Inclusion of Genetics and Genomics in Baccalaureate Nursing Programs in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Because of the importance of genetics and genomics for health care, efforts to promote inclusion of genetics and genomics in undergraduate nursing programs has increased in the past 20 years. However, the success of these efforts has not been measured recently. METHOD: Information from Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education accredited 4-year baccalaureate nursing programs in the United States was searched, and program administrators were surveyed regarding inclusion of genetics and genomics in program requirements. RESULTS: More than half (57%) of 711 programs analyzed included genetics and genomics in their curriculum, with <6% of programs requiring a standalone course. Although 43% of programs did not mention genetics and genomics in their curriculum, some programs that did not specifically identify genetics and genomics in course descriptions may incorporate these topics. CONCLUSION: Despite the growing importance of genetics and genomics in health care, many prelicensure baccalaureate nursing programs include little instruction on these topics. [J Nurs Educ. 2024;63(9):613-618.].

An interprofessional approach to teaching genetics in an undergraduate nursing curriculum.

BACKGROUND: Precision health is rapidly becoming a means to individualized approaches to managing health and thus necessitating a nursing workforce with an understanding of genomics and genetics. However, today's nurse in has limited knowledge in precision health, impacting the ability to educate patients and families. METHOD: To address this gap, an interprofessional PhD-prepared faculty team comprised of a nurse educator and a molecular biologist developed an undergraduate genetics course. The multiple teaching strategies include active learning modules, problem-based learning and a final debate. RESULTS: The teaching methods were augmented multiple times based on student feedback. The debate activity replaced a poster assignment and student feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. CONCLUSION: Multiple strategies were used to deliver genomics and genetics content to nursing students that culminate in application-based activities such as case studies and the debate activity have potential to broaden student perspectives. Prospective course changes include increasing the credits for the course, adding time during the debate for rebuttal development and inviting speakers.

Teaching genetics with integrative thoughts of conservation biology.

Biodiversity losses along with the exponential growth of global human population and human-provoked over-exploitation of natural resources. Genetic factors played an important role in the conservation of endangered species. Conservation genetics is a cross-field disciplinary of genetics and conservation biology. The course of conservation genetics is not available in colleges and universities, and the course of genetics does not directly reflect the content of biological conservation. We have taught genetics with integrative thoughts of conservation biology. In the form of case studies, we have integrated recent advances of research and technology in the relevant fields into the genetics classroom. As a result, we improved the undergraduates' motivation and interest in active learning, provoked the mutual promotion of "basic knowledge of genetics, awareness of ecological protection, and cultivate interdisciplinary thinking", and set up the groundwork for cultivating interdisciplinary talents who not only master solid basic knowledge, but also have the concept of ecological civilization.

Challenging Misconceptions about Race in Undergraduate Genetics.

Racial biases, which harm marginalized and excluded communities, may be combatted by clarifying misconceptions about race during biology lessons. We developed a human genetics laboratory activity that challenges the misconception that race is biological (biological essentialism). We assessed the relationship between this activity and student outcomes using a survey of students' attitudes about biological essentialism and color-evasive ideology and a concept inventory about phylogeny and human diversity. Students in the human genetics laboratory activity showed a significant decrease in their acceptance of biological essentialism compared with a control group, but did not show changes in color-evasive ideology. Students in both groups exhibited increased knowledge in both areas of the concept inventory, but the gains were larger in the human genetics laboratory. In the second iteration of this activity, we found that only white students' decreases in biological essentialist beliefs were significant and the activity failed to decrease color-evasive ideologies for all students. Concept inventory gains were similar and significant for both white and non-white students in this iteration. Our findings underscore the effectiveness of addressing misconceptions about the biological origins of race and encourage more research on ways to effectively change damaging student attitudes about race in undergraduate genetics education.

The State of Genetics and Genomics Education in US Physician Assistant Programs.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to assess the current landscape of genetics-genomics education in physician assistant (PA) student training. METHODS: A 25-question electronic survey was emailed to program directors of the 273 accredited PA programs. Questions represented PA program demographics and 4 domains: curricular characteristics and perceived adequacy; content; curricular approaches and instructional methods; and intent, barriers, and perceived needs for an optimal curriculum. RESULTS: A total of 115 PA program representatives (42%) returned the survey. More than two-thirds of responding programs do not require a prerequisite genetics course for matriculation. Most programs (48%) include 1 to 10 contact hours of genetics-genomics content and use various content delivery methods and approaches. Most programs (67%) use PA program faculty to teach genetics-genomics as part of one course or many courses throughout the curriculum (85%) using didactic lectures (97%). The most significant barrier to developing an optimal curriculum is an already overloaded curriculum (71%). Physician assistant educators welcome supportive resources, such as genetic case studies (96%). CONCLUSIONS: The study findings elucidate the current state of genetics-genomics education in PA programs. Every responding program reports that genetics-genomics is integrated into their curriculum; however, no standardization exists between programs. Although medical genetics-genomics has changed and advanced rapidly since a similar survey was conducted 14 years ago, the number of contact hours is unchanged, and genetics-genomics content is less dispersed throughout PA curricula. To create genetic-competent and genomic-competent PAs, education must evolve to stay current with ongoing advancements in genomic science.

Reconstruction of human genome evolution in yeast: an educational primer for use with "systematic humanization of the yeast cytoskeleton discerns functionally replaceable from divergent human genes".

The evolution of eukaryotic organisms starting with the last eukaryotic common ancestor was accompanied by lineage-specific expansion of gene families. A paper by Garge et al. provides an excellent opportunity to have students explore how expansion of gene families via gene duplication results in protein specialization, in this case in the context of eukaryotic cytoskeletal organization . The authors tested hypotheses about conserved protein function by systematic "humanization" of the yeast cytoskeletal components while employing a wide variety of methodological approaches. We outline several exercises to promote students' ability to explore the genomic databases, perform bioinformatic analyses, design experiments for functional analysis of human genes in yeast and critically interpret results to address both specific and general questions.

Toward Interprofessional Education of Pharmacogenomics: An Interdisciplinary Assessment.

INTRODUCTION: Pharmacogenomics, which emerged from disciplines such as pharmacology and genetics, is an increasingly important interdisciplinary field of health research, as indicated by the rapid growth of related literature. The aim of this study was to evaluate knowledge among genetics and pharmacology health-care students and to evaluate their exposure to and perceptions of pharmacogenomics. METHODS: An anonymous, 28-item online survey was distributed to medical and pharmacy students enrolled at Yarmouk University, Jordan. RESULTS: The respondents (n = 300) had an overall moderate level of knowledge regarding genetics and pharmacology. Most respondents recognized the benefits of pharmacogenomics for therapy optimization, but they had insufficient exposure to the topic. Most respondents supported providing pharmacogenetic testing in Jordan. The most preferred educational format in pharmacogenomics was integration in pharmacology courses. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: Medical and pharmacy students are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of pharmacogenomics in therapy optimization. Challenges such as the complexity of the topic and low retention of previous knowledge should be addressed to promote pharmacogenomics education. More work is needed to increase students' exposure to pharmacogenomics information. A deeper integration of pharmacogenomics applications into pharmacology courses is proposed to emphasize applications of pharmacogenomics.

Genetic essentialism: The mediating role of essentialist biases on the relationship between genetic knowledge and the interpretations of genetic information.

PURPOSE: Genetic research, via the mainstream media, presents the public with novel, profound findings almost on a daily basis. However, it is not clear how much laypeople understand these presentations and how they integrate such new findings into their knowledge base. Genetic knowledge (GK), existing causal beliefs, and genetic essentialist tendencies (GET) have been implicated in such processes; the current study assesses the relationships between these elements and how brief presentations of media releases of scientific findings about genetics are consumed and affect the readers. METHODS: An Australian national survey of GK, GET, and existing causal beliefs about health phenomena (heart disease and obesity) was conducted. Participants were also exposed to news headlines that offered genetic and non-genetic partial explanations of the same health phenomena and reported their evaluations of these headlines, as well as the effects of the headlines on their personal understanding of the health phenomena. RESULTS: GK was negatively-associated with GET. Whereas GK did not directly predict the evaluation and effects of the genetic headlines, GET did. GK predicted the effects of the headlines indirectly via GET and via GET and existing causal beliefs. CONCLUSION: GET seem to predict unwarranted effects of exposure to news headlines about genetic science, whereas GK seems to indirectly mitigate the same unwarranted effects.

Avaliação do Conhecimento dos Acadêmicos de Enfermagem em Genética/Genômica sobre o Câncer de Mama / Assessment of the Knowledge of Nursing Academics in Genetics/Genomics about Breast Cancer / Evaluación del Conocimiento de Academias de Enfermería en Genética/Genómica sobre el Cáncer de Mama

Introdução: As universidades de enfermagem não têm acompanhado as demandas relativas às disciplinas de genética, genômica ou oncologia para aperfeiçoar o conhecimento dos acadêmicos no manejo do câncer de mama, que é o mais comum entre as mulheres brasileiras, exigindo maior eficácia das políticas de detecção precoce, tratamento oportuno e aconselhamento genético. Isso se deve em parte à não obrigatoriedade de oferecer essas disciplinas na grade curricular, o que pode levar a um déficit de conhecimento e possível prejuízo da futura qualidade desses profissionais. Objetivo: Analisar se o conhecimento dos acadêmicos de enfermagem sobre os conceitos de genética e genômica aplicados ao câncer de mama está associado à grade curricular das instituições onde estudam. Método: Estudo multicêntrico, transversal, norteado pela ferramenta STROBE, realizado entre agosto/outubro de 2018. Resultados: Acadêmicos de instituições públicas apresentaram correlação entre a ausência das disciplinas genética/genômica (p=0,0001) e pouco conhecimento dos respectivos conceitos (p=0,0045). Alternativamente, os de instituições privadas mostraram maiores erros em relação ao exame clínico de mama anual a partir dos 40 anos (p=0,0009) e à periodicidade do rastreio mamográfico na população sob risco geral (p=0,0021). Os dois grupos convergiram na recomendação da mamografia à população sob risco familiar entre 35-69 anos. Conclusão: Os acadêmicos das instituições de ensino superior privadas apresentaram maiores acertos sobre conceitos de genética/genômica, pois continham a disciplina genética na grade curricular, enquanto os das instituições públicas se destacaram nos acertos relacionados ao câncer de mama sobre políticas de saúde, em razão da maior vivência prática no estágio curricular

Introduction: Nursing universities have not kept up with the demands related to the disciplines of genetics, genomics, or oncology to improve the knowledge of students in managing breast cancer, which is the most common among Brazilian women, demanding greater effectiveness of policies for early detection, timely treatment, and genetic counseling. This is partly due to the fact that it is not mandatory to offer these subjects in the curriculum, which can lead to a deficit of knowledge potentially harmful to the future quality of these professionals. Objective: To analyze whether the knowledge of nursing students about the concepts of genetics and genomics applied to breast cancer is associated with the curriculum of the institutions where they study. Method: Multicenter, cross-sectional study, guided by the STROBE tool, carried out between August-October 2018. Results: Students from public institutions showed correlation between the absence of genetics/genomics disciplines (p=0.0001) and poor knowledge of the respective concepts (p=0.0045). Alternatively, those from private institutions showed more errors in relation to the annual clinical breast exam from the age of 40 (p=0.0009) and the frequency of mammographic screening in the population at general risk (p=0.0021). The two groups concurred in recommending mammography to the population at risk between 35 and 69 years of age. Conclusion: Students from private universities where genetics is included in the disciplines were more cognizant about concepts of genetics and genomics, while those from public institutions stood out regarding correct responses on breast cancer related health policies because of their internship practice

Introducción: Las universidades de enfermería no se han mantenido al día con las demandas relacionadas con las disciplinas de genética, genómica u oncología para mejorar el conocimiento de los académicos en el manejo del cáncer de mama, que es el más común entre las mujeres brasileñas, exigiendo una mayor efectividad de las políticas de detección precoz. tratamiento oportuno y asesoramiento genético. Esto se debe en parte a que no es obligatorio ofrecer estas asignaturas en el plan de estudios, lo que puede conllevar un desconocimiento y posibles daños a la calidad futura de estos profesionales. Objetivo: Analizar si el conocimiento de los estudiantes de enfermería sobre los conceptos de genética y genómica aplicados al cáncer de mama está asociado al currículo de las instituciones donde cursan estudios. Método: Estudio multicéntrico, transversal, guiado por la herramienta STROBE, realizado entre agosto y octubre de 2018. Resultados: Los académicos de las instituciones públicas mostraron una correlación entre la ausencia de disciplinas de genética/ genómica (p=0,0001) y el escaso conocimiento de los conceptos respectivos (p=0,0045). Alternativamente, las de instituciones privadas mostraron mayores errores en relación al examen clínico de mama anual a partir de los 40 años (p=0,0009) y la frecuencia de cribado mamográfico en la población de riesgo general (p=0,0021). Los dos grupos convergieron en la recomendación de la mamografía a la población de riesgo entre los 35 y los 69 años. Conclusión: Los académicos de las instituciones privadas de educación superior fueron más correctos sobre los conceptos de genética y genómica, ya que incluyeron la disciplina genética en el plan de estudios, mientras que los de las instituciones públicas se destacaron en las respuestas correctas relacionadas con el cáncer de mama en las políticas de salud, debido a la mayor experiencia práctica en la pasantía curricular

Counteracting Environmental Chemicals with Coenzyme Q10: An Educational Primer for Use with "Antioxidant CoQ10 Restores Fertility by Rescuing Bisphenol A-Induced Oxidative DNA Damage in the Caenorhabditis elegans Germline".

Environmental toxicants are chemicals that negatively affect human health. Although there are numerous ways to limit exposure, the ubiquitous nature of certain environmental toxicants makes it impossible to avoid them entirely. Consequently, scientists are continuously working toward developing strategies for combating their harmful effects. Using the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, a model with many genetic and physiological similarities to humans, researchers in the Colaiácovo laboratory have identified several molecular mechanisms by which the toxic agent bisphenol A (BPA) interferes with reproduction. Here, we address their recent discovery that a widely available compound, Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), can rescue BPA-induced damage. This work is significant in that it poses a low-cost method for improving reproductive success in humans. The goal of this primer is to assist educators and students with navigating the paper entitled "Antioxidant CoQ10 Restores Fertility by Rescuing Bisphenol A-Induced Oxidative DNA Damage in the Caenorhabditis elegans Germline." It is ideally suited for integration into an upper-level undergraduate course such as Genetics, Cell and Molecular Biology, Developmental Biology, or Toxicology. The primer provides background information on the history of BPA, the utility of the C. elegans germ line as a model for studying reproductive toxicity, and research methods including assessment of programmed cell death, fluorescent microscopy applications, and assays to quantify gene expression. Questions for deeper exploration in-class or online are provided.Related article in GENETICS: Hornos Carneiro MF, Shin N, Karthikraj R, Barbosa F Jr, Kannan K, Colaiácovo MP. Antioxidant CoQ10 restores fertility by rescuing bisphenol A-induced oxidative DNA damage in the Caenorhabditis elegans Germline. Genetics 214:381-395.

Using Drosophila melanogaster To Discover Human Disease Genes: An Educational Primer for Use with "Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Modifiers in Drosophila Reveal the Phospholipase D Pathway as a Potential Therapeutic Target".

Since the dawn of the 20th century, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has been used as a model organism to understand the nature of genes and how they control development, behavior, and physiology. One of the most powerful experimental approaches employed in Drosophila is the forward genetic screen. In the 21st century, genome-wide screens have become popular tools for identifying evolutionarily conserved genes involved in complex human diseases. In the accompanying article "Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Modifiers in Drosophila Reveal thePhospholipase DPathway as a Potential Therapeutic Target," Kankel and colleagues describe a forward genetic modifier screen to discover factors that contribute to the severe neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). This primer briefly traces the history of genetic screens in Drosophila and introduces students to ALS. We then provide a set of guided reading questions to help students work through the data presented in the research article. Finally, several ideas for literature-based research projects are offered as opportunities for students to expand their appreciation of the potential scope of genetic screens. The primer is intended to help students and instructors thoroughly examine a current study that uses forward genetics in Drosophila to identify human disease genes.

Implicit associations of teleology and essentialism concepts with genetics concepts among secondary school students.

In this article, we present the development and validation of an implicit association test for measuring secondary school students' associations between genetics concepts and teleology concepts on the one hand, and between genetics concepts and essentialism concepts on the other hand. In total, 169 students from 16 school classes took part in the study, from January 2018 to May 2018. We investigated the strength of the aforementioned associations and the influence of various covariates such as gender, age, school class, or previous learning of biology on the association of teleology or essentialism concepts with genetics concepts through an analysis of covariance and a multi-level analysis. We found moderate associations between genetics and teleology concepts, as well as between genetics and essentialism concepts. These results might reflect a tendency of students of different ages and with various backgrounds to think about genes in terms of goals (teleology) and stability (essentialism), which should be investigated further in future research.

Discover the Microbes Within! The Wolbachia Project: Citizen Science and Student-Based Discoveries for 15 Years and Counting.

The Elizabeth W. Jones Award for Excellence in Education recognizes an individual who has had a significant impact on genetics education at any education level. Seth R. Bordenstein, Ph.D., Centennial Professor of Biological Sciences at Vanderbilt University and Founding Director of the Vanderbilt Microbiome Initiative, is the 2020 recipient in recognition of his cofounding, developing, and expanding Discover the Microbes Within! The Wolbachia Project.

How Not To Be in the Wrong Place at the Wrong Time: An Education Primer for Use with "Deposition of Centromeric Histone H3 Variant CENP-A/Cse4 into Chromatin Is Facilitated by Its C-Terminal Sumoylation".

Recent work by Kentaro Ohkuni and colleagues exemplifies how a series of molecular mechanisms contribute to a cellular outcome-equal distribution of chromosomes. Failure to maintain structural and numerical integrity of chromosomes is one contributing factor in genetic diseases such as cancer. Specifically, the authors investigated molecular events surrounding centromeric histone H3 variant Cse4 deposition-a process important for chromosome segregation, using Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model organism. This study illustrates an example of a post-translational modification-sumoylation-regulating a cellular process and the concept of genetic interactions (e.g, synthetic dosage lethality). Furthermore, the study highlights the importance of using diverse experimental approaches in answering a few key research questions. The authors used molecular biology techniques (e.g., qPCR), biochemical experiments (e.g., Ni-NTA/8His protein purification), as well as genetic approaches to understand the regulation of Cse4 At a big-picture level, the study reveals how genetic changes can lead to subsequent molecular and cellular changes.

EuroGEMS.org: Guide and links to online genetic and genomic educational resources, valuable for all levels.

There is a well-recognized growing need for improved access to online genetic and genomics education for professionals, students, teachers, and the public. Numerous individual online genetic and genomic educational resources have been developed, but many are difficult to identify or locate when required. Consequently, an easily navigated website, European Society of Human Genetics (ESHG) Genetic Educational Materials and Sources (https://www.EuroGEMS.org), has recently been created, on behalf of the ESHG, by the authors. It facilitates access by a wide variety of target audience types and levels to a broad range of 110 selected, free, high-quality educational online genetic and genomic resources around the world, including several in languages other than English. The website has been endorsed by the ESHG, directly linked from that society's web pages, and has now been used in over 105 countries.

Exercise to explain X-chromosome inactivation in humans.

Distance learning requires the combined use of techniques because it is more complicated to keep the students' attention. This exercise is designed to explain the inactivation of the x-chromosome in humans and is intended to complement the theoretical explanations. It is estimated that it lasts two hours and makes use of different web resources. It is intended for students familiar with the use of BLAST tools.