A grant has been awarded to Wellesley College under the direction of Dr. Andrea S. Sequeira for support of the Acquisition of a Genetic Analyzer for Interdisciplinary Research and Teaching in an Undergraduate College Setting. A diverse array of important biological questions in a wide variety of organisms are addressed in the ten research and teaching projects, undertaken by six faculty members of the Department of Biological Sciences, that will benefit from the arrival of the automated sequencer on campus. Projects that will utilize the instrument include: A study of differentiation of populations and formation of new species of endemic weevils, identification of differences in the genome of bacterial strains that respond differently to pH stress, using DNA sequences to identify genes that play a role in determining the localization within the cell of a protein that is important for cell division in budding yeast. The automated sequencer is considered a crucial piece of equipment that will play an important role in the training and research experience of Wellesley undergraduates. Wellesley has built an outstanding record in educating women scientists, a record improved in recent years by the increasing amount of students of underrepresented minorities being attracted to the sciences. The impact of the automated sequencer on research will be two-fold, enhancing research-training opportunities for students during courses and for those that take the opportunity to work side-by-side with faculty and enhancing the research environment for our faculty.
The automated sequencer will play a role in achieving the research goals described above but most importantly the instrument will be integrated into undergraduate lab settings at both intermediate and advanced levels, in at least five courses. In courses as Evolution, Molecular Genetics, Advanced Topics in Cellular Regulation, Molecular Biology and Population Genetics and Systematics, the acquisition of the automated sequencer will enhance the development of discovery based laboratory exercises, a realistic approach to science fundamentally different from traditional laboratory demonstrations. The advantage of in-house data generating, with the acquisition of an automated sequencer, will provide students with hands-on expertise in generating the data themselves and the possibility to customize the sequence analysis parameters while providing students with the tools to master a widely used molecular biology technique.
The opportunity for undergraduate women students to experience the excitement of research collaborations with faculty and access to state-of-the-art instrumentation has long been a hallmark of science programs at Wellesley. Many alumnae from the sciences cite undergraduate research with a faculty member as the single most influential factor in their choice of career. Ultimately, the broader impact of this award will derive from these well-trained and talented young women choosing to pursue science careers, strengthening the scientific society of the United States and expanding the benefits to all the society.
