Curriculum and Communications Specialist

The Curriculum and Communications Specialist develops curriculum and training materials for the Genomics Education Partnership (GEP) courses and workshops, including presentations, written walkthroughs and exercises, video tutorials for GEP tools and genomic resources, etc. Creates and designs content for GEP social media, website, and recruitment campaigns. Improves the accessibility of the GEP website, annotation tools, and curriculum materials. Assists with data analyses and preparation of publications of the scientific findings generated by GEP students and Science Partners.

The Department of Biological Sciences is working on a National Institutes of Health funded project to enhance the genomics and bioinformatics training of undergraduates nationwide as part of the Genomics Education Partnership (GEP, thegep.org). Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) have been demonstrated to be one of the most effective teaching methods to engage students in the disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). The GEP provides CUREs in genomics to thousands of students at over 200 colleges and universities across the United States.

This position works with members of the Curriculum Committee and the Retention & Engagement (R&E) Committee to improve the accessibility of the GEP website, annotation tools, and curriculum materials so that they conform to Level AA of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0 AA). Works with the Curriculum Committee and other GEP staff to revise the curriculum based on faculty feedback, and update the curriculum before the start of each semester so that they are consistent with the current versions of the bioinformatics databases and tools. Assists the GEP Regional Node Directors and Node Leaders to organize Regional Node Trainings (RNT) for new members, and Regional Node Meetings (RNM) for current members. Coordinates with the Professional Development & Mentoring (PDM) Committee and the Director of IT to improve the GEP communication infrastructure. Works with the PDM Committee to provide professional development opportunities to GEP faculty and students. Helps maintain and improve the bioinformatics software, workflows, and web framework developed by the GEP, and develop tools to support new GEP curriculum and science projects. Helps implement a new communication framework and project management system for the GEP (based on Microsoft 365).