E-PACERR: ENHANCING PROFESSIONALISM, ADVOCACY, AND CAPACITY FOR EXCELLENCE IN RESPONSIBLE BIOINFORMATICS RESEARCH

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PROJECT SUMMARY This project will develop free, open, self-paced online modules on the Canvas LMS for exposing and educating bioinformatics trainees on knowledge that is typically considered to be outside of formal training in a traditional research education program. The topics to be covered include professionalism, tenets of reproducibility and replicability, standards for excellence, technical writing skills, best practices for data and code sharing, and advocacy in research. By exposing trainees to this knowledge, which can often be institutional and dependent on mentorship, we will (1) build confidence in trainees' ability to perform reproducible research in their own laboratory, research group, or workplace setting; (2) support a more active and engaged bioinformatics research workforce; and (3) provide a piloted curriculum for other bioinformatics research training programs to implement in their own educational settings. Direct trainings on ethics, responsible research, or professionalism are notably absent in most formal training in bioinformatics. While a number of supplementary responsible conduct in research trainings exist, many of these focus on achieving compliance instead of best practice. To build a standard of excellence in bioinformatics research, trainees need a sense of community and knowledge of the historical context of biomedical research to understand and motivate the need for excellence in bioinformatics research in practice. Our modules will teach trainees about the bioinformatics community, and how to engage that community in a number of scenarios depending on their personal ability to do so. Content will be broken down into a minimum of 12 major modules, and will be presented as a combination of videos, quizzes, audio interviews, at-home exercises, coding exercises, and open- access reading material. All exams/quizzes/assignments will be auto graded. The proposed project will serve to complement ongoing training in bioinformatics education at any point in one's career. Provision of short, online, self-paced modules allows the user to compare their results to other common results, as well as informing trainees how to most effectively join in their local, regional, and international science communities to discuss and engage other users on their approaches. By demonstrating the value of this training through addressing questions that trainees typically have about the `non-formal' aspects of research training, we will achieve better trainee engagement and therefore a more effective “responsible conduct in research” experience, improving professional competence in bioinformatics trainees.