The Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP) through Targeted Infusion Projects supports the development, implementation, and study of evidence-based innovative models and approaches for improving the preparation and success of HBCU undergraduate students so that they may pursue STEM graduate programs and/or careers. The project at Bowie State University (BSU) seeks to use the platform of the existing collaboration between Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, BSU and Godfrey Okoye University (GOU) on DNA barcoding projects to infuse basic and advanced interdisciplinary biotechnology concepts and laboratory skills into its biology undergraduate degree program and to train students that are equipped to function as independent laboratory technicians and/or pursue postgraduate degrees in biotechnology/STEM. The Bowie State Applied Biotechnology Initiative (BSABI) builds on a previous NSF project that supported a genomics lab and a Biotechnology Summer Institute in the Natural Sciences Department.
The BSABI has three key objectives: a) Curriculum enhancement of the Molecular Biology (Biol 303) course, by infusing it with intensive research for discovery-based learning; b) Research infrastructure upgrade to support the curriculum redesign for hands-on research experience for students; and c) International research experience, to provide students opportunity to collect and categorize germplasm in their native environments. The project augments faculty capacity to instruct students through the provision of cutting edge equipment for research and teaching, and by infusing hands-on laboratory activities and undergraduate research projects into an existing molecular biology course. The DNA barcoding project enables BSU to respond to the growing demands for understanding and categorizing biodiversity. In perspective, besides training 160 minority students to join the STEM workforce, the broader impact of this project is to promote global exploration, biodiversity conservation and utilization of indigenous genetic resources.
The collaboration among Bowie State University (BSU), the DNA Learning Center at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), NY, and (GOU), Nigeria, fosters a diversity of research experiences, both locally and internationally, for undergraduates in the Department of Natural Sciences at BSU. BSU uses the platform of this existing liaison on DNA barcoding projects among the three institutions to infuse basic and advanced interdisciplinary concepts and laboratory skills into its biology degree program. The ultimate goal is to create student driven class projects that answer pertinent biological questions while providing students with the opportunity to acquire basic but vital laboratory skills for concentration in biotechnology. The hands-on research experience built into the courses operates on an open-lab concept that is designed to promote peer-mentoring and provide students with independence to explore and be creative in their discovery-based learning experience.
Over the course of the three-year project, at least one hundred and sixty (160) underrepresented minority undergraduates will receive state of the art education and advanced training in molecular biology and biotechnology. An extensive evaluation process is incorporated into the project to monitor and measure program effectiveness. Outcomes of this project will be widely disseminated for the benefit of the academic community.
