SBIR Phase I: Bioinformatics Tools for Biology Education

这项创新评估了开发一套基于平板电脑的应用程序的可行性，这些应用程序允许学生询问分子序列，分子结构及其生物功能之间的关系。对于学生来说，最难理解的概念之一是为什么某些突变会影响蛋白质的功能，而另一些则不会。学生能够更好地理解这种关系，当他们比较来自不同等位基因形式的蛋白质的分子结构，定位突变位点，并确定结构变化发生突变的结果。很少有学生有机会进行这类调查，因为他们缺乏合适的软件工具，他们的教师缺乏经验和相关的教学材料。这些问题将通过创建一个工具包来支持分子研究来解决。该工具包将为平板电脑设计，将包含一个用于查看和操纵结构的应用程序，一个支持与遗传疾病有关的生物信息学研究的交互式数字实验室手册，一个教师指南，以及一个具有叠加和注释结构的数据集。更广泛的影响/该项目的商业潜力涉及到这套工具对科学，技术，工程，或数学（STEM），并增加学生对遗传学，蛋白质和蛋白质功能之间联系的理解。通过触摸平板电脑与分子物体进行交互的便利性以及指导学生完成发现过程的教学材料的可用性将降低学习蛋白质结构和遗传学的障碍，并使学生驱动的调查成为可能，适用于高中和大学课程中更广泛的学生群体。教师指南将通过描述示例工作流程来帮助教师实施这些材料，并通过帮助学生进行这些新类型的实验室调查来指导使用不同类型的应用程序以实现学习成果。通过该项目开发的技术将通过许可费和提供开发更多分子研究和学习材料的机会来创造商业机会。

The innovation evaluates the feasibility of developing a tablet-based suite of applications that allow students to interrogate relationships between molecular sequences, molecular structures, and their biological functions. One of the most difficult concepts for students to understand is why certain mutations affect the function of a protein and others do not. Students are better able to understand this relationship when they compare molecular structures from different allelic forms of a protein, locate the mutation site, and identify structural changes that occur as a consequence of a mutation. Few students have the opportunity to carry out these kinds of investigations because they lack suitable software tools and their teachers lack both experience and relevant instructional materials. These problems will be addressed by creating a tool kit to support molecular investigations. The tool kit will be designed for tablet-based computers and will contain an application for viewing and manipulating structures, an interactive digital lab manual that supports bioinformatics investigations related to genetic disease, an instructor guide, and a data set with superimposed and annotated structures.The broader impact/commercial potential of this project relates to the potential in this suite of tools for interesting students in careers related to science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) and in increasing student understanding of the connections between genetics, proteins, and protein function. The ease of interacting with molecular objects through touch with tablet-based computers and the availability of instructional materials that guide students through the process of discovery will lower the barriers to learning about protein structure and genetics and make student-driven investigations possible for a wider group of students in both high school and college courses. The instructor guide will assist instructors in implementing these materials by describing example work-flows and providing guidance in using different types of applications to achieve learning outcomes by helping students carry out these new types of laboratory investigations. The technology developed through this project will generate business opportunities through licensing fees and by providing opportunities to develop additional molecular investigations and learning materials.