The long-term objective of the Bioinformatics Core is to augment and strengthen Wyoming's biomedical research capacity by providing bioinformatics tools and resources to the Wyoming INBRE Network. The primary Aim of the Core during INBRE 3, which is the next logical step in achieving this long-term objective, is to improve the quality and availability of the Core's support for bioinformatics research and training across the Network.
This Aim arose from a recent evaluation of the Network's bioinformatics needs and interests, and the extent to which the Core has met those needs in past INBRE cycles. To achieve this Aim, we propose multiple changes to the operation and activities of the Core during INBRE 3. A new Core Director (already in place) will oversee the activities of two Bioinformatics Service Scientists, one of whom will be dedicated to the Network's PUIs, as part of our strategy to broaden access to the Core's services. Recruitment of Bioinformatics Liaison Officers at each PUI will also enhance the Core's ability to effectively meet the bioinformatics needs of the PUIs. Both Service Scientist positions will feature a new and major training/education component, in recognition of the importance of training to enable more, and higher-quality, bioinformatics research and education in Wyoming. Other training/education innovations to improve and broaden access will include the establishment of a Satellite Bioinformatics Training Center at a location outside Laramie, increased number and diversity of bioinformatics workshops offered by the Core, and provision of two very different summer bioinformatics programs for undergraduates. The Core will continue to provide support for graduate students conducting bioinformatics research, but there will be a new emphasis on these students contributing to the Network, especially through interactions with PUIs. Also new to INBRE 3 will be strengthened connections to bioinformatics resources available both within, and outside, Wyoming, facilitated by the development of a dedicated INBRE Bioinformatics Portal. In the undergraduate classroom, the Core will bring bioinformatics to PUI faculty and students through distribution of an introductory bioinformatics course that is currently restricted to UW Laramie.
Bioinformatics Narrative Bioinformatics, the management and analysis of biological data, is central to many types of biomedical research, such as studies of the human genome and how genomic variation contributes to health and disease, chemical interactions within the human body, and the epidemiology of infectious disease. Although bioinformatics has the potential to make very important contributions to human health, its rapid growth as a scientific field requires recruitment and training of the students who will become future bioinformaticians, as well as broad access for researchers to bioinformatics tools and resources. During INBRE 3, the Wyoming INBRE Bioinformatics Core will support both of these needs through a new emphasis on improving the quality and availability of Core services in research, training, and education.
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