Build a Genome

Course: The Build-a-Genome course is described in Dymond et al 2009 Genetics.

Network: If you are interested in leading a Build-a-Genome course, join the BAG Network!

The Build a Genome Course was introduced in 2007, and is now offered for up to 20 students each semester and during the summer. To date, over 100 students have completed the course, including students majoring in computer science, biomedical engineering, biology, chemical and bio-molecular engineering, and biophysics. Entering students are interviewed to evaluate their understanding of the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), DNA cloning and sequencing, nucleic acid structure, biopolymer synthesis, and more before acceptance. The students, ranging from high school students to grad students and the occasional postdoc (but >95% undergraduate) master not only methodology, but also fundamentals of Molecular and Synthetic Biology, related computational skills (there is also a specialized computational track in the course), as well as exposure to the economic / entrepreneurial and bioethics sides of SynBio. Following a biotechnology “boot-camp,” students are given round-the-clock access to computational and wet-lab resources and are expected to invest 15 to 20 hours per week in this four-credit course. Each student is assigned a segment of the synthetic yeast genome (currently 10,000 bp) to synthesize, and must deliver 100% accurate DNA by the end of the semester. This remarkable course, unlike any other in the world, has been called a “cross between a one-room schoolhouse and a biotech company.”

Buildagenome

BAG Students

BAG Students Below are pictures of some of our Build-a-Genome students. Johns Hopkins University inagual Build-a-Genome class Inaugural members: Raghav Ramachandran (BME), James DiCarlo (ChemBE), Allison Suarez (ChemBE), Alyson Nickols (ChemBE), Tejasvi Niranjan (Biology), Ben Lin (BME), John Chung (ChemBE), Avi Schuldenfrei (UMBC), with Sc2.0 director Jef Boeke and course instructor Jessica Dymond Johns Hopkins University Build-a-Genome Loyola University Maryland Build-a-Genome Tianjin University Build-a-Genome Build-a-Genome Roster Abena Apaw Amanda Deliere Alexander Yue Alex Lamb Alexandra McMillan Aaron Moore Adithya Murali Ang Tu Yijie Xu Ann Robinson Anvesh Annadanam Alex Rhee Arjun Khakhar Lojo, Amanda R.
Buildagenome

BAG Instructors

BAG Instructors Below are pictures of some of the people who helped put together and run the Build-a-Genome course. Eric Cooper Currently Associate Professor of Biology, [Hartwick College] Jessica Dymond Currently Vice President, Technology, at B.Next / In-Q-Tel Heloise Muller Currently Tenured Research Scientist, l’Institut Curie Lisa Scheifele Currently Chair, Department of Biology, Loyola University Maryland Giovanni Stracquadanio Currently UKRI EPSRC Fellow and Senior Lecturer in Synthetic Biology, University of Edinburgh
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Franchising Build a Genome

Franchising Build a Genome The Build-A-Genome course has been franchised at multiple institutions. In the United States, B-A-G is taught at Loyola University (Baltimore, MD) and Hartwick College, and courses are being planned at North Carolina State University. In China, Tianjin University has used the B-A-G China course to build synthetic DNA corresponding to chromosomes syn5 and syn10. If you are interested in leading a B-A-G course, the BAG Network can provide information.
Buildagenome

Course Description

Course Description The Build-A-Genome (B-A-G) Course was introduced in 2007, and is now offered for up to 20 students each semester and during the summer. To date, about 200 students have completed the course, including students majoring in computer science, biomedical engineering, biology, chemical and bio-molecular engineering, and biophysics. Entering students are interviewed to evaluate their understanding of the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), DNA cloning and sequencing, nucleic acid structure, biopolymer synthesis, and more before acceptance.