Bioinformatics of Cancer

Graduate Fellow Shawn Yost & Teacher Partner Darci Kimball

Students must use patient histories and a series of experiments to determine if their patient has cancer. This activity shows the change in how we diagnose patients (symptoms, pathology, DNA sequencing) and what a difference that can make for patient outcomes. DNA sequencing is brought to the classroom as students use bioinformatics to explore the diagnosis of their patient at a sub-cellular level. 

GRADE LEVEL: 9-12

DURATION: Two to three 50-minute periods.  The length of the activity depends on how much prior knowledge the students have about the Central Dogma, how in-depth you go, and the materials you have available.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• Students will be able to differentiate a cancer cell from a normal cell using a microscope.
• Students will understand the difference between a cancer cell and normal cell.
• Students will understand the process of diagnosing a cancer patient.
• Students will understand how a physician, pathologist, and bioinformatics scientist work together to give the best possible treatment.
• Students will be able to use online resources to predict and visualize 3D structures of proteins.
• Students will be able to assemble DNA fragments together to make one DNA sequence.
• Students will understand how bioinformatics works, specifically how it is apply to the human genome.