University of North Alabama issued the following announcement on Dec. 9.
Undergraduate students from the biology, computer science, and mathematics programs at the University of North Alabama took part in the HudsonAlpha CODE Virtual Student Symposium recently as part of their ongoing research into certain genetic conditions.
CODE, or Characterizing our DNA Exceptions, is a program that engages undergraduates in original genomic research to encourage students interested in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math careers. Working with HudsonAlpha researchers and educators in coordination with partner schools, students use computational analyses to determine the biological relevance of DNA variants from patient and agricultural samples.
As part of their participation in the program, students from UNA conducted original research in order to characterize variants of uncertain significance associated with cystic fibrosis; dwarfism; Doose syndrome, which is a form of childhood epilepsy; Cornelia deLange syndrome; Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis; and Landau Kleffner syndrome.
“Our students were able to complete a research project and present it to the research community,” said Dr. Cynthia Stenger, Professor of Mathematics at UNA. “They all made posters that show their results from their research and created a three-minute recording so others can review it. It is a big deal that they were able to do all of this in just one semester for such significant research.”
The students who participated and their research topics are:
- Bliss Bailey – An Exploration of FGFR3 Missense Swap R669G.
- Grace Dodd – An Exploration of GRIN2A with Landau-Keffner Syndrome with a Missense Swap at G97D.
- Anja Einarsdottir – PTPN22Associated with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis and the Unknown of Variant K750N.
- Jennifer Olszyna – A Comparative Study of Two Variants in the HDAC8 Gene Linked to Cornelia de Lange Syndrome.
- Dylan Uibel – An Exploration of CFTR Missense Swap G500D compared to Phe508del.
- Rebekah Samuelson – CFTR Missense Swap W496R.
- Jacob Laughlin – Analysis of CFTR Missense Swap Y515C.
- Kushmeet Kathuria – An Exploration of HDAC8 Missense Swap 194T.
- Whitley Waters – SLC6A1 and the Gene Variant G111R.
CODE projects provide research opportunities to students that do not have access to the type of well-funded research opportunities often available at research institutions by partnering with small colleges and universities for these bioinformatics research projects.
Original source can be found here.
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