Project Mentor
Dr. Marmar Moussa
Department of Medicine (Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center)
Undergraduate Research Opportunity Description
| Project Description | Bioinformatics and Genomics advances, especially in cell capturing technologies as well as whole-genome and whole-transcriptome amplification are allowing for the sequencing of the minute amounts of DNA and RNA from a single cell. An unprecedented window into the extent and nature of genomic and transcriptomic heterogeneity under both normal and disease conditions is now open and single-cell approaches stand poised to revolutionize our capability to understand the scale of genomic, epigenomic, and transcriptomic diversity that occurs during the lifetime of an individual organism.
In our lab, we study the major technological and biological breakthroughs achieved in this field and actively address the remaining challenges in computational methods and algorithms development related to the field of single cell genomics. Development of computational methods using data science programming languages like R and Python will be the focus of this project. Undergrad students will get acquainted with bioinformatics tools and data science programming languages as well as participate in testing advanced computational methods and data collection and wrangling. |
| Project Direction | This project can continue into the academic year based on students availability and schedule. Since several methods for single cell data analysis will be tested and developed in the main summer research portion, continued data analysis and/or wrangling effort can be suitable for further participation. Interested students will gain knowledge of bioinformatics, computational genomics and computer science/Algorithms areas of research that will help their course work as well as prepare them for graduate research or industry jobs. |
| Mentorship and Supervision | For the undergrad student participation we will implement dedicated teaching materials and activities (like primer presentations, tutorials and one-on-one teaching sessions) based on POGIL (Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning) pedagogy, with special emphasis on Computational Biology and Bioinformatics knowledge base needed for our projects. Daily interactions with students will provide hands-on training, supervision and feedback, and dedicated weekly lab meeting will offer in-depth reviews and feedback as well as a chance for students to explain and present their work and any challenges faced. |
| Student Qualifications | Preferred (not necessary) qualifications include completion/in progress of computer science/bioinformatics courses; also molecular biology or neurobiology courses (for students interested in bench/wet lab work). Knowledge of any programming language is needed, especially R or Python is a plus. |
| Summer Schedule Options | Research Dates: May 23 to July 29, 2022 Schedule: M-F, 9am-6pm (flexible) |
| Project Continuation | Fall 2022, Spring 2023 |
| Academic Year Time Commitment | 6 hours/week |
| Possible Thesis Project | Yes |
Application
Submit an online application for this research opportunity at https://quest.uconn.edu/prog/HRP22-22. The application deadline is Monday, January 31, 2022.
This application requires a resume or CV and an unofficial transcript. Reference information required.