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Oct. 8 , 2007
Contact: Bob Adams
(425) 564-3081
badams@bcc.ctc.edu
BCC assigned
its ‘own’ bacterium
for DNA sequencing
in rare opportunity for undergrad students to
discover new knowledge
National Science Foundation awards $478,000 to fund original genomics research
by BCC students
BELLEVUE, WASH. – BCC science students will go beyond soaking up knowledge
to actually creating it in ongoing, original genomics research
funded by a three-year, $478,000 grant from the National
Science Foundation (NSF).
Results of students’ research will be deposited
at the global library of genomic information at the National
Center for Biotechnology for further use by the worldwide
research community.
One of BCC’s project partners -- the US Department
of Agriculture’s (USDA) primary research arm, the
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) at Washington State
University -- will provide the genetic content of a specific
bacterium, one not being studied at any other institution,
for BCC students to analyze and sequence.
Because this organism, Pseudomonas fluorescens,
is considered potentially useful for protecting wheat and
barley from devastating root disease, research by BCC students
could eventually be used by other scientists to develop
ways to improve grain production worldwide.
“The USDA Agricultural Research Services welcomes
the opportunity to partner with BCC on this project because
it gives students the opportunity to develop expertise with
cutting-edge molecular biology techniques,” said Dr.
David M. Weller, who is joined in this project by his fellow
ARS microbiologist and research scientist, Dr. Linda Thomashow.
“We are also pleased to involve BCC because plant
scientists worldwide, including those of us here at ARS,
can use the results to come from the students’ research
to explore new ways to enhance wheat and barley production
in Washington and nationwide and reduce the need for chemical
pesticides,” Weller said.
By engaging students in the excitement of original scientific
research early in their college experience, BCC and its
partners expect to encourage more students to pursue careers
in science.
“This grant from NSF will give our students something
that is all too rare at the undergraduate level: the chance
to grapple with the complexities and ambiguities of real
research instead of doing “canned” lab exercises
that produce a predetermined result. Our students will actually
step beyond their role as knowledge consumers to become
knowledge producers,” said Project Director Dr. Gita
Bangera, a BCC instructor whose experience includes research
in bacterial molecular biology at Harvard University, the
University of Washington, Washington State University and
the University of Copenhagen.
“The need for people with expertise in molecular
biology is growing rapidly as we find more and more applications
for DNA-based technology in areas such as medical diagnostics,
agriculture, environmental protection and forensics,” Bangera
said. “The need for employees with expertise in this
field is expected to far exceed the number of trained graduates.”
The grant will also fund the development of new curriculum
to maximize the instructional impact of the research opportunity.
BCC will base its curriculum on the successful model developed
by Dr. Cheryl Kerfeld, education director at the Joint Genome
Institute (JGI) of the U.S. Department of Energy’s
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, who is co-directing
the project with Bangera.
Both the ARS and JGI will also provide summer opportunities
for BCC students to work alongside professional researchers
in advanced scientific laboratories. Students from underserved
populations will be especially encouraged to take part.
Supported by a grant of $10,000
from Univar -- a Bellevue-based, worldwide chemical supplier
-- BCC will purchase a new Applied Biosystems, Inc. (ABI),
DNA sequencer for instructional and student laboratory
use. ABI is contributing in-kind support toward the purchase.
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