Science educators and students everywhere can now explore dozens of genetics learning resources from The Jackson Laboratory on LabXchange. The Jackson Laboratory and LabXchange are committed to making the study of genetics and genomics accessible, approachable and inclusive through online and hybrid learning experiences. Both organizations strive to empower future scientists to improve human health through genomics research and education.

The Jackson Laboratory resources now available in the LabXchange library include career spotlights, guidance on DNA sequence analysis, lab demonstrations and more:

• Mighty Mice in Space
• What is Bioinformatics?
• Science After High School, presented by the Women in Science & Engineering group at The Jackson Laboratory

In 2022, LabXchange and The Jackson Laboratory will also release a new, co-developed virtual lab simulation for gel electrophoresis. Designed for high school biology students, the simulation will allow learners to use gel electrophoresis to examine natural variants in the human ACE gene by visualizing DNA molecules that have been amplified using PCR.

The simulation will support The Jackson Laboratory’s Teaching the Genome Generation (TtGG™), a program funded by an NIH Science Education Partership Award (SEPA), which is designed to provide high school teachers the content knowledge, teaching strategies, and resources needed to enhance student learning in genetics, genomics, and personalized medicine. In TtGG™, students conduct classroom experiments, collect and analyze real data, and discuss the ethical complexities at the intersection of human genomics, research and medicine.

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“The Jackson Laboratory is a leader not only in biomedical research, but also in innovative science education,” said Martin Samuels, head of content at LabXchange. “We are thrilled to collaborate to help broaden the reach of their educational programming.”

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Through LabXchange’s modular approach to content and free teaching tools, educators can combine these resources with over 15,000 free, high-quality learning resources from the growing LabXchange library. They can also incorporate the resources into customizable pathways aligned to specific learning goals.

“Through our collaboration with LabXchange, students and teachers from across the globe will be able to explore human genomic diversity through JAX’s TtGG and other educational resources, helping us to meet our goal of providing accessible and engaging content for all,” said Sarah Wojiski, director of education at The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine.

‍LabXchange is a global science classroom open to every curious mind. Created at Harvard University with support from the Amgen Foundation, this powerful digital platform makes high-quality science education accessible, connects learning to careers, and gives everyone, everywhere, the opportunity to chart a path in science—for free. Through collaboration, personalization, and contextualization, LabXchange offers an integrated teaching and learning ecosystem in which tomorrow’s thought leaders can build knowledge, contribute unique perspectives, and engage with a diverse, global community to develop a sense of belonging.

The Jackson Laboratory is an independent, nonprofit biomedical research institution with a National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center and nearly 3,000 employees in locations across the United States (Maine, Connecticut, California) and Japan, as well as a joint venture in China. Its mission is to discover precise genomic solutions for disease and empower the global biomedical community in the shared quest to improve human health. ​​​​​​​For more information, please visit www.jax.org​​​​​​​.