We have partnerships with the Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Livermore National Lab and many other institutions. These partnerships take a number of forms: researchers at other institutions serve as adjunct QSB faculty, researchers at other universities collaborate with our faculty, students can participate in formal exchange programs such as the JGI/UC Merced Genomics Internship Program, and some students visit or work in partner institutions as part of their coursework. An example of the latter is Professor Carolin Frank's genome biology class, where students help annotate and analyze bacterial genomes that were sequenced at the JGI.
The JGI/UCM Genomics Distinguished Graduate Internship Program is jointly sponsored by the Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) and UC Merced. The program objectives are to:
- Introduce students to emerging genomics technologies and informatics
- Provide hands-on experience in cutting edge genomics research
- Apply experimental and computational tools to research level problems
- Analyze results using data and translate into scientific context
The summer program runs for eight weeks on the DOE JGI campus in Walnut Creek, Calif. UC Merced graduate students will be selected to participate in research projects led by DOE JGI researchers and QSB adjunct faculty members Axel Visel and Zhong Wang. QSB faculty member Suzanne Sindi is also a member of the program's oversight committee.
See this news article highlighting the success of Keedrian Olmstead and Travis Lawrence, who took part in the first generation of this program.
