This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. Primary support for the subproject and the subproject's principal investigator may have been provided by other sources, including other NIH sources. The Total Cost listed for the subproject likely represents the estimated amount of Center infrastructure utilized by the subproject, not direct funding provided by the NCRR grant to the subproject or subproject staff. OK-INBRE undergraduate partner institutions is now charged with considering how to """"""""reinvent"""""""" Oklahoma's undergraduate science curriculum along the lines of the Bio2010 model (Bio2010: Transforming Undergraduate Education for Future Research Biologists, by the National Research Council of the National Academies, 2003;National Academies of Science, Washington, DC). It is our expectation that these curriculum changes will be implemented incrementally during the next round of OK-INBRE funding. To begin this new type of multidisciplinary teaching, in the next funding period, we propose to provide to PUI students two different week-long course modules developed by the Bioinformatics and accessory MRI Core facility directors. Briefly, the course provided by Dr. Dyer and the Bioinformatics Core has the goal of introducing the students to phylogenetic analyses using free bioinformatics resources available from the web. The students will be exposed to the principles of evolution, sequence databases, sequence comparisons and analyses, sequence similarity searching, multiple sequence alignments, and phylogenetic tree building. Towards the end of this module, the students should understand the applications of bioinformatics resources towards elucidating important and relevant evolutionary information from a sequence dataset. The module will focus on using phylogenetics to make functional assignments, identify homologous relationships between genes, and construct phylogenies between organisms. This course will be taught in upper division molecular biology, genetics, microbiology, or evolution courses and will bridge the disciplines of biology, chemistry, mathematics and computer science. The module will be offered twice in the academic calendar year at various PUIs, as well as during the summer research program on the OUHSC campus. The other multidisciplinary course to be offered to the OK-INBRE PUIs will be taught by Dr. Towner from the accessory MRI core facility located at the OMRF. Biomedical imaging incorporates multiple disciplines. Physics and chemistry are used to understand at the atomic level how protons in MRI and X-rays in CT scans can generate the signals used to generate anatomical images that can be applied for medical diagnosis. Image display and processing involves the use of mathematical algorithms, such as Fourier Transformation in MRI. Biophysical processes, such as selective contrast agent uptake, water diffusion and perfusion, involve combined biology, physics and chemistry concepts. The extension of MRI to obtain metabolic information associated with pathological processes involves a strong reliance on chemistry and biochemistry. Molecular imaging incorporates a molecular-specific affinity component as well as a reporting or signaling component and draws molecular biology (immunology, cell biology) and chemistry (synthesis of molecular probes, pharmacokinetics). Imaging analysis involves the use of mathematical and computer programming for post-processing and quantitative assessment of morphological, molecular, functional and metabolic information that can be obtained from the data. This Bio2010 module will be targeted towards upper division undergraduate students in biochemistry, chemistry, immunology, cell biology, and physics. The module will be offered twice in the academic calendar year, as well as during the summer research program at the OMRF (see Appendix for detailed outlines and syllabi for both of these new Bio2010 multidisciplinary module courses).
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