Skip to content
Genomics Education Partnership logo
Contact Us
Genomics Education Partnership logo
Contact Us

Regional Nodes

To increase faculty and student engagement in the GEP, the NIH’s Innovative Programs to Enhance Research Training (IPERT) grant provides support for regional clusters of participating GEP institutions (Regional Nodes). Regional Nodes are encouraged to develop events that allow undergraduates to present their work to other scientists, and/or faculty to learn, collaborate, mentor, and develop curricula.

Quick Links

Contacts

FAQs

In April 2019, the GEP was awarded funding by the NIH’s Innovative Programs to Enhance Research Training (IPERT) to sustain and develop centralized support and regional training. A main focus of the IPERT grant is to increase faculty and student engagement in the GEP by leveraging the available regional clusters of participating GEP institutions (Regional Nodes).

Each of the 13 Regional Nodes can offer Regional Node Meetings (symposia) and/or Regional Node (New Member) Training. The Regional Node Meetings serve the dual functions of allowing undergraduates to present their work to other scientists, and faculty to learn, collaborate, mentor, and develop curricula. The Regional Node Training workshops expand the timing and location options for GEP training, thereby increasing and diversifying participation while testing a new regional training format. A particular goal of these Regional Node activities is the recruitment and support of new members from Community Colleges and Minority-Serving Institutions.
Regional NodeNode LeaderLeader’s InstitutionNode Co-LeaderCo-Leader’s Institution
CalNeAr (CA, NV, AZ)TBD
CarolinasMarisol SantistebanUniversity of North Carolina at Pembroke (NC)Michele EllerSouthern Wesleyan University (SC)
DMV (DC, MD, VA)Matt WawersikWilliam & Mary (VA)Christine FleetEmory & Henry College (VA)
Midwest NorthJenny MierischLoyola University Chicago (IL)Sarah JusticeMarian University (IN)
MN/IA/DakotasKellie AgrimsonSt. Catherine University (MN)Andy Arsham
Tam Mans		Bemidji State University (MN)
North Hennepin Community College (MN)
New EnglandRachel Sterne-MarrSiena College (NY)Jenna Roecklein-CanfieldSimmons University (MA)
New York & New Jersey (NY/NJ)Guy BarbatoStockton University (NJ)Raffaella DiottiCUNY Bronx Community College (NY)
Pacific Northwest (PNW)Norma Velazquez-UlloaLewis & Clark College (OR)Jack VincentUniversity of Washington-Tacoma (WA)
Pennsylvania (PA)TBD
Puerto Rico (PR)Angel O. CustodioUniversity of Puerto Rico-Aguadilla (PR)Sheylda Díaz-MéndezUniversity of Puerto Rico-Ponce (PR)
Rocky MountainShan HaysWestern Colorado University (CO)Zeynep OzsoyColorado Mesa University (CO)
SoutheastCheri BardalesLouisiana State University of AlexandriaTBD
Texas & Oklahoma (TX/OK)Lindsey LongOklahoma Christian University (OK)Chitra ChandrasekaranTexas Wesleyan University (TX)
Find your institution on the Nodes Map and then use the key to determine your Regional Node and/or click on the icon of your institution and the Regional Node will be listed.
Regional Node Events include Regional Node Meetings (RNMs) and Regional Node Training (RNT). Regional Node Events leverage available regional clusters of participating GEP institutions (i.e., Regional Nodes).

Regional Node Meetings (RNMs) leverage available regional clusters of participating GEP institutions (i.e., Regional Nodes) to increase faculty and student engagement by allowing undergraduates to present their work to other scientists, and faculty to learn, collaborate, mentor, and develop curricula.

  • A Regional Node Meeting is defined as any GEP activity that involves at least two institutions in the Regional Node that includes at least one of the following: 
    • Student presentations (poster or oral)
    • Professional development activity 
    • Speaker gives a seminar on a research- or pedagogy-related topic
    • Training in curriculum or science projects of current GEP faculty
    • When Recruiting: ‘taster’ demos for prospective members (currently unavailable)
    • Unlike Regional Node New Member Trainings, RNMs are typically single day events with a smaller budget. What happens at RNMs can vary, but they focus on community building and engagement within their region. In a nutshell, it’s up to the Regional Node to decide what they most need to address (e.g., faculty only meeting to work on professional development, opportunities for students, or a recruitment event to grow the Node membership).
Regional Node Training (RNT) and New Member Training (NMT) are the same thing. NMT is typically used with “national” level events.

RNT/NMT is designed to onboard new members by helping faculty integrate GEP curriculum materials into existing courses and engage their students in scientific research through CUREs. Training new members typically takes 15-20 hours and can occur in-person (2.5 days) or virtually (1.5 hour/10 days).

See the “Regional Node Event Planning” web page (generic password) for more details.

Photos from the Minnesota, Iowa, Dakotas Regional Node Meeting

Minnesota/Iowa/Dakotas Regional Node Meeting – November 22, 2024

We had 7 GEP faculty, 5 prospective faculty, 1 graduate student, 12 other faculty and administrators, and 56 undergraduate students attend the MN/IA/Dakotas Node Event with representation from Anoka Ramsey Community College, Saint Catherine University, North Hennepin Community College, Crown College, Wartburg College, Bemidji State University, Minneapolis Community & Technical College, University of Minnesota, Carleton College, Normandale Community College, Bethel University, and Mayo Clinic.

Southeast Regional Node Meeting – November 22, 2024

The Southeast Node Virtual Symposium on Friday, November 22, 2024, was a success, drawing over 40 attendees from three universities in the node. The event showcased original student research and fostered collaboration among students and faculty, reinforcing the node’s commitment to advancing genomics education and research.

Group photo from the Fall 2024 Midwest Regional Node Meeting

Midwest Regional Node Meeting – September 28-29, 2024

The Midwest Regional Node held an in-person meeting at Marian University in Indianapolis, IN on September 28-29, 2024. This meeting included 7 GEP Midwest Node faculty, 7 undergraduate students, a prospective GEP faculty member, and two keynote speakers: Dr. Saoirse Foley (Marian University) and Dr. Rob Denton (Marian University).

Group photo from the Fall 2024 Rocky Mountain Regional Node Meeting

Rocky Mountain Regional Node Meeting – September 27-29, 2024

The Rocky Mountain node held an in-person regional node meeting and annotation workshop at Colorado Mesa University (CMU) in Grand Junction, Colorado September 27-29, 2024. It was organized by Zeynep Özsoy and Shan Hays. The meeting was attended by six regional node members and five students from CMU and Western Colorado University.

GEP Regional Node Meeting Virtual

Midwest Regional Node Meeting – April 25, 2024

The Midwest Regional Node held a virtual Research Symposium for students involved in Bioinformatics research through the GEP on Thursday, April 25, 2024. Twelve faculty and nine undergraduate students were in attendance.

  • Page Last Updated: July 2, 2024