Next-Gen Biology Learning Network
Overview
next-gen biologist: a broad range of biologists who have expertise in accessing, manipulating, analyzing, interpreting, and visualizing large biological data sets, particularly those that are publicly available
Who we are
The Next-Gen Biology Learning Network is a cohort of community college faculty and next-gen biologists with a goal to support innovation in biology education and data science skill development.
What we do
We immerse ourselves in cutting edge next-gen biology presented by the biologists doing the work and explore diversity, equity, and inclusion issues related to next-gen biology. We do this 8 times a year - September through June -with a variety of in-person and virtual meetings.
We collaborate on a vision to use real-world biological data to enhance our current curriculum and enrich student outcomes across a breadth of biology major courses by developing curriculum adaptations to engage and inspire students in remote/hybrid/in-person settings.
We create relationships with research and education colleagues across the region.
What is the impact
Students from a breadth of biology courses engage with activities using real-world data to develop next-gen biology awareness and skills.
Participating faculty member: I think that one of the things that makes collaborating with active researchers and other faculty who are interested in the work is the immediacy of the information that we are working with. It's great to be able to teach current research, rather than things that have been languishing in textbooks for a century.
Participating faculty member: A fairly large portion of my students are from underrepresented communities and many are the first in their families to attend college or aspire to a Bachelor's degree. I have been doing a sequencing project with them in the lab and the real world applications of their work excites many of them. I am excited to have them work on a project that is a part of ongoing research and help them really identify as scientists for the first time.
Participating student: The [paper] that we studied taught me so much about different types of statistical representations used in science journals. I started out not understanding any of it and now I can look at similar charts and data and understand what's going on.
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 2019088 and 2217348. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
Contact us with questions
Main liaison
Jen Eklund
Institute for Systems Biology
Who we are
The Next-Gen Biology Learning Network is a cohort of community college faculty and next-gen biologists with a goal to support innovation in biology education and data science skill development.
What we do
We immerse ourselves in cutting edge next-gen biology presented by the biologists doing the work and explore diversity, equity, and inclusion issues related to next-gen biology. We do this 8 times a year - September through June -with a variety of in-person and virtual meetings.
We collaborate on a vision to use real-world biological data to enhance our current curriculum and enrich student outcomes across a breadth of biology major courses by developing curriculum adaptations to engage and inspire students in remote/hybrid/in-person settings.
We create relationships with research and education colleagues across the region.
What is the impact
Students from a breadth of biology courses engage with activities using real-world data to develop next-gen biology awareness and skills.
Participating faculty member: I think that one of the things that makes collaborating with active researchers and other faculty who are interested in the work is the immediacy of the information that we are working with. It's great to be able to teach current research, rather than things that have been languishing in textbooks for a century.
Participating faculty member: A fairly large portion of my students are from underrepresented communities and many are the first in their families to attend college or aspire to a Bachelor's degree. I have been doing a sequencing project with them in the lab and the real world applications of their work excites many of them. I am excited to have them work on a project that is a part of ongoing research and help them really identify as scientists for the first time.
Participating student: The [paper] that we studied taught me so much about different types of statistical representations used in science journals. I started out not understanding any of it and now I can look at similar charts and data and understand what's going on.
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 2019088 and 2217348. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
Main liaison
Jen Eklund
Institute for Systems Biology
Profile
Website