BME 4960 - Microbial Genomics Hackathon: Microbiomes, Probiotics and Antibiotics

Spring. 1 credit. S/U grades only.

Permission of instructor and application required.

I. Brito.

The Microbial Genomics Hackathon is meant to bring together Cornell students in a weekend of experiential learning around the topic of Microbiomes, Probiotics and Antibiotics. The hackathon will include lectures given by innovators and leaders in genomics, data science and microbiome-based companies. Students will form diverse teams with business students, engineers, and computational biologists, among others, to create solutions, products, or services around the topic. Students will generate solutions to real-world problems, such as stopping the spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria and creating self-monitoring microbiome technologies. A major goal of the program is for students to gain exposure to computational genomics and the diversity of problems that these methods can be applied to. Prior to the event, students will be required to complete preparatory reading and reflection and will attend several introductory lectures and brainstorming sessions. These will include skill-building sessions on scientific communication. This will prepare students for effective teamwork and the ability to utilize key genomic resources. Students will be exposed to and utilize computational tools and programming languages such as Python and R. Students will learn about genomics databases and tools (such as BLAST, RAST, NCBI, IMG, PATRIC and KEGG) used across industry and academia. The event will also consist of career building opportunities to hone skills and interface with industry partners. Students will receive feedback from faculty, industry and student mentors and participate in a project showcase where they will present their proposals. After the event, students will synthesize their efforts into a final team report about their product, initiative, service or technique where they will hone their scientific communication through problem statements and business plan development. They will also reflect upon various aspects of the material knowledge gained (improvements in computational proficiency and exposure to microbial genomics and microbiome solutions, communication across disciplines, and market evaluation) and how this can translate into career opportunities. The course will meet weekly until the hackathon, which takes place on a weekend in March (exact dates TBD). More info at http://www.microbiomehack.org.