Topics In Anthropology (390-0-36)

Topic

Microbiome Analysis

Instructors

Katherine Ryan Amato
847/467-5890
1810 Hinman Avenue, Room A62

Meeting Info

ANTHRO Sem Rm 104 - 1810 Hinmn: Wed 2:00PM - 4:50PM

Overview of class

Imagine the scientific impact of discovering a new organ. Advances in DNA technology and big data analysis have allowed us to do just that by uncovering the complex microbial communities that live in and on our bodies. Microbiome research is transforming the natural and social sciences by revealing new mechanisms through which human physiology and health are influenced. In this course, you will learn to use two major computational tools for exploring the microbiome and its interactions with the human body. After a brief introduction to sample processing for DNA sequencing, we will use QIIME2 to describe microbiome composition and HUMANn4 to describe microbiome functional potential. Foundational microbiome research focused mainly on the gut will be discussed throughout the course, and the final product of the course will be a meta-analysis of publicly available microbiome data.

Class Materials (Required)

No required texts