Research in the life sciences is undergoing a radical transformation. With the complete genome sequences of many organisms now available, scientists can begin to tackle fundamental questions that were previously intractable. Where do new genes come from? Which genes make us uniquely human? What functions are associated with different regions of the genome? Genomics will reshape biological research in the next twenty years and have a profound impact on medicine and human health, agriculture, engineering, our understanding of the origin of life and of the relationships among living organisms. Research in this new area requires the coordinated interaction of scientists with diverse backgrounds. To address this need, an Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) program in Genomics was established at the University of Arizona five years ago. In recognition of the changing directions of the field, four new activities will take place in this renewal: (1) a lecture and computer laboratory course on comparative genomics, in which all students will learn the foundations of genomics including the skills to participate in (2) a hands-on class on reserach in genomics, (3) teaching and outreach at a local science magnet high school with 70% minority enrollment, and (4) annual symposia with invited speakers from other institutions. The program will also build on existing strengths, including interdisciplinary advising, research rotations, seminars, training in ethics, discussion groups, and internships at other academic institutions or in industry. The impact of this training program will be to equip the next generation of biologists with the tools to tackle the challenges of genome-scale research. This program to date has been highly successful, having trained Ph.D. students in 37 labs from 14 departments at the University of Arizona. A key new component of the renewal is the plan to involve IGERT students in high school science education. This will bring science in general, and genomics in particular, to a wider community, and will encourage minority students to enter careers in science at an early stage of their education. IGERT is an NSF-wide program intended to meet the challenges of educating U.S. Ph.D. scientists and engineers with the interdisciplinary background, deep knowledge in a chosen discipline, and the technical, professional, and personal skills needed for the career demands of the future. The program is intended to catalyze a cultural change in graduate education by establishing innovative new models for graduate education and training in a fertile environment for collaborative research that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries.
Genomics is the study of the origin, structure and function of the totality of genetic information within living organisms. It can help answer some difficult questions. Where do new genes come from? Why do different parts of the genome have different ancestry? Which genes make us uniquely human? Which genomic regions show unusually high similarities between species, and why? Are particular combinations of genes preserved over evolutionary time? Genomic studies often involve the analysis and manipulation of very large data sets, demanding skills in biology and computational science at the same time One of the hallmarks of genomics is thus its interdisciplinary nature. The University of Arizona's NSF IGERT training program in genomics was motivated by the realization that students require training at the interface of molecular biology, evolutionary biology and computational science to be successful in tackling new questions in genomics. We developed a program of classwork, research rotations, symposia, and outreach activities to complement the training students were already receiving in many diverse graduate programs on campus. The program was centered on a two-semester core course combining lectures, with hands-on computer programming experience, and development of in-depth research problems from new genomic data sets acquired specifically for the course. Group cohesion and further intellectual growth was accelerated by a biweekly discussion group attended by students and faculty, with topics ranging from students' specific research interests to cutting edge technological advances to discussions of scientific ethics and outreach strategies. A yearly symposium brought world-class genome scientists from across the globe to Tucson to discuss their research and provide feedback and guidance to our trainees on their own research problems and interests. A significant time commitment to outreach was integrated into the program to broaden the impacts training would have beyond this group of trainees. In the six years of our IGERT program, we trained 50 graduate students, of which 18 have now graduated with Ph.D.s. Among the 18 students, eleven are currently in postdoctoral positions at research universities and labs. Three trainees hold tenure-track faculty positions at US universities. Other trainees have gone on to successful careers outside academia, in fields such as health informatics or working for Federal agencies. These 50 students have published 158 peer reviewed papers, including papers in the top journals in science: Science, Nature, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Several of these papers are authored by more than one IGERT trainee, reflecting the positive outcomes of interdisciplinary collaboration. For example, in 2012, five IGERT trainees from five different degree-granting programs at the University published a paper on the diversity of microbes in Sonoran Desert soils. By using genomic surveys of microbial communities, they were able to identify more species of bacteria than previously found using conventional techniques, leading to a better understanding of the biological riches that are cryptic in these extreme environments. The impact of this program at the University of Arizona has been much broader than just the circle of IGERT trainees. While the core course was required for IGERT trainees, it was also well attended by non-IGERT students and has now become part of the permanent curriculum at the University. In addition, the IGERT program helped create an institutional environment that fostered the creation of new undergraduate programs. A new undergraduate Bioinformatics degree program was initiated by one of the IGERT’s co-PIs, and by a former instructor in the core course. In addition to the degree program, other undergraduate courses in genomics and bioinformatics have been created to complement the graduate course offerings initiated during the IGERT program. A substantial component of our IGERT program involved outreach to K-12 education. Trainees who received two or more years of fellowship support were required to complete an outreach project in the local public school system. We allowed some flexibility with project ideas. Most students worked with a local high school, but others opted to create an event for the Arizona Science Olympiad competition or to develop a protocol for mentoring high school students one on one. Importantly, the outreach requirement gave trainees experience teaching to students from diverse backgrounds. Of the trainees who worked directly with high school students, a majority of them noted that the most challenging aspect was the art of teaching in front of the class itself. While most graduate programs at UA require students to complete at least two semesters as a graduate teaching assistant, students often do not have the opportunity to create a lesson plan, take ownership of it, deliver it in class and field the real-time responses. It was gratifying to see the high level of enthusiasm and energy trainees ultimately brought to these projects.
