NSF Award
1713681
Intellectual Merit: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory's three-week summer course in Advanced Bacterial Genetics prepares students for modern scientific research in molecular genetics. Students gain hands-on training in the theoretical knowledge and practical skills needed to analyze and manipulate bacterial genes and genomes both in vivo and in vitro. The course provides training in classical bacterial genetics and also exposes the students to modern molecular technologies, including high-throughput approaches, methods for genome engineering, and production of large-scale data sets. In addition, the students receive bioinformatics training that is necessary for modern molecular genetics including PCR and oligonucleotide design and DNA sequence analysis including genome assembly and annotation. The course is taught by instructors, who are chosen based on their expertise and contributions to the field of bacterial genetics and molecular biology. The instructors invite guest lecturers to give up-to-the-minute reports on current research on diverse topics, while emphasizing the genetic methodologies they used to study these topics. The format, which includes lectures, laboratory work and many opportunities for informal discussions with instructors and students, fully immerses the students in laboratory-based coursework. Course participants are chosen from a pool of highly qualified applicants ranging from early career scientists to senior investigators and coming from diverse research backgrounds, including biology, chemistry, engineering, physics, and mathematics.<br/><br/><br/>Broader Impacts: The course provides a collaborative environment for intense training in modern microbial genetics. For students working in fields such as synthetic biology, biotechnology, systems biology, or modeling, the course provides them with a strong foundation to understand and apply genetic methodologies. It also provides microbiology students, working with a diverse array of microbes, with an understanding of how to develop genetic methods needed to study non-model microorganisms. The course trains an ethnically, racially and scientifically diverse group and stimulates interaction among all participants of the course and provides mentorship towards research in modern microbiology.
