Needles in a DNA-stack: large scale genetic association studies and the school curriculum. (360G-Wellcome-088997_Z_09_Z)

Current research in human genomics has great potential for involving students, yet it is not prominent in the school curriculum. We aim to redress that situation. Emerging knowledge of genetics in medicine has extended beyond the rare, such as cystic fibrosis, to include common diseases, such as cancer and heart disease. Large national genome-wide association studies are a method employed to help tease out the contribution genes make to these diseases. These studies raise many questions, some scientific, some ethical and some political, yet there is currently comparatively little opportunity for school-aged students to consider them. Needles in a DNA-stack will develop materials and CPD to enable genome-wide association studies to be incorporated into school curricula, and to allow teachers to introduce aspects of genomics into their teaching. We will achieve this through a diverse programme of interventions over a range of relevant subject areas. The project will embed contemporary research into school science and will enable teachers to enliven their teaching, drawing on large-scale genetic association research, such as The Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium studies and biobanking. We intend to support teachers and their students: ? to explore genetic and lifestyle contributions to disease ? to consider the methodological challenges these studies present ? to examine the social and ethical challenges to society of setting up the studies ? to explore the potential impact of data arising from these studies We will further explore the effectiveness of our approach with the intention of applying it to other contexts.