Using Undergraduate Molecular Biology Labs to Discover Targets of miRNAs in Humans
By Adam Idica, Jordan Thompson, Irene Munk Pedersen, and Pavan Kadandale
Module Description:
This resource is an easily adaptable lab module that can be used in existing undergraduate molecular biology lab courses to conduct authentic scientific research. Students use a variety of databases to identify likely candidate genes whose expression may be altered by a given miR, and then experimentally test their predictions in human cells. This inquiry-based module gives students a taste of real scientific research and excites them about the possibility that, even as a student, they have the potential to contribute to this cutting edge research.
Teaching Setting:
This module was used in a large enrollment (100 students per quarter), upper division molecular biology lab course. The students meet for a common lecture by the instructor, and then are split into 5 lab sections of twenty students each. Each lab section is run by a graduate student TA, and the students work through the activities of the lab module in pairs. However, the module is easily adapted to a number of different contexts, since the technical complexity of the activities is not very high.
QUBES Citation:
Idica, A., Thompson, J., Pedersen, I. M., Kadandale, P. (2019). Using Undergraduate Molecular Biology Labs to Discover Targets of miRNAs in Humans. Network for Integrating Bioinformatics into Life Sciences Education, QUBES Educational Resources. doi:10.25334/Q4XM9B
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