The University of Mary Washington has been selected by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) to participate in a nationwide genomics course that will give first-year college students the opportunity to use sophisticated research techniques.
UMW is among 12 colleges and universities in the United States, three in Virginia, chosen by HHMI’s Science Education Alliance (SEA). The SEA, headquartered at Janelia Farm Research Campus in Northern Virginia, seeks to expand the teaching of science and inspire new generations of scientists. Other Virginia institutions selected are The College of William and Mary and James Madison University.
The course, known as the Phage Genomics Research Initiative, is being developed by the SEA and will begin in fall 2008. The SEA will cultivate a network of scientists and educators who will work collaboratively to develop and distribute new information and methods to the education community.
Kathryn Loesser-Casey and Lynn O. Lewis, both professors of biology at UMW, were principal investigators of the grant.
