This program establishes a new summer International REU site at the University of Cádiz, in southwestern Spain in the Dept. of Organic Chemistry. During this REU, eight students will have the opportunity to participate in one of two labs in the area of Chemical ecology. In the Allelopathy group, students will isolate, identify and quantify secondary metabolites from Antarctic lichens. Over the past several years, there have been significant biotic and abiotic changes on the Antarctic continent due to climate shifts. Lichens produce an array of secondary metabolites; with different compounds being produced within the same species depending upon local environmental conditions. While there has been extensive characterization of lichen secondary metabolites in chemotaxonomy, this is one of the first studies to systematically compare changes along an ecological transect as well as through time. The southern coast of the province of Cádiz forms one of the sides of the Strait of Gibraltar. This unique position encompasses an area of great ecological interest, housing the greatest biodiversity of Europe's coasts. It has been declared a protected natural area. More than 2000 species of marine flora and fauna have been described in this region, some of them being endemic or with a restricted area of distribution. In the Marine Natural Products group, students will also isolate, identify, and quantify metabolites from marine organisms endemic to the region. Once the compounds have been isolated and identified from both groups, further studies will identify the bioactive compounds and their molecular mechanism of action and subsequent role in the ecosystem will be elucidated.
This project was an international Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program in ecological chemistry at the University of Cadiz (UCA) in Spain and Bucknell University. This project paired each participating student with a specific faculty mentor from the Science Faculty at UCA. Each project was individualized and promoted close collaboration between the student and his/her faculty mentor. Spanish language proficiency was not necessary; all faculty and students speak English. However, as part of the cultural component, a semi-intensive conversational Spanish course was required for non-fluent students. Research has shown that international experiences benefit the students experience on many levels. However, students who participate in STEM disciplines often cannot participate in these programs as their curriculum is much more rigid and they do not have the time during the academic year. This is one of a few programs that provided an international experience that immersed the students in the culture while also providing a rigorous laboratory research opportunity. For this project, scientific objectives were to provide students with a strong experience in the Department of Organic Chemistry as applied to the environment. Students experienced a different culture, collaborated with a diverse group of scientists and students from around the globe and formed strong, permanent relationships with their mentors and labs at UCA. As the program evolved, it grew to include several unique and successful components. The students in the Allelopath (plant interactions) lab worked on one-of-a-kind lichen samles collected during different Spanish Antarctic campaigns. For four years, students have worked on several different fractions isolated from differnt species of lichens from Antarctica collected by the PI and her colleague. This study is monitoring the effect of climate change on the dominant flora of Antarctica. Students also studied the composition of the primary metabolites for a lichen-like symbiosis. This study is of particular interest as it looks to document the mechanism of how a symbiosis occurs. It is not only interesting in the fields of chemistry/biochemistry, but also in biology, environmental science, climate change and lichenology. Finally, the Marine Chemistry lab took two (2) students per year. Over the past three years, students had projects that addressed the study of several gorgonians, ascidians, diatoms and seagrasses from the Bay of Cadiz and the Straits of Gibraltar. Students applications have come from over 39 different states, Puerto Rico and Washington, DC. Of the students chosen to participate, the majority of which are from primarily undergraduate institutions (PUIs [>80%]), we have had >39% Hispanic students, 46% first generation and one (1) veteran. Eighteen out of twenty-nine students were women (62%). For all students who have graduated, >65% have gone on to quality graduate programs (Rice, Carnegie Mellon, George Mason, Texas A&M, UT Houston, Wake Forest, University of Chicago, University of Wisconsin-Madison, UC Irvine, CalTech, Baylor Medical College (MD/PhD program), Ohio State, SUNY-Stonybrook, UCSD-Scripps, MIT and Notre Dame); >30% have gone to professional school. This program has produced four successful resarch Fulbright scholars. Finally the program has had four students successfully awarded NSF graduate fellowships with another one as an honorable mention twice. We continue to maintain contact with the students in the program, including two from the original pilot program. Social networking sites, such as our Facebook page, have made this much easier. The program achieved all of its general objectives: all students had individual hand-on, scientifically meaningful projects. All students (n=29) indicated an above-average satisfaction with the projects. The degree of challenge in the projects was tailored to each students' abilities as demonstrated in the lab. Beginning in year 2, students presented their data at the American Chemical Society (ACS) National meeting. In year 3, students also presented at other international meetings (e.g. World Congress on Allelopathy, Mediterranean Organic Chemistry meeting, Symposium of Polar Studies, Scientific Committe on Antarctic Research, etc.). All students reported increased global and cultural awareness. The majority of the students (>82%) are still in contact with their mentors and/or other members of their lab at UCA. We feel that this program has been highly successful. We had an excellent record of students continuing onto scientific graduate or professional programs. Our recruitment of underrepresented minorities in the sciences, particularly Hispanic women was also shown to be very successful. The continued support and enthusiasm by the alumni from the program strongly endorses the goals set by the National Science Foundation.
