatively inexpensive nature of Drosophila rearing, a growing suite of publicly available neurogenomic data, large collections of transgenic stocks available through community stock centers, and Drosophila's highly stereotyped behaviors, this CURE design constitutes a cost-effective approach to introduce students to principles and techniques in genetics, genomics, behavioral neuroscience, research design, and scientific presentation. Moreover, we discuss how this paradigm might be adapted for continued use in investigating any number of systems and/or behaviors - a property we posit is key to impactful CURE design.

SUBMITTER: Himmel NJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8040840 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Dissecting the Molecular and Neural Circuit Bases of Behavior as an Introduction to Discovery-Driven Research; A Report on a Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience.

Himmel Nathaniel J NJ Letcher Jamin M JM Cox Daniel N DN

Journal of undergraduate neuroscience education : JUNE : a publication of FUN, Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience 20201231 1

Herein we discuss a Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) developed in order to engage novice undergraduates in active learning and discovery-driven original research. This course leverages the powerful genetic toolkits available for <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i> in order to investigate the cellular and molecular bases of cold nociception. Given the relatively inexpensive nature of <i>Drosophila</i> rearing, a growing suite of publicly available neurogenomic data, large collecti ...[more]

PMID: 33880089

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Project description:Bioinformatics, a discipline at the crossroads of Biology and Computational Sciences, also referred to as Computational Biology, is nowadays widely spread in research programs. However, implementing any Bioinformatics projects requires the ability to comprehend biological concepts and apply computational approaches, and rare are the undergraduate programs offering such multi-disciplinary training. In addition, understanding the dynamic between Biology research projects and Bioinformatics analyses is challenging with no real-life experience. Course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) courses are innovative programs that allow more students to acquire research experience and provide the perfect setting to introduce students to applied bioinformatics. As a part of the Bachelor of Health Sciences of the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary (Canada), a CURE applied bioinformatics was implemented in the Winter of 2023 to 2025. Students investigated the effect of structural variants (SVs, genetic variants larger than 50 bp) on gene expression in the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans (a hermaphrodite 1-mm long roundworm). The students detected and characterized SVs by analyzing genome and transcriptome sequencing data of C. elegans strains called balancers, as they are known to carry large genomic variations balancing regions of the genome by limiting recombination and allowing maintenance of lethal mutations. They used Galaxy, a public web-based supercomputing resource, but also a local High-Performance computing system, and R, to report different effects of SVs on gene expression and splicing. Students’ research explained the molecular mechanism behind the uncoordinated phenotype caused by the reciprocal translocation eT1(III;V) and uncovered unexpected effects on gene expression on an understudied gene. We evaluated the course’s impact on student learning journeys and showed that the CURE favored students’ understanding of the Bioinformatics field and fostered their research interest. We provide here guidelines to facilitate the CURE implementations to improve access for undergraduate students to bioinformatics research experiences.

Dataset Information

Dissecting the Molecular and Neural Circuit Bases of Behavior as an Introduction to Discovery-Driven Research; A Report on a Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience.

Publications

Dissecting the Molecular and Neural Circuit Bases of Behavior as an Introduction to Discovery-Driven Research; A Report on a Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience.

Similar Datasets

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