What is Team Transcriptome?

Team Transcriptome is a peer support team of undergraduate researchers dedicated to helping our community thrive computationally. This team learns computational skills from our experts, and then translates these skill to their peers. Whether you’re new to Unix, navigating the HPC cluster, picking up Python, or diving into bioinformatics pipelines, we will train you, so you can train your friends! This team translates computational knowledge, one researcher at a time and will support upcoming workshops, drop-in hours, and one-on-one support sessions.

Become a Team Transcriptome Leader

As a Team Transcriptome Trainer, you will take the computational skills you built as a student, Unix, Python, HPC, bioinformatics workflows — and pay them forward by helping the next wave of researchers find their footing.

What Will You Gain?

Teaching and leadership experience. Leading workshops and one-on-one sessions builds communication and leadership experience for research, industry, medicine, and beyond.

A deeper mastery of the tools. There is no faster way to truly understand something than to teach it. Explaining bioinformatics concepts to others deepens your own understanding, and supports future research.

A place in the BRC community. Trainers are a visible, valued part of the Bioinformatics Research Center. You will build relationships with faculty, staff, graduate students, and peers that can open doors throughout your academic and professional career.

Do Your Own Genomic Research: No Lab Coat Required!

Have you ever wondered what’s living in the soil beneath your feet, how viruses evolve, or why some genes are more active in certain tissues? At the Bioinformatics Research Center, undergraduate students have the opportunity to explore these questions using real genomic data and the computational skills you build through Team Transcriptome.

What is a Student Research Project?

A student research project is your chance to ask a question that genuinely interests you and pursue it using publicly available genomic datasets. Whether you come from a biology background, a computer science background, or somewhere in between, there is a project that fits your skills and curiosity.

Working alongside BRC faculty, you will choose a dataset, develop a research question, and use bioinformatics tools to analyze the data and interpret your results. Your project is yours. Present poster, do a presentation, or write a report on a biological problem you care about.

How Does It Work?

• Step 1 — Build your foundation with Team Transcriptome.
  Before diving into independent research, students develop core computational skills — Unix, Python, HPC, and bioinformatics workflows — through Team Transcriptome workshops and peer support. These are the same tools BRC researchers use every day.
• Step 2 — Explore available datasets.
  Thousands of publicly available genomic datasets are waiting to be analyzed. Students can choose from microbial and metagenomic data, viral genomes, human transcriptomic datasets, environmental sequencing data, and more. BRC faculty will help you find a dataset that matches your interests.
• Step 3 — Develop your research question.
  A good research project starts with a good question. With faculty guidance, you’ll learn how to frame a focused, answerable question using your chosen dataset.
• Step 4 — Analyze and interpret your data.
  Using the tools you learned through Team Transcriptome, you’ll run analyses on the HPC cluster, visualize results, and begin to draw conclusions. Faculty mentors are available throughout the process to guide your thinking.
• Step 5 — Share what you found.
  Present your work: a research poster, a short report, a presentation to the BRC community, or a contribution to an ongoing faculty project.

Who Can Participate?

Any undergraduate student at NC State is welcome to apply. You do not need prior research experience. If you are curious, motivated, and willing to learn, the BRC has a place for you.

Why Genomic Research?

Genomics is one of the fastest-growing fields in science and technology. The ability to work with biological sequence data is increasingly valuable across medicine, agriculture, environmental science, and industry. A student project at the BRC gives you a head start, real research experience, faculty mentorship, and a portfolio of work that sets you apart.