Acquisition of DNA Analysis Instrumentation for Research and Education

该奖项将为威廉姆斯学院的内部设施提供用于收集DNA序列和基因型数据的仪器。该资源将包含生成和分析这些数据所需的所有工具，包括基于毛细管的DNA分析仪，用于模板扩增和纯化的设备，以及配备数据分析软件的工作站。目前，研究人员依靠非现场服务来获取DNA数据，这种安排限制了数据收集的效率，并阻碍了学生研究人员参与收集DNA数据的许多方面。DNA分析设备将成为威廉姆斯学院科学研究和教育课程的一个组成部分。这将显著影响四位主要研究人员目前的研究项目：(1)小热休克蛋白在斑马鱼视网膜发育中的作用表征，(2)人类群体疟疾抗性基因的群体遗传分析，(3)自然选择野外研究中蝌蚪的个体鉴定，(4)环节动物模式形成中的Hox基因调控因子分析。科学课程中至少有三门课程，总共有200多名学生，将包括利用DNA分析设施的实践活动。这些课程包括生物信息学、基因组学和蛋白质组学跨学科课程的顶点课程，生物学系列入门课程，以及生物学专业的高级进化生物学课程。DNA分析设备的影响将在威廉姆斯学院广泛传播。学院的研究将受益于便于生成DNA数据的设备。学生研究人员将获得最先进的DNA测序和基因分型方法的实践经验，来自各个科学领域的学生将参与DNA数据集的生成，作为他们课程的一部分。通过这些影响，该设施将进一步实现威廉姆斯学院科学项目的两个主要目标：(1)为学生在威廉姆斯之后的追求做好最好的准备；(2)保持一支从事各自领域前沿研究的教师队伍。

This award will provide instrumentation for an in-house facility at Williams College for the collection of DNA sequence and genotype data. This resource will contain all the necessary tools to generate and analyze these data, including a capillary-based DNA analyzer, equipment for template amplification and purification, and workstations equipped with software for data analysis. At present, researchers rely on off-site services for the acquisition of DNA data, an arrangement that limits the efficiency of data gathering and impedes the involvement of student researchers in many aspects of collecting DNA-based data. The DNA analysis facility will be an integral part of both scientific research and the educational curriculum at Williams College. It will significantly affect the current research of four principal investigators on the following projects: (1) characterization of the role of small heat shock proteins in zebrafish retinotectal development, (2) population genetic analyses of genes involved in malaria resistance in human populations, (3) individual identification of tadpoles in a field-based study of natural selection, and (4) analysis of Hox gene regulators in annelid pattern formation. At least three courses within the science curriculum, with a combined enrollment of over 200 students, will incorporate hands-on activities that utilize the DNA analysis facility. These include the capstone course of an interdisciplinary program in Bioinformatics, Genomics and Proteomics, a course in the introductory Biology series, and an upper-division evolutionary biology course within the Biology major.The effects of the DNA analysis facility will be widespread at Williams College. Faculty research will benefit from access to equipment that facilitates the generation of DNA data. Student researchers will gain hands-on experience with state-of-the-art methods of DNA sequencing and genotyping, and students from across the sciences will participate in the generation of DNA datasets as part of their coursework. Through these influences this facility will further two of the main goals of the science program at Williams College: (1) to best prepare students for their pursuits after Williams and (2) to maintain a faculty engaged in research at the cutting edge of their fields.