Research

Research is essential for hands-on learning, and undergraduate research experience is required for admission to many graduate and professional schools. The most elite graduate programs expect published research when you apply.

As a genomics student at Davidson, you'll have many research and publication opportunities. You can work on group projects with professors and other students, and conduct independent research with faculty guidance. You may even choose to conduct research over the summer through the Davidson Research Initiative or other funding mechanisms. Your research could be part of an honors research project as a part of your major.

Group Research

You'll have the chance to pursue group research projects. Group projects typically involve students majoring in biology, math/CS and chemistry majors, as well as those who have not chosen a major yet.

Bioinformatics

Bioinformatics projects allow students from different majors to work together to solve real world problems. You develop online tools to enhance research in the lab on and off campus.

Mathematics

Mathematics projects encourage students to blend statistics, probability and programming to calculate solutions to difficult biological problems.

Genome Annotation

As part of the Laboratory Methods in Genomics course, students have annotated genomes from microbes, blueberry and broccoli. This course is a hands-on research project using real high throughput genome sequence data.

Synthetic Biology

Synthetic biology blends genomics with molecular biology, mathematics, computer science and engineering. The goals of synthetic biology are to design and construct new biological parts, devices and systems for useful purposes.

Glycomics

Chemistry, biochemistry and biology students integrate their experiences when they work with biologically important sugars and their associated proteins. Current students are working with glycoproteins involved in cancer and its metastasis.

Neurogenomics

Students combine genome editing and traditional cell and molecular methods to understand nervous system maintenance and axonal regeneration.

Independent Research

Independent projects will be tailored to your interests, and may emphasize biological, biochemical, organic chemistry, mathematical and/or computational methods.

Publications

Genomics students have co-authored articles with professors Campbell, Heyer, El Bejjani and Snyder in a variety of scientific journals, including Journal of Biological Engineering, Interdisciplinary Bio Central, Bioinformatics and Bios. Students conducting research will have the potential to collaborate with the genomics faculty to submit their manuscripts for peer-reviewed publications.