Early Exposure to Bioinformatics for Middle School Students

Early exposure to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) topics will empower students to explore a variety of career disciplines available to them in undergraduate and graduate programs. Bioinformatics sits at an intersection of molecular biology, genetics, mathematics, and computer sciences. Many researchers and bio-medical professionals utilize these tools for analysis of large amounts of data obtained from high-throughput experimentation. Despite its significant benefits in many biological fields, the learning curve, even at an introductory level, for this field is large. Dr. Harrison has designed this course with an intention to expose the students to basic molecular biology concepts and bioinformatics tools via activities such as finding a disease gene, assembling a DNA message, searching for a hidden codon message, and generating family trees. These activities are intended to engage students and cultivate an interest in these STEM disciplines. The pre-requisites for the course are as follows: 7th grade biology coursework.