Bioinformatics core competencies for undergraduate life sciences education.
Although bioinformatics is becoming increasingly central to research in the life sciences, bioinformatics skills and knowledge are not well integrated into undergraduate biology education. This curricular gap prevents biology students from harnessing the full potential of their education, limiting t...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2018-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5988330?pdf=render |
| _version_ | 1818497353637691392 |
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| author | Melissa A Wilson Sayres Charles Hauser Michael Sierk Srebrenka Robic Anne G Rosenwald Todd M Smith Eric W Triplett Jason J Williams Elizabeth Dinsdale William R Morgan James M Burnette Samuel S Donovan Jennifer C Drew Sarah C R Elgin Edison R Fowlks Sebastian Galindo-Gonzalez Anya L Goodman Nealy F Grandgenett Carlos C Goller John R Jungck Jeffrey D Newman William Pearson Elizabeth F Ryder Rafael Tosado-Acevedo William Tapprich Tammy C Tobin Arlín Toro-Martínez Lonnie R Welch Robin Wright Lindsay Barone David Ebenbach Mindy McWilliams Kimberly C Olney Mark A Pauley |
| author_facet | Melissa A Wilson Sayres Charles Hauser Michael Sierk Srebrenka Robic Anne G Rosenwald Todd M Smith Eric W Triplett Jason J Williams Elizabeth Dinsdale William R Morgan James M Burnette Samuel S Donovan Jennifer C Drew Sarah C R Elgin Edison R Fowlks Sebastian Galindo-Gonzalez Anya L Goodman Nealy F Grandgenett Carlos C Goller John R Jungck Jeffrey D Newman William Pearson Elizabeth F Ryder Rafael Tosado-Acevedo William Tapprich Tammy C Tobin Arlín Toro-Martínez Lonnie R Welch Robin Wright Lindsay Barone David Ebenbach Mindy McWilliams Kimberly C Olney Mark A Pauley |
| author_sort | Melissa A Wilson Sayres |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Although bioinformatics is becoming increasingly central to research in the life sciences, bioinformatics skills and knowledge are not well integrated into undergraduate biology education. This curricular gap prevents biology students from harnessing the full potential of their education, limiting their career opportunities and slowing research innovation. To advance the integration of bioinformatics into life sciences education, a framework of core bioinformatics competencies is needed. To that end, we here report the results of a survey of biology faculty in the United States about teaching bioinformatics to undergraduate life scientists. Responses were received from 1,260 faculty representing institutions in all fifty states with a combined capacity to educate hundreds of thousands of students every year. Results indicate strong, widespread agreement that bioinformatics knowledge and skills are critical for undergraduate life scientists as well as considerable agreement about which skills are necessary. Perceptions of the importance of some skills varied with the respondent's degree of training, time since degree earned, and/or the Carnegie Classification of the respondent's institution. To assess which skills are currently being taught, we analyzed syllabi of courses with bioinformatics content submitted by survey respondents. Finally, we used the survey results, the analysis of the syllabi, and our collective research and teaching expertise to develop a set of bioinformatics core competencies for undergraduate biology students. These core competencies are intended to serve as a guide for institutions as they work to integrate bioinformatics into their life sciences curricula. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T18:44:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7a450a74da024813ba88b336e534dff0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T18:44:36Z |
| publishDate | 2018-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-7a450a74da024813ba88b336e534dff02022-12-22T01:37:32ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032018-01-01136e019687810.1371/journal.pone.0196878Bioinformatics core competencies for undergraduate life sciences education.Melissa A Wilson SayresCharles HauserMichael SierkSrebrenka RobicAnne G RosenwaldTodd M SmithEric W TriplettJason J WilliamsElizabeth DinsdaleWilliam R MorganJames M BurnetteSamuel S DonovanJennifer C DrewSarah C R ElginEdison R FowlksSebastian Galindo-GonzalezAnya L GoodmanNealy F GrandgenettCarlos C GollerJohn R JungckJeffrey D NewmanWilliam PearsonElizabeth F RyderRafael Tosado-AcevedoWilliam TapprichTammy C TobinArlín Toro-MartínezLonnie R WelchRobin WrightLindsay BaroneDavid EbenbachMindy McWilliamsKimberly C OlneyMark A PauleyAlthough bioinformatics is becoming increasingly central to research in the life sciences, bioinformatics skills and knowledge are not well integrated into undergraduate biology education. This curricular gap prevents biology students from harnessing the full potential of their education, limiting their career opportunities and slowing research innovation. To advance the integration of bioinformatics into life sciences education, a framework of core bioinformatics competencies is needed. To that end, we here report the results of a survey of biology faculty in the United States about teaching bioinformatics to undergraduate life scientists. Responses were received from 1,260 faculty representing institutions in all fifty states with a combined capacity to educate hundreds of thousands of students every year. Results indicate strong, widespread agreement that bioinformatics knowledge and skills are critical for undergraduate life scientists as well as considerable agreement about which skills are necessary. Perceptions of the importance of some skills varied with the respondent's degree of training, time since degree earned, and/or the Carnegie Classification of the respondent's institution. To assess which skills are currently being taught, we analyzed syllabi of courses with bioinformatics content submitted by survey respondents. Finally, we used the survey results, the analysis of the syllabi, and our collective research and teaching expertise to develop a set of bioinformatics core competencies for undergraduate biology students. These core competencies are intended to serve as a guide for institutions as they work to integrate bioinformatics into their life sciences curricula.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5988330?pdf=render |
| spellingShingle | Melissa A Wilson Sayres Charles Hauser Michael Sierk Srebrenka Robic Anne G Rosenwald Todd M Smith Eric W Triplett Jason J Williams Elizabeth Dinsdale William R Morgan James M Burnette Samuel S Donovan Jennifer C Drew Sarah C R Elgin Edison R Fowlks Sebastian Galindo-Gonzalez Anya L Goodman Nealy F Grandgenett Carlos C Goller John R Jungck Jeffrey D Newman William Pearson Elizabeth F Ryder Rafael Tosado-Acevedo William Tapprich Tammy C Tobin Arlín Toro-Martínez Lonnie R Welch Robin Wright Lindsay Barone David Ebenbach Mindy McWilliams Kimberly C Olney Mark A Pauley Bioinformatics core competencies for undergraduate life sciences education. PLoS ONE |
| title | Bioinformatics core competencies for undergraduate life sciences education. |
| title_full | Bioinformatics core competencies for undergraduate life sciences education. |
| title_fullStr | Bioinformatics core competencies for undergraduate life sciences education. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Bioinformatics core competencies for undergraduate life sciences education. |
| title_short | Bioinformatics core competencies for undergraduate life sciences education. |
| title_sort | bioinformatics core competencies for undergraduate life sciences education |
| url | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5988330?pdf=render |
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