Guiding Indigenous Students in Next-generation Genomic Studies with the Summer In

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): We propose to establish a six-day summer short course on genomics for Native American college and university students with a background and interest in genomics. The short term goals of the program, entitled the Summer Internship for Native Americans in Genomics (SING), are to train Native American students in next-generation genomic and bioinformatics analyses and to build capacity for scientific research of Native American communities. The long term goal of SING is to produce the next generation of intellectual leaders who will define the expanding frontiers of genomic analysis with a specific focus on genomic research with indigenous communities. These goals will be accomplished via the SING program by creating an interdisciplinary learning environment with learners and instructors from diverse intellectual backgrounds and a curriculum that empowers Native American learners to take leadership roles in addressing current and future challenges of genomic research and sovereignty of Native American communities. The expertise of the SING faculty and resources available at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign provide an ideal environment to educate Native American students to tackle important problems of genomics with indigenous communities. Our unique short course with significant "hands-on" training in molecular biology, bioinformatics and ELSI strategies will transform education for underrepresented minorities on our campus and in the scientific community generally. This program will be empirically evaluated to serve as a model for other institutions.