Mircore

WE CONNECT SCIENTISTS WITH THE GENERAL PUBLIC THROUGH RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND ADVOCACY SO THAT MORE PEOPLE CAN MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS FOR A HEALTHIER LIFE AND SOCIETY. OUR VOLUNTEER STUDENTS LEARN TO PERFORM COMPUTATIONAL RESEARCH AND TO LEAD SCHOOL CLUBS TO EDUCATE OTHER STUDENTS. IN 2021, WE INITIATED MIRCORE VACCINE ADVOCACY TO BRING MORE PEOPLE VACCINATED AGAINST COVID 19. ALL ACTIVITIES ARE GEARED TO DEMOCRATIZE MEDICAL RESEARCH AND TO BUILD GENE-LITERATE AMERICAN CITIZENRY.

COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY RESEARCH EDUCATION FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS: TO DEMOCRATIZE MEDICAL RESEARCH IN THE GENOMICS ERA, WE TEACH HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY. ABOUT 900 STUDENTS WERE SERVED IN 2022 THROUGH OUR CONTEST, CONFERENCE, CAMPS, IN-SCHOOL, AFTER-SCHOOL AND WEEKEND PROGRAMS. 1) MIRCORE VOLUNTEER PROGRAM (MVP): WE MENTOR HIGH SCHOOLERS IN COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY RESEARCH EVERY WEEKEND, ADVOCATING PERSONALIZED MEDICINE AND FOSTERING LEADERSHIP. THIS YEAR, WE OFFERED IN-PERSON MEETINGS AT UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, SCRIPPS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, BERKELEY UNIVERSITY. VOLUNTEERS LEAD SCHOOL CLUB GENES IN DISEASE AND SYMPTOMS (GIDAS, GUIDE-US). 2) GIDAS: A STUDENT CLUB AT HIGH SCHOOLS AND THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. OUR VOLUNTEERS SHARE LEARNING WITH PEERS AT THEIR SCHOOLS. 3) GENES AND HEALTH CONTEST: PROMOTES STUDY IN SCIENCE AMONG PEERS THROUGH ENJOYABLE CHALLENGES. HELD IN MICHIGAN AND CALIFORNIA. 4) HIGH SCHOOL RESEARCH CONFERENCE: PROVIDES HIGH SCHOOLERS A SCIENCE CONFERENCE SETTING TO BOOST THEIR FAMILIARITY WITH ACADEMIC PURSUITS WHILE RAISING COMMUNITY AWARENESS ON THE CONFERENCE THEME (DISEASE OF FOCUS VOTED ON BY VOLUNTEERS EACH YEAR). 5) SUMMER CAMPS FOR HIGH SCHOOLERS: COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY, BIOTECHNOLOGY SEQUENCING, AND R PROGRAMMING RESEARCH CAMPS WERE HELD ONLINE AND ALSO IN-PERSON AT UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AND SCRIPPS RESEARCH INSTITUTE.

MIRCORE VACCINE ADVOCACY (MVA) AND MIRCORE SCIENCE ADVOCACY (MSA): WE EXPANDED MVA TO MIRCORE SCIENCE ADVOCACY. THE MVA PROGRAM THAT WE HAVE DEVELOPED IN 2021 AS A STUDENT-RUN COVID-19 VACCINE ADVOCACY PROGRAM GALVANIZED INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE POSITIVE PERCEPTIONS OF VACCINES IN ADVOCATING FOR VACCINES IN THEIR OWN NETWORKS AND COMMUNITIES. WE MOBILIZED OUR INFRASTRUCTURE OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, COLLEGE STUDENTS, AND GRADUATED ALUMNI TO CREATE AN AGILE WORKING GROUP THE MIRCORE VACCINE ADVOCACY GROUP. IN TERMS OF STRUCTURE AND WE EDUCATED COVID-19 VACCINES IN A LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL CLASSROOMS IN 2022 SPRING. UTILIZING THE MVA PROGRAM STRUCTURE, WE EXPANDED THE ADVOCACY TO MIRCORE SCIENCE ADVOCACY IN 2022 SUMMER WITH A FOCUS ON GENOME PRIVACY AND PROMISES OF GENOME MEDICINE. WE SOUGHT PARTNERSHIP FOR OUR CITIZEN SCIENTISTS SEQUENCING INITIATIVES TO LAUNCH PILOT PROGRAM IN 2023 AND HELD A BOTH IN THE 2022 AMERICAN SOCIETY OF HUMAN GENETICS CONFERENCE IN LA. FOR MSA TRAINING, WE INVITED GENETIC COUNSELING STUDENTS TO HEAR THE PERSPECTIVES. WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AND WEEKLY PROJECT MEETINGS HAS BEEN CONTINUOUSLY IMPLEMENTED.

BIOINFORMATICS RESEARCH, CONSULTING AND SUPPORTS: 1. WE SUPPORTED SCIENTISTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MEDICAL BRANCH, YONSEI UNIVERSITY AND KYUNGPOOK NATIONAL UNIVERSITY IN KOREA. MORE SPECIFICALLY, WE PROVIDED COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY RESEARCH SUPPORT TO RNA FUNCTION EXPERTS REGARDING SMALL RNA REGULATIONS. WE PUBLISHED RESEARCH PAPERS FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFITS. 2. WE ARE UNCOVERING NOVEL RNA-RNA INTERACTIONS, RESEARCH WHICH MAY RESULT IN IDENTIFYING MORE BREAST CANCER PATIENTS WHO CAN BENEFITED FROM PRECISION MEDICINE CANCER DRUGS. 3. WE TAUGHT STUDENT SCIENTISTS TO DO IN-DEPTH RESEARCH AND HOW TO WRITE RESEARCH PAPERS. ONE COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH PROJECT FOR NOVEL SMALL RNA FUNCTIONS IN COVID-19 WAS PUBLISHED AND ANOTHER RESEARCH PROJECT MANUSCRIPT WAS SUBMITTED FOR PUBLICATION.