Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** genomics and bioinformatics are…

Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** genomics and bioinformatics are rapidly advancing fields with the potential to transform agriculture and food production by providing tools and techniques to address some of the most pressing challenges facing the industry today. The agriculture and food industry require a well-trained workforce in order to address these challenges. However, there is a paucity of bioinformatics instruction at the undergraduate and graduate level and this, along with computing infrastructure, is especially lacking at minority and insular institutions. This proposal aims to address this deficiency by conducting a training program in genomics and bioinformatics in puerto rico, aimed at undergraduates and graduates, utilizing a framework of remote one-on-one instruction. In doing so, this project will (I) build instructional resources and conduct genomics and bioinformatics training applied to agricultural crops, insect pests and livestock; (II) convert instructional material for use as stand-alone on-demand remote instruction; (III) provide support for analysis of students' independent research projects; and (IV) provide professional development opportunities in agriculture. The proposed project will impact the research activities of students and faculty at the university of puerto rico as well as the professional development of students and agronomists in puerto rico, and in the long-term, the agricultural practices across the island, including improved crops, more efficient animal breeding, and better food safety. The extent of these impacts will be measured by monitoring the number of students in different categories (academic research, agriculture, food science, etc.) through follow-up surveys designed to evaluate their professional development. Overall, this program has the potential to impact over 100 graduate and 900 undergraduate students in biology and computer sciences at the university of puerto rico, of whom more than 95% are hispanic and other minorities and close to 600 members of the college of agronomists of puerto rico.