Pacific computational genomics and data sciences research education program

This Cooperative Agreement award from the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), under the Human Genome Research (CFDA 93.172) federal grant program, provides $486,000.00 to the University of Hawaii to support educational activities that encourage and promote diverse and underrepresented students to pursue studies and careers in computational genomics and data science (CGDS) research.

The key products and services to be delivered include: 1) Developing and testing undergraduate and master's level CGDS curricula that leverage NHGRI's Anvil platform and other NIH datasets and cloud-computing resources, covering a wide range of genomic, transcriptomic, epigenomic, and medical/health data analyses; 2) Sharing these curricula with the broader biomedical and CGDS education communities; and 3) Executing student research projects in CGDS oriented towards addressing human health issues such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and minority health disparities. The award period runs from September 17, 2024 to August 31, 2027.

Abstract

The overarching goal of this university of hawaii pacific CGDS program is to support educational activities that encourage and promote diverse and underrepresented students to pursue studies and careers in computational genomics and data science (CGDS) research in various fields of biomedical and behavioral sciences, hence broadening the desperately needed educational opportunities in hawaii and wider pacific regions. To do that, we will develop undergraduate and master's degree-level educational curricula and content in CGDS. With longstanding experiences of training a body of underrepresented students from diverse backgrounds, our faculty will develop and evaluate curriculum and method contents for essential and advanced CGDS research training. We will leverage the resources of NIH cloud computing platforms to develop, implement, and evaluate classroom educational content and cloud-based hands-on analytical exercises in CGDS. And we will make use of educational support resources developed by the CGDS educational hub and partner sites. We will facilitate hands-on exposure to CGDS at the undergraduate and master's degree levels among students enrolled at university of hawaii system and wider pacific institutions with a mission to educate students from any populations identified as underrepresented in biomedical research. In the pacific CGDS program, we will: 1) develop and test undergraduate and master's levels CGDS curricula that make use of nhgri's anvil platform and other NIH datasets and cloud-computing resources. Example contents cover the wide ranges of genomics, transcriptomics, epigenomics, and medical and health data analyses. 2) share these curricula for use by biomedical and CGDS education communities, and interact with CGDS hub and sites for greater benefits of research education training; 3) develop and execute student research projects in CGDS that are orientated to human health and diseases such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and minority health, as these are the leading causes of deaths and significant health disparities. We will disseminate all the developed CGDS curricula and methods to the broadest possible audience by leveraging our expertise in online and scalable in- person education. Thus, this program will dramatically expand the diverse CGDS workforce in the underserved hawaii pacific regions and beyond. IT broadens the opportunities for CGDS education and speeds up the adoption and use of cloud-enhanced CGDS throughout the research enterprise to tackle critical health problems among common public and underrepresented groups.