A Course-Embedded "Plug and Play" Research Project for Teaching Cancer Genomics

In silico genomics research provides students with&nbsp;opportunities to conduct authentic, course-embedded, biomedical research. However, tools for conducting this type of research can be challenging to learn for both students and faculty. This project curriculum guides students through the&nbsp;analysis of human cancer patient genomic data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) using the analytical tool, cBioPortal. The project has a &ldquo;plug and play&rdquo; style guide where students &ldquo;plug&rdquo; variables into template research questions and follow steps to collect and analyze appropriate data (&ldquo;play&rdquo;) in cBioPortal. The project is designed to take place over a semester, with five checkpoints to maintain student progress and provide feedback: Checkpoint 1. Selection of Research Question and cBioPortal Activity, Checkpoint 2. Annotated Bibliography and Abstract, Checkpoint 3. Draft of Scientific Poster, Checkpoint 4. Peer Review of Scientific Posters, and Checkpoint 5. Poster Presentations. The project culminates with a formal poster presentation, allowing students to share their work and gain experience in scientific communication. Here, the project curriculum, student guidelines, and assessments are presented. <em>Primary Image:</em>&nbsp;This image was created using cBioPortal. The image shows partial OncoPrints for the five most commonly mutated genes in gliomas (top), pancreatic cancers (middle), and breast cancers (bottom). The OncoPrints were generated using data from the Pan-cancer analysis of whole genomes (ICGC/TCGA, Nature 2020).