Ruan and his team from UTSA’s College of Sciences are working on an exciting project. They’re joined by several experts: Yufeng Wang, a professor of molecular microbiology; Palden Lama, an associate professor of computer science; and Jeffrey Vedanayagam, an assistant professor in neuroscience and regenerative biology.
Together, they are creating cloud-based learning modules aimed at students studying biomedical data science. These modules will cater to diverse backgrounds, whether the students are coming from biology, data science, or other fields. The goal is to help them enhance their knowledge and work towards their career aspirations, all while engaging with real-world data.
The resources include lecture slides, videos, hands-on exercises, and small research projects, organized by themes relevant to students’ majors. The team is leveraging existing cloud resources from the NIH and utilizing actual genomic datasets to ensure relevance and quality. To fine-tune these modules, they plan to gather feedback from UTSA students and faculty in Summer 2025. After incorporating this feedback, they will share the resources with students and faculty at other institutions.
Wang believes this project will give UTSA students a significant edge in the job market. By equipping them with essential skills in biomedical data science, the program aims to fill educational gaps and prepare students for careers that increasingly depend on advanced data science capabilities.
