University of Colorado Nobel laureate Thomas Cech will speak at the July 29-30 public grand opening of a teaching laboratory on the Boulder campus to train CU students, faculty and K-12 students and teachers on the latest genetic research techniques.
Located in CU-Boulder's department of molecular, cellular and developmental biology building, The Genomics Teaching Place, or GTP, will allow users to study the sequence, structure and function of genes and the computer technology to manage and "mine" such information. A university-wide initiative on genomics and biotechnology has been expanding in recent years, said CU President Elizabeth Hoffman.
Cech, president of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Chevy Chase, Md., and a CU Distinguished Professor, will kick off the GTP ceremonies July 29 with a 7 p.m. keynote address. Titled "Genes and Genomes: Implications for Evolution, Medicine and CSI," the lecture will be in the Muenzinger Psychology Auditorium.
A reception and open house at the new facility in room A1B20 and at the Balch Fieldhouse Plaza east of MCD biology will follow.
GTP is being funded by the CU President's office, which is providing $800,000 for construction of the 2,600-square-foot facility. Additional support has come from CU's Boulder, Health Sciences and Denver campuses and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute for programming and equipment.
Since 1989, HHMI has provided $7.8 million to CU-Boulder's Biological Sciences Initiative to fund programs for students and teachers in the biological sciences, including free programs for K-12 teachers and paid research opportunities for CU undergraduates.
"Our campus has taken the lead in undergraduate science education, including biology, chemistry, physics and other disciplines," said CU-Boulder Chancellor Richard Byyny. "We include improvement in the 'pipeline' of science majors in high school and support them in their transition to the university. This is a great program."
The public program July 30 includes a scientific panel on genomics featuring CU-Boulder faculty members John Hewitt, Kenneth Krauter, Health Sciences Center faculty Mark Geraci and Mark Yarborough, Washington University's Gary Stormo, and Larry Gold of Somalogic Inc. of Boulder. Moderated by MCD biology Chair Leslie Leinwand, lead scientist on the $2.2 million HHMI grant to CU-Boulder in 2002, the event will be held at 9 a.m. in room A2B70 at MCD biology.
The GTP lab will provide training in genomics, bioinformatics and computational biology for undergraduates and K-12 students and teachers, said Biological Sciences Initiative Program Director Julie Graf of CU-Boulder. "The new facility also supports intercampus collaboration among researchers, creating a community of excellence in these emerging fields," she said.
In addition, workshops for high school biology teachers -- which require pre-registration -- will be held on July 30 and July 31 at GTP as part of the celebration. The workshops include such topics as protein and DNA structures, micro-arrays for gene sequencing, bioethics, mitochondrial DNA and the genetics of nicotine addiction.
"The university's genomic and biotechnology initiatives bring together the intellectual power of our campuses with that of luminaries around the country to form new collaborations and partnerships," said Hoffman. "All of these efforts foster a university without walls, helping to bring biotechnology, academic research and teaching together in Colorado."
Cech shared the 1989 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Yale University's Sidney Altman for his independent discovery that RNA can act as a catalyst in living cells. "CU is recognized internationally as a leader in biomedical research and as a place where innovative teaching happens," Cech said. "GTP will bring these activities together -- it's really exciting."
The July 29 public reception at CU-Boulder is being sponsored in part by Affymetrix, an international corporation applying semiconductor technology to the development of new genomics tools. GTP was designed by Slaterpaull Architects of Denver. More information on the grand opening and GTP can be found on the Biological Sciences Initiative website at: .