Students interested in the Precision Medicine/Genetics program will typically work with a mentor in the Center for Precision Medicine Research (CPMR) on a project that focuses on discovering the structure of the human genome and the hunt for genes that influence human health disorders, which will improve patient care. In addition to the independent research project, studies may have the opportunity to be involved with other projects related to MCRI’s cutting edge molecular technologies and Marshfield Clinic’s Personalized Medicine Research Project (PMRP), which is a biobank of plasma, serum, and DNA specimens from 20,000 Marshfield Clinic patients.
CPMR SRIP Project
CPMR researchers are conducting two projects.
1) Utility of family data extracted from hospital records
Project Overview:
A family history is one of the greatest predictors of future health, but there are significant limitations standard family history practice. To generate a family history automatically without relying on self-reported data requires the ability to link longitudinal health histories across family members. The primary aim of this study is to link thousands of rich historic hospital records data that has already been extracted (emergency contact information, basic demographics, and health data) to existing data in the electronic health record (EHR).
Primary research question: Can hospital records be used to identify families and can this data be linked to existing family data in the EHR?
Requirements:
Students should have computer programming experience. This project is open to any major/degree. This project is open to undergraduate juniors and seniors, and graduate students. Students will be performing literature reviews, analyzing data, and attending seminars--with heavy focus in data analysis. This project is either virtual or in-person internship.
2) Assessment of candidate genetic variants in orofacial clefts
Project Overview:
Orofacial clefts are common birth defects of craniofacial structures. Several studies have detected genetic variants in orofacial cleft cases, but it is often unknown whether these variants affect the function of genes that control the development of craniofacial structures. A computational analysis that determines whether these variants are located in regions of the genome that regulate the craniofacial development will be a step towards answering this question.
Primary research question: Do genetic variants in orofacial cleft cases overlap craniofacial enhancers or orofacial cleft associated genes more often than expected by chance?
Requirements:
Students should have some familiarity with the R software program. This project is open to graduate students who are engaged in the following areas: genetics, bioinformatics, and/or developmental biology. Students will be performing literature reviews, analyzing data, and attending seminars--with heavy focus in data analysis. This project is either virtual or in-person internship.
Friendly reminder, the internship is a competitive process with an application, copy of transcripts, resume or CV, personal statement, and two academic or research references. See Frequently Asked Questions for additional details.
The application window is now closed for the 2024 session.