National Center for Biotechnology Information scientists to teach at UF Dec. 11-13

Two scientists from the National Center for Biotechnology Information will conduct workshops in December to teach the University of Florida medical and research community how to tap into the center’s genetics and bioinformatics databases.

Biologists Peter Cooper, Ph.D., and Susan Dombrowski, Ph.D., will provide an overview of the center’s resources during sessions scheduled for Dec. 11 at the Whitney Laboratory in St. Augustine and Dec. 12-13 at the UF Health Science Center in Gainesville.

Their workshop, “A Field Guide to GenBank and NCBI Resources,” has been developed for scientists, researchers, students, and clinicians to learn more about the genetics, genomics and bioinformatics resources and analysis tools provided by the center.

GenBank is National Center for Biiotechnology Information’s primary gene-sequence database. As a national resource for molecular biology information, the center has created automated systems to store and analyze knowledge about molecular biology, biochemistry and genetics.

Part of its mission is to help the research and medical community use its databases and software.

The UF Genetics Institute, Health Science Center Libraries, Interdisciplinary Center for Biotechnology Research and Whitney Laboratory will sponsor the visit. The National Center for Biotechnology Information is a division of the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Mental Health.

Both lecture and hands-on sessions are available without cost. Registration is required. Contact Michele R. Tennant (michele@library.health.ufl.edu) to register or for more information, or visit www.library.health.ufl.edu/michele/NCBI_02/NCBIsheet1.htm.