Biotechnology Education Platform (Illumina-Aligned)

An interactive website designed for students and educators to explore biotechnology, genetics, and DNA sequencing. Built as a resource to support AP Computer Science Principles, Data Structures, and Biology classes using real-world tools and datasets modeled after Illumina’s genomic technologies.

For educaters and leaners

This project can be used to:

• Demonstrate biotechnology concepts interactively
• Integrate biology and computer science curricula
• Enable students to explore DNA sequences, mutation types, and gene function hands-on
• Foster inquiry-based learning through visual tools and interactive simulations

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Educational Features

• Hands-on gene mutation simulation using real DNA sequences.
• Select from Sandbox or Fix-the-Gene game modes.
• Interactive tutorial guides walk users through genetic concepts.
• Connects biology and computer science in a tangible way.
• Designed for classroom integration or independent learning.

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Live Site + GitHub

• Frontend repo: Frontend
• Backend repo: Backend

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Integrated Datasets

This project uses real and simulated data from the following sources:

• Ensembl REST API — for accessing live gene sequences.
• National Institutes of Health (NIH) — mutation data from ClinVar.
• Kaggle Disease Dataset — symptom-based disease prediction.
• NCBI Genetic Database — for genetic research reference.
• Open Trivia Database — for quiz features and practice.

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Technologies Used

• Backend: Python, Flask
• Frontend: Jinja2, Tailwind CSS, HTML, JavaScript
• Database: SQLite3 (with preloaded .db files)
• APIs: Ensembl, OpenTDB, NIH/NCBI (via JSON)
• Deployment: Docker, docker-compose, AWS, NGINX

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Acknowledgments

• Developed for the Open Coding Society

• Entered into the pilot city Illumina Interactive Biotech Education Game project

• Dataset and science design inspired by Illumina, NIH, NCBI, and Kaggle

• JWT login and user auth by Aiden Wu, CSP Contributor

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License

MIT License © 2025 Nora Ahadian, Sonika Denuva, Katherine Chen, Zoe He, Avika Prasad, Gabriela Connelly

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Project Setup

1. clone and install

mkdir -p ~/biotech-edu && cd ~/biotech-edu
git clone https://github.com/nighthawkcoders/flask_2025.git
cd flask_2025
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

### 2. run the app
flask run

### 3. a .env file in your backend
#### containing these user defaults
ADMIN_USER= "toby"
ADMIN_PASSWORD= "123Toby!"
DEFAULT_USER= "hop"
DEFAULT_PASSWORD= "123Hop!"

### 4. Generate your own gemini api key labeled:
API_KEY

### 5. Initialize the database
./scripts/db_init.py