Online genetics wet lab

I am Diana Wolf and I teach Principles of Genetics at the University of Alaska Fairbanks

In 2020, I created an online version of the course and created a molecular wet lab project where students prepare DNA for sequencing in their homes.  Although other online Genetics courses use virtual labs, I believe that actually extracting and sequencing DNA provides a much more authentic learning experience 

My students use Illumina DNA Sequencing to identify the plant species contained in herbal supplements, and compare the actual ingredients to those on the label. Students extract DNA, PCR amplify it, run agarose gels to see if their PCRs worked, clean the DNA, and add indices and sequencing primers for Illumina sequencing. They then send their samples to the UAF genomics core lab for Illumina sequencing, which they analyze and write a paper about their results.

These web pages contain the videos and protocols that I created to train students to carry out these protocols at home. Use the navigation bar at the top of the page to see each lab.

Note: for my course, I inserted multiple choice questions in the videos using PlayPosit, but here I was only able to post the videos sans questions.