Genomics Research Collaborative in UMaine Honors College
The Genomics Research Collaborative (GRC) is a new interdisciplinary biomedical research training program within the University of Maine Honors College. Since the Fall, three teams of Honors students are conducting research with faculty mentors on topics ranging from how the innate immune system responds to Influenza A Virus infection, to the behavioral and physiological responses to toxins in drinking water, to discovering genes that could lead to new bacteriophage therapies for tuberculosis. Even though the students in the GRC have different majors and years of study, they are all interested in biomedical research.
If you are an Honors students interested in applying to join the GRC, contact us to learn more.
During the 2019-2020 academic year, Professors Benjamin King, Nishad Jayasundara, and Sally Molloy mentored student teams. Posters presented by GRC students at the 47th Maine Biological and Medical Sciences Symposium (April 23-24, 2020) were awarded the following awards.
- Kodey Silknitter – Mechanisms of the Hyperinflammatory Response to Influenza Infection (2nd prize for Undergraduate 3rd, 4th, and 5th year)
- Anna Briley – Transcriptomic variation underlying pollution resistance in fish (Honorable Mention)
- Zeke Robinson – Identifying potential genes of interest in Danio rerio infected with Influenza A (Honorable Mention)
The Genomics Research Collaborative is funded by the Maine INBRE Program that is supported by grant number P20 GM103423 from the National Institutes of Health.
Honors College Students in the 2019-2020 Genomics Research CollaborativeFrom left: Rachel Bonney ('20), Kodey Silknitter ('20), Abigail Muscat, James Seuch ('20), Anna Briley, Zeke Robinson, Matt Cox and Maddie Burgess (Colin Welch not in photo)