GREAT Opportunities in Genome Science - ABSTRACT
The objective of “GREAT opportunities in Genome Science” is to create a comprehensive, 2-year mentored
research and professional development training program at California State University, Monterey Bay
(CSUMB) and in collaboration with the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) to train students who are
from historically underrepresented and low-income populations for careers in genomics. The training will be
focused on engaging students in a broad range of topics and research environments (both wet and dry labs at
UCSC). A GREAT student cohort will be recruited from STEM majors including Biology, Math & Statistics, and
Computer Science at CSUMB with the aim to identify them early in their academic careers and build a solid
foundation in genomics and well position them to begin research training. The GREAT cohort will include
students from rising juniors in the summer and Fall prior to the summer of research. Once a cohort is identified,
the preparatory activities will be initiated in the Fall semester of their Junior year, followed by assigning
students to CSUMB and UCSC mentors. The student will then be assigned to courses and workshops at
CSUMB in the Spring of Junior year. The training of the students will be conducted in collaboration with the
Undergraduate Research Opportunities Center at CSUMB. In the summer, students (now rising Seniors) will
be placed in labs to work with their UCSC mentors. When possible at UCSC, the GREAT students will be
placed in labs that are also hosting UCSC undergrads. This will encourage peer-to-peer mentoring and will
help build affinity between CSUMB and UCSC students and cultivate a sense of community. In the Fall of
senior year, students will return to CSUMB for two semesters of continued engagement with coursework and
continuation of research aligned with their summer lab research experience. Where possible, summer research
projects will continue through the academic year and the mentors will continue to support students in tandem
with CSUMB faculty. All GREAT scholars will also participate in professional development, genomics-specific
education, and graduate school preparation workshops and courses. Skills-based workshops will include
instruction in basic programming, data structures and algorithms, elementary statistics, and the use of UCSC-
based tools like the Genome Browser and the Xena Browser, while professional development and genomic
education course will cover instruction on science writing and communication, career pathway understanding,
responsible research conduct and ethics, legal and social implications issues in genomics, areas of specific
research inquiry in genomics, and other topics to support development of the scholars’ identities as scientists,
their scientific values, and their self-efficacy. Coordination of lab placement and summer activities at UCSC will
be managed by the Genomics Institute Office of Diversity Programs (GIOD). Through this project, five cohorts
of GREAT scholars will be extensively trained, and a platform will be established which will encourage and
guide other students to pursue their careers in the genome sciences.
