The Genetic Mechanism and Evolution (GME) T32 training grant is currently hosting its first hackathon on Tuesday, September 20th and Wednesday, September 21st, with a post-hackathon debrief session on Thursday, September 22nd from 3pm - 5pm. The goal of the hackathon is for participants to enjoy curiosity-driven inquiry and exposure to new skills in the context of an unfamiliar problem relevant to genetic mechanisms and evolution.
The Genetic Mechanisms and Evolution Training Program is supported by an NIGMS T32 training grant. The PIs are Joseph Thornton, John Novembre, Alex Ruthenburg and Lucia Rothman-Denes and the grant helps support 16 trainees from seven graduate programs and also includes a cohort of first year graduate students. This relatively new interdisciplinary program provides rigorous predoctoral research training from world-leading scientists in quantitative, computational, and experimental approaches to answer fundamental questions in molecular, statistical, and evolutionary genetics. Training focuses on developing multidisciplinary competence across these fields, with a strong foundation in quantitative and computational analysis for every student. The training program leverages the world-class strength of the University of Chicago in genetics. Mentors include 57 faculty with extraordinary records of research and graduate training, drawn from 14 departments across the fields of evolutionary, statistical, and molecular genetics.