Student Attitudes Contribute to the Effectiveness of a Genomics CURE

The Genomics Education Partnership (GEP) engages students in a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE). To better understand the student attributes that support success in this CURE, we asked students about their attitudes using previously published scales that measure epistemic beliefs about work and science, interest in science, and grit. We found, in general, that the attitudes students bring with them into the classroom contribute to two outcome measures, namely, learning as assessed by a pre- and postquiz and perceived self-reported benefits. While the GEP CURE produces positive outcomes overall, the students with more positive attitudes toward science, particularly with respect to epistemic beliefs, showed greater gains. The findings indicate the importance of a student\u27s epistemic beliefs to achieving positive learning outcomes

The Genomics Education Partnership: Successful Integration of Research into Laboratory Classes at a Diverse Group of Undergraduate Institutions

Genomics is not only essential for students to understand biology but also provides unprecedented opportunities for undergraduate research. The goal of the Genomics Education Partnership (GEP), a collaboration between a growing number of colleges and universities around the country and the Department of Biology and Genome Center of Washington University in St. Louis, is to provide such research opportunities. Using a versatile curriculum that has been adapted to many different class settings, GEP undergraduates undertake projects to bring draft-quality genomic sequence up to high quality and/or participate in the annotation of these sequences. GEP undergraduates have improved more than 2 million bases of draft genomic sequence from several species of Drosophila and have produced hundreds of gene models using evidence-based manual annotation. Students appreciate their ability to make a contribution to ongoing research, and report increased independence and a more active learning approach after participation in GEP projects. They show knowledge gains on pre- and postcourse quizzes about genes and genomes and in bioinformatic analysis. Participating faculty also report professional gains, increased access to genomics-related technology, and an overall positive experience. We have found that using a genomics research project as the core of a laboratory course is rewarding for both faculty and students

A Course-Based Research Experience: How Benefits Change with Increased Investment in Instructional Time

While course-based research in genomics can generate both knowledge gains and a greater appreciation for how science is done, a significant investment of course time is required to enable students to show gains commensurate to a summer research experience. Nonetheless, this is a very cost-effective way to reach larger numbers of students

Could a simple antenatal package combining micronutritional supplementation with presumptive treatment of infection prevent maternal deaths in sub-Saharan Africa?

BACKGROUND: Reducing maternal mortality is a key goal of international development. Our objective was to determine the potential impact on maternal mortality across sub-Saharan Africa of a combination of dietary supplementation and presumptive treatment of infection during pregnancy. Our aim was to demonstrate the importance of antenatal interventions in the fight against maternal mortality, and to stimulate debate about the design of an effective antenatal care package which could be delivered at the lowest level of the antenatal health system or at community level. METHODS: We collated evidence for the effectiveness of antenatal interventions from systematic reviews and controlled trials, and we selected interventions which have demonstrated potential to prevent maternal deaths. We used a model-based analysis to estimate the total reduction in maternal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa which could be achieved by combining these interventions into a single package, based on a WHO systematic review of causes of maternal deaths. RESULTS: Severe hypertensive disorders, puerperal sepsis and anemia are causes of maternal deaths which could be prevented to some extent by prophylactic measures during pregnancy. A package of pills comprising calcium and iron supplements and appropriate anti-microbial and anti-malarial drugs could reduce maternal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa by 8% (range <1% to 20%). This estimate is based on Cochrane Review estimates for the effectiveness of daily calcium supplements in reducing the risk of death/serious morbidity due to hypertensive disorders (RR = 0.80, 95% CI 0.65-0.97), anti-microbial prophylaxis in reducing the odds of puerperal sepsis/postpartum endometritis (OR = 0.49, 95% CI 0.23-1.06), anti-malarial prophylaxis in reducing the risk of severe antenatal anemia (RR = 0.62, 95% CI 0.50-0.78), and iron supplementation in reducing the risk of iron deficiency anemia at term (RR = 0.33, 95% CI 0.16-0.69). CONCLUSION: Maternal mortality could be reduced by a combination of micronutrient supplementation and presumptive treatment of infection during pregnancy. Such an approach could be adopted in resource-poor settings where visits to antenatal clinics are infrequent and would complement existing Safe Motherhood activities

Saccharomyces cerevisiae calponin homologue SCP1 regulates stability and organization of the actin cytoskeleton

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Biology, 2003.Includes bibliographical references (p. 149-164).Calponins and transgelins are members of a conserved family of actin-associated proteins widely expressed from yeast to humans. While a role for calponin in muscle cells has been described, the biochemical activities and in vivo functions of non-muscle calponins and transgelins are largely unknown. I have used genetic and biochemical analyses to characterize the budding yeast member of this family, Scpl, which most closely resembles transgelin and contains one calponin homology (CH) domain. I showed that Scpl is a novel component of yeast cortical actin patches and shares in vivo functions and biochemical activities with Sac6/fimbrin, the one other actin patch component that contains CH domains. Similar to Sac6, purified Scpl binds directly to actin, cross-links actin filaments, and stabilizes filaments against disassembly. Furthermore, Scpl competes with Sac6 for binding to actin filaments and may share an overlapping binding site on actin. Overexpression of SCP1 suppresses sac6defects and deletion of SCP1 enhances sac6 defects. Together, these data show that Scpl and Sac6/fimbrin function together to stabilize and organize the yeast actin cytoskeleton. I used the genetic interactions between SCP1 and SAC6 to develop the first in vivo assay for function of any transgelin-like protein and established that actin binding is important for at least some Scpl functions. Sequences necessary and sufficient for actin cross-linking were identified in the carboxyl terminus of Scpl, outside the CH domain. Scpl may regulate actin cytoskeleton not only via direct binding to actin filaments, but also via its interaction with another actin binding protein, Abpl. Scpl and Abpl physically interact in a yeast two hybrid and co-immunoprecipitation assays. In vivo patch localization of Scp1 mutant defective for binding to actin filaments requires src-homology 3 (SH3) domain of Abpl. In vitro, Scpl specifically modulates Abpl-dependent activation of the Arp2/3 complex. In summary, Scpl may function in complex with Abpl to regulate actin nucleation by the Arp2/3 complex.by Anya L. Goodman.Ph.D

Teaching Bioinformatics in Concert

<div><p>Can biology students without programming skills solve problems that require computational solutions? They can if they learn to cooperate effectively with computer science students. The goal of the in-concert teaching approach is to introduce biology students to computational thinking by engaging them in collaborative projects structured around the software development process. Our approach emphasizes development of interdisciplinary communication and collaboration skills for both life science and computer science students.</p></div

Selected student responses to questions about cross-disciplinary teamwork from a voluntary exit survey.

<p>Selected student responses to questions about cross-disciplinary teamwork from a voluntary exit survey.</p

In-concert teaching approach: Clearly defined and interdependent student roles in the joint laboratory are built around software development process.

<p>In-concert teaching approach: Clearly defined and interdependent student roles in the joint laboratory are built around software development process.</p

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae Calponin/Transgelin Homolog Scp1 Functions with Fimbrin to Regulate Stability and Organization of the Actin Cytoskeleton

Calponins and transgelins are members of a conserved family of actin-associated proteins widely expressed from yeast to humans. Although a role for calponin in muscle cells has been described, the biochemical activities and in vivo functions of nonmuscle calponins and transgelins are largely unknown. Herein, we have used genetic and biochemical analyses to characterize the budding yeast member of this family, Scp1, which most closely resembles transgelin and contains one calponin homology (CH) domain. We show that Scp1 is a novel component of yeast cortical actin patches and shares in vivo functions and biochemical activities with Sac6/fimbrin, the one other actin patch component that contains CH domains. Purified Scp1 binds directly to filamentous actin, cross-links actin filaments, and stabilizes filaments against disassembly. Sequences in Scp1 sufficient for actin binding and cross-linking reside in its carboxy terminus, outside the CH domain. Overexpression of SCP1 suppresses sac6Δ defects, and deletion of SCP1 enhances sac6Δ defects. Together, these data show that Scp1 and Sac6/fimbrin cooperate to stabilize and organize the yeast actin cytoskeleton