Andy Andres & Peter Busher Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics

1. An Innovative Project Conceived As Part Of A Natural Sciences CourseBoston University 2011 Instructional Innovation Conference Andy Andres & Peter Busher Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics College of General Studies Boston University

2. Innovation OUTLine • About the Natural Sciences Division at the College of General Studies • The Purpose of Natural Sciences 201, an interdisciplinary course designed for non-majors • Part of a Core Program at CGS • Help create better citizen scientists • Major paradigm: Human Genetics and the Human Genome Project • Project Description • Outcomes

3. About the Natural Sciences Division at the College of General Studies: Purposes of NS 201 • Exciting pedagogical opportunity because our students are non-majors and this is a required course • Further understanding of nature and the role humans play in the world • Learn the process of science through active participation • Develop critical thinking skills • Develop the student’s sense of becoming active “citizen scientists” • Encourage participation in scientific problems they will encounter in the lifetimes

4. Major Paradigm of NS 201: Human Genetics • Historical Paradigms in our Courses: • Copernican Revolution in Cosmology • Newtonian Revolution in Physics • Darwinian Revolution in Biology • Included other major paradigms in: Physics, Chemistry, Astronomy, Developmental Biology, Cell Biology, Ecology • A new course was designed to help meet goal of creating more informed “citizen scientists” • Human Genetics and The Human Genome Project

5. NS 201 Topics • What do we know in Human Genetics • Cells • Mitosis, meiosis • Proteins • Chromosomes • DNA structure, function and replication • How do we know this, an historical perspective • Mendelian classical genetics • Morgan and modern genetics • Franklin, Crick and Watson • Human Genome Project

6. NS 201 project: Human Genome Project • Apply course knowledge in Human Genetics • Understand importance of Human Genome Project • Understand personal genomics and it’s future • Communicate scientific knowledge to student peers and faculty

7. Outline of theNS 201 project • Students learned about human traits and genetic polymorphisms • In laboratory, students isolated Wheat Germ DNA • We guided then to professional genetics databases (GWAS Catalog, OMIM, etc.) to research favorite human traits • Students wrote up summary of what is known about the genetics of their human trait

8. NS 201 project: Human Genome Project • Research • Your gene and SNP of interest • Data bases: GWAS, BLAST, NCBI, WikiGenes, SNPedia • Research papers • Wet Lab • DNA extraction, amplification (PCR) • Sequencing • Scientific Poster Session • Visualization of knowledge • Communication of knowledge

9. Researching the Project • Step 1: Finding Genes of Interest • Limited to “benign” traits (some examples): • Hair color • Eye color • Taste • Freckles • Resting heart rate • Smoking cessation • Know what gene, what phenotypes, what SNPs

10. Sequencing their own genome: The Wet Lab • Each Group chose a trait/SNP to sequence • Resting heart rate • Bitter taste • Hair morphology • Skin and eye pigmentation • Isolate their own DNA • Amplify DNA (PCR) • Clean up sample • Sequence DNA

11. Sequencing Results

12. Sequencing Results

13. Sequencing Results

14. Sequencing Results

15. Communicating SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE • Scientific Poster Session • Visualization of knowledge • Communication of knowledge

16. Communicating SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE

17. outcomes • Some student reflections on the project • Sequencing and personal genomics has not been used in a university biology course for non-majors • Better citizen scientists by exposing students to the most current genetics research • Acknowledgements: Carol Donovan and Rayhme Cleary of the College of General Studies