����ֱ��

Facilitators: 

• Holly Basta, Ph.D., Rocky Mountain College.
• Melissa Haswell, Ph.D., Delta College.

Description: 

What role can a storyline approach and rich instructional materials play in expanding students’ understanding of the immune system? In this workshop, participants will explore HHMI BioInteractive’s engaging immune system activities, including an illustrated story of smallpox, to introduce the cells of the immune system. Using the Immune System Interactive and case studies, pedagogical strategies, such as scaffolding, will be highlighted to support and assess students' conceptual connections between innate and adaptive responses. The workshop will culminate in a guided discussion on how to incorporate this storyline into their own classes. Participants should have a laptop to participate fully in the workshop.

This workshop is sponsored by HHMI BioInteractive.

Target Audience:

Undergraduate educators who teach immunology at any level.

Attendee Learning Outcomes:

Participants will:

• Engage in HHMI BioInteractive’s smallpox and the immune system activities, in an illustrated story that will be used as a phenomenon to introduce cells of the immune system.
• Explore the Immune System Interactive and identify scaffolding strategies that help guide students from learning about immune cells and molecules to understanding how innate and adaptive responses work together.
• Apply immune system concepts to immunology case studies.
• Reflect on and discuss how these resources might be implemented in an attendee’s courses.

Pre-Requisites:

No pre-requisites. Participants are encouraged to create a free educator account at the  before attending the workshop.

Facilitators: 

• Jacqueline Washington, Ph.D., Empire State University.
• Karen Avery, Ph.D., Pennsylvania College of Technology.

Description:

Conventional PCR, real-time or quantitative PCR (qPCR) and droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) are essential nucleic acid amplification techniques distinguished by their quantitative precision and sensitivity. Conventional PCR enables endpoint detection, qPCR provides real-time quantitative analysis and ddPCR allows absolute quantification. Together, they support accurate and reproducible analysis in applications such as gene expression, pathogen detection and molecular diagnostics.

This workshop is designed for educators seeking to enhance their understanding and teaching of PCR technologies. Participants will gain practical experience, explore their applications in undergraduate research and teaching and learn strategies for integrating these methods into their curricula. The session is designed to support participants of all experience levels, from those beginning their PCR journey to those exploring advanced applications. Participants will leave with increased confidence in teaching and applying PCR technologies, practical skills for laboratory instruction.

This workshop is sponsored by Bio-Rad.

Target Audience:

College and university faculty in biology, molecular biology and microbiology, including educators involved in undergraduate research programs or curriculum development.

Attendee Learning Outcomes:

• Compare PCR, qPCR and ddPCR—what they are and when to use them.
• Apply techniques to real-world cases like gene expression and pathogen detection.
• Get hands-on with qPCR tools and data analysis.
• Discover resources for teaching and student skill-building.
• Explore kits and software to simplify classroom and research workflows.

Pre-Requisites: 

No pre-requisites.

Facilitators:

• Ellen Dow, Ph.D., KBase—Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Description:

If you are interested in incorporating bioinformatics or data science concepts into a course, or working with students on data that are immediately publishable, then this workshop is for you! This workshop focuses on collecting and analyzing environmental microbial data and metadata in the free, open source  platform, following a workflow that results in a publishable (meta)genomic dataset for an ����ֱ�� Microbiology Resource Announcement. 

This workshop will provide examples of how educators use National Microbiome Data Collaborative (NMDC) and KBase resources with their students, in a variety of courses ranging from CUREs to independent research. Together, we will go through steps to analyze a genomic dataset and identify the importance of collecting and processing good sample metadata along the way. Participants will be introduced to resources for collecting environmental sample metadata through (NSF #2418285) and , which provide teaching materials and template workflows to analyze raw sequence data and prepare students for their first data publication. Everyone will have access to these tools and resources after the workshop to use with their students and adapt for future use! 

This workshop is sponsored by KBase.

Target Audience:

Relevant for educators who want to integrate environmental microbiome (microbiology) research into their courses, including best practices for sample collection, (new, more) tools in computational biology and data analysis, support for student-curated data publications or change up existing course-based undergraduate research experiences. 

Pre-Requisites:

Currently teaching or planning to teach courses and/or independent student research that includes computational biology, bioinformatics and microbiome-related science. A basic understanding of genome assembly and annotation will also be helpful.