Bioinformatics approach used in undergraduate research to predict siRNA as ZIKV therapeutics

Abstract

Undergraduate research is an important component of a B.Tech. Biotechnology program. In the present study, a customizable approach designed with open-source bioinformatics tools and databases was introduced to predict siRNAs for ZIKV therapeutics. With minimal prior exposure to bioinformatics, this workflow can be executed with detailed steps as demonstrated in this paper. All software, databases, and servers used in this research are opensource, allowing this project-based learning methodology to be implemented remotely as well. The workflow designed in the present study is flexible and customizable according to the mentor and student's requirements.

Internet-enabled lab-on-a-chip technology for education

“…Here, we extended this work by taking advantage of IoT-enabled LoCs to create projects that are tailored for a Latinx population in Bolivia. Previous work has applied similar approaches to computer programming training, although always in the context of sequence analysis 30 , 31 . Moreover, this work has been done with students with previous experience and interest in computational biology 30 , 31 .…”

“…Previous work has applied similar approaches to computer programming training, although always in the context of sequence analysis 30 , 31 . Moreover, this work has been done with students with previous experience and interest in computational biology 30 , 31 . A novel aspect of our work was that we targeted Latinx students with little or no previous programming experience.…”

Open-loop lab-on-a-chip technology enables remote computer science training in Latinx life sciences students

“…Here, we extended this work by taking advantage of IoT-enabled LoCs to create projects that are tailored for a diverse Latinx population in Bolivia. Previous work has applied PBL to bioinformatics training, although always in the context of sequence analysis (Balasubramanian and Chatterjee, 2022;Emery and Morgan, 2017). Moreover, this work has been done with students with previous experience and interest in bioinformatics (Balasubramanian and Chatterjee, 2022;Emery and Morgan, 2017).…”

“…Previous work has applied PBL to bioinformatics training, although always in the context of sequence analysis (Balasubramanian and Chatterjee, 2022;Emery and Morgan, 2017). Moreover, this work has been done with students with previous experience and interest in bioinformatics (Balasubramanian and Chatterjee, 2022;Emery and Morgan, 2017). A novel aspect of our work was that we targeted Latinx students with no previous programming experience.…”