DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The aim of this project is to develop a lecture/laboratory course in bioinformatics that teaches graduate students in the various experimental biomedical disciplines how to analyze and integrate genomic data in their research. Rather than simply offering a course in bioinformatic methods, it is proposed to develop a set of several illustrative biological problems that require genomic analysis for their solution, A series of lessons will be developed that cover the methods for relating the sequences of proteins and nucleic acids to their structure, function, evolution, expression, and role in human health and disease, The theoretical basis of all methods studied will be taught. The operation of all programs used will be demonstrated live, with the aid of an LCD projector. The students will gain experience in using all the methods themselves by applying them to real biological problems in a supervised computer laboratory. Most of the lab exercises will involve a term project in which the students explore the structure and function of a protein/gene family involved in cellular signaling. Other exercises will include finding a human disease gene by a combination of linkage and sequence analysis, and analyzing microarray expression data. Emphasis will be placed on the use of web-accessible databases.