The SoapyCilantro project aims to address the lack of trained personnel in the area of genomics and precision medicine, the future of human health care.

Using genomic concepts, the SoapyCilantro program demonstrates how minor differences in human genes can affect their traits and how this applies to the area of precision medicine. The SoapyCilantro Program is two-fold:

Part I of the program provides Iowa high school STEM educators with a 3-credit continuing education course called Teaching Teachers Genomic Concepts and Applications (TTGCA).

Part II of the program provides SoapyCilantro education kits and a lesson plan for Iowa high school STEM educators to use in their 6-12 grade classrooms.

Why Cilantro?

Using cilantro, which tastes spicy to some people and soapy to others, we are able to demonstrate how one minor difference in humans' genetic sequence alters their traits.

Imagine that cilantro is a medication and that a group of patients are all prescribed cilantro for pain after surgery. It only works for some - those who like the taste of cilantro. This is an example of how genetics plays an important role in everyday life and in healthcare.

Today, healthcare professionals examine patients' DNA to identify the best treatments for cancers, diseases, and other conditions. This is called precision medicine, or pharmacogenetics.