STARNET: Research Experiences for Students & Teachers

描述(由申请人提供)： 这项建议是我们目前项目的继续，该项目让教师和学生参与研究，重点是了解药物滥用和成瘾的生物学。我们描述了一个涉及学生和教师的教育项目，该项目对导致吸烟行为的遗传和环境因素进行了多年的研究调查。这项调查将包括对匿名个人的病例对照研究，包括对几个候选基因进行基因分型，并使用问卷收集关于受试者环境和吸烟行为的信息。高中生将在他们的课堂老师的指导下进行大部分研究。这项研究的数据将在网上提供，并将开发教学材料，指导学生完成研究性研究和相关的生物伦理考虑。 研究调查将在四年内分三个阶段进行。在第一阶段，学生将设计一个研究方案，对一组匿名的人类受试者进行SNP基因分型和关联分析。几个教室的学生将参与选择具有影响酶活性的SNPs的候选基因，测试基因分型分析，并撰写人类受试者问卷。在提交给人类受试者批准之前，研究设计将由项目设计团队从医学遗传学、神经生物学、流行病学和生物伦理学领域进行审查和修改。与人类受试者或组织样本的所有接触，包括招募受试者、采集样本、进行问卷调查和准备DNA样本，将由华盛顿大学合格的实验室进行。在第二阶段，学生将对受试者进行基因分型，并将汇编包含受试者基因分型和问卷数据的数据库，并在随后几年提供用于关联分析。在第三阶段，学生将使用这些信息来开发和测试有关环境和遗传因素对吸烟行为的影响的假设。 到资助期结束时，我们将编制与吸烟研究和相关生物伦理问题相关的教学材料，建立受试者基因分型和吸烟行为和环境数据的数据库，并开发出模拟第二阶段获得的基因分型结果的低成本基因分型试剂盒。该试剂盒与项目指导材料和研究数据库一起，将促进项目传播，并将确保项目在资助期过后继续进行。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposal is a continuation of our current project, which engages teachers and students in research focused on understanding the biology of drug abuse and addiction. We describe an educational program involving students and teachers in a multi-year research investigation into the genetic and environmental factors that contribute to smoking behavior. The investigation will consist of a case-controlled study of anonymous individuals, including genotyping of several candidate genes and using a questionnaire to collect information about subjects' environment and smoking behavior. High school students directed by their classroom teachers will carry out most of the study. Data from the study will be made available on-line, and instructional materials will be developed to guide students through the research study and related bioethical considerations. The research investigation will be carried out in three phases over a four-year period. In Phase 1, students will design a research protocol for carrying out SNP genotyping and association analysis on a group of anonymous human subjects. Students in several classrooms will participate in selecting candidate genes with SNPs that affect enzyme activity, testing the genotyping assay, and writing the human subjects questionnaire. Prior to submission for human subjects approval, the study design will be reviewed and revised by the project design team from the fields of medical genetics, neurobiology, epidemiology, and bioethics. All contact with the human subjects or tissue samples, including recruitment of subjects, taking samples, conducting questionnaires, and preparation of DNA samples, will be carried out by qualified laboratories at the UW. In Phase 2, students will contribute to genotyping the subjects, and the database containing subjects' genotypes and questionnaire data will be compiled and made available in subsequent years for association analysis. In Phase 3, students will use this information to develop and test hypotheses about environmental and genetic factors that contribute to smoking behavior. By the end of the funding period we will have created instructional materials related to the smoking study and related bioethical issues, assembled a database of subjects' genotyping and smoking behavior and environment data, and developed a low cost genotyping reagent kit that simulates genotyping results obtained in Phase 2. The reagent kit, together with project instructional materials and the study database, will facilitate project dissemination and will ensure the continuation of the project beyond the funding period.