Clinical Research Education in Genome Science (CREiGS)

Project Summary/Abstract The sensitivity and availability of omic technologies have enabled the genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic characterization of disease phenotypes, at the tissue and even the single cell level. This has allowed development of treatments that target specific disease subtypes, most notably in cancer treatment, and thus opened up opportunities for the development of precision/personalized medicine strategies for optimizing treatments for individual patients. Thus, new genomic science educational initiatives need to be continually updated to educate the clinical and translational workforce on how to effectively interpret and apply the findings from genomics studies. Patients of providers who have participated in these educational initiatives also benefit as it allows for more rapid integration of genomic study findings into the clinical care setting. Thus, in response to PAR-19-185, we propose to develop and implement the Clinical Research Education in Genome Science (CREiGS) program that will not only focus on the analysis of genomic data, but also on gene-expression data, the integration of these two data types, as well as introductory theory and application of statistical and machine learning methods. Specifically we propose to accomplish the following specific aims: 1. Develop and successfully implement the online and in-person phases of CREiGS to increase the methodologic ingenuity by which researchers tackle important genomics-related clinical problems. 2. Establish a Diversity Recruitment External Advisory Board to ensure that the most effective strategies are employed to recruit URM doctoral students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty from academic institutions nationwide into CREiGS. 3. Enhance the dissemination phase of CREiGS by packaging and uploading the asynchronous lectures and the online critical thinking/problem solving assessments with solutions for publicly available, online teaching resources. 4. Implement effective methods to evaluate the efficacy of CREiGS by examining:1) the participants' grasp of the CREiGS core competencies, 2) the clarity and quality of the curriculum, 3) program logistics and operation, and 4) the participants' short-term and long-term success attributed to participation in CREiGS. In summary, we posit that CREiGS will provide participants with a solid foundation in genomics science to answer complex, clinical questions. We believe that CREiGS supports the mission of the NHGRI by providing researchers with rigorous training to “accelerate medical breakthroughs that improve human health.”