AWG Internship Opportunity

Apply Today! Join us this summer in analyzing spaceflight omics data in the GeneLab Data Repository!

Thank you to all who applied for the summer internship. Applications are now closed. To receive AWG updates and information about other opportunities at GeneLab, subscribe to the Newsletter.

Analysis of Spaceflight Omics Data Using the GeneLab Data System

Spaceflight places unique stresses on living systems and understanding how biological systems sense and respond to these stresses is a requisite for an expanded human presence in space. However, the enormous complexity of biological systems means that the precise nature of these responses remain unclear. In response, NASA is developing an open platform for storing and analyzing biological datasets called GeneLab (genelab.nasa.gov).

By gathering genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic and metabolomic datasets together, GeneLab will allow these datasets to be compared, integrated and analyzed together, increasing the likelihood that important patterns of adaptation to space environments will be discovered. Currently, the GeneLab data system houses raw unprocessed data (e.g. fastq files), however GeneLab will soon offer tools for analysis of this data. To ensure that these tools meet the needs of the space biology community, GeneLab is assembling Analysis Working Groups (AWGs) charged with identifying essential tools, constructing canonical analysis pipelines and generating processed data. These AWGs will be led by subject matter experts from various domains (plant biology, microbiology, vertebrate and invertebrate physiology), however it is expected that many of the tasks identified by these AWGs will be carried out by a group of 10 - 20 interns recruited through this opportunity.

Interns will work with GeneLab and AWG scientists, as well as other interns, to develop computational pipelines for the analysis of biological data housed within GeneLab. Interns will utilize these within the GeneLab analysis framework to make discoveries about how biological systems react to spaceflight. Internships are for 10 weeks and will take place at NASA Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley. Students will be provided a stipend and offered affordable housing at NASA Ames.

For more information on the summer program and application process, please visit the NASA Internships and Fellowships web page at https://intern.nasa.gov/