Undergraduate Research Experience in Neuropsychiatric Genomics

 描述（由申请人提供）：本提案旨在开发下一代测序（NGS）分析方面的UCLA夏季本科生研究经验（R25）。NGS彻底改变了基因组学领域，并日益渗透到生物科学研究和医学的各个方面。这一发展引发了研究人员和专业人员对数据分析技能的巨大需求。随着生物科学研究生课程和生物医学专业学校迅速调整其课程，更加强调定量分析技能，很明显，目前对“组学数据集”定量分析有理解和实践经验的申请人仍然非常有限。事实上，如果没有先前的计算生物科学研究经验，很难评估申请人在定量分析技能方面的能力。在生物科学研究的后基因组时代，缺乏定量分析技能将阻碍研究生和生物医学研究人员的职业生涯。拟议的研究教育计划将满足申请人对基因组学分析实践经验的需求，这些经验是在研究生院或专业学校取得成功所必需的。具体来说，这个新的R25计划将利用现有的基础设施，通过NGS分析研讨会提供这样的经验：加州大学洛杉矶分校定量和计算生物学研究所（QCB）的“基因组学中的熊”（BIG-SUMMER）计划。新的R25计划将使加州大学洛杉矶分校提供本科生，在全国范围内招募，有一个专门的暑期经验，重点是神经精神基因组学（BIG-NPG）。BIG-NPG将联合收割机结合QCB的NGS研讨会与加州大学洛杉矶分校神经行为遗传学中心（CNG）教师监督的个人指导研究项目和期刊俱乐部。这些教师正在通过几个合作NIMH赠款调查神经精神疾病的遗传和基因组基础。这些项目将为本科生提供对涵盖广泛的NGS应用（包括全基因组测序，转录组测序和表观基因组测序）的特殊数据集进行分析的机会。参加该计划将使学生获得在神经精神疾病的基因组学潜在的职业定义的研究经验。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposal is to develop a UCLA summer undergraduate research experience (R25) in Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) analysis. NGS has revolutionized the field of genomics and is increasingly permeating all aspects of biosciences research and medicine. This development has triggered a huge need for data analysis skills among researchers and professionals. As biosciences graduate programs and biomedical professional schools are rapidly adapting their curricula towards a greater emphasis on quantitative analysis skills, it has become apparent that the current pool of applicants who have an understanding and hands-on experience in quantitative analysis of `omic datasets remains exceedingly shallow. Indeed, without prior computational biosciences research experience it is difficult to evaluate applicants for their aptitude in quantitative analysis skill. In this post-genome era of biosciences research, a lack of aptitude in quantitative analysis skills will hamper graduate students and biomedical researchers through their careers. The proposed research education plan will address the need for an applicant pool with the hands-on experience in genomics analysis necessary to be successful in either graduate or professional schools. Specifically this new R25 program will leverage existing infrastructure that provides such an experience through workshops in NGS analysis: the "Bruins in Genomics" (BIG-SUMMER) program of the UCLA Quantitative and Computational Biology Institute (QCB). The new R25 program will enable UCLA to provide undergraduates, recruited nationally, with a specialized summer experience focused on neuropsychiatric genomics (BIG-NPG). BIG-NPG will combine the NGS workshops of the QCB with individual mentored research projects and journal clubs overseen by faculty in the UCLA Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics (CNG). These faculty are investigating the genetic and genomic basis of neuropsychiatric disorders through several collaborative NIMH grants. These projects will offer the undergraduate students the opportunity to conduct analyses on exceptional datasets covering a wide range of NGS applications (including whole genome sequencing, transcriptome sequencing, and epigenome sequencing). Participating in the program will enable students to gain a potentially career defining research experience in the genomics of neuropsychiatric disease.