Genome Consortium for Active Teaching

The consortium's mission is to bring functional genomic methods into undergraduate curriculum primarily through student research. As part of their mission, GCAT sponsors faculty workshops in DNA Microarrays and, more recently, Synthetic Biology. The consortium also provides a centralized chip reader to make microarray experiments more affordable and provides DNA chips for a variety of species at a nominal cost. They have created a clearinghouse of information for teachers to use as well as a global network of teachers who communicate through a listserv and other venues. The website is a rich resource and contains a wealth of instructional materials and laboratory protocols as well as many links to other resources. A link to Magic Tool is also included. Magic Tool is an open source computer program that is used to perform microarray analysis. GCAT workshops are highly recommended.