This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).
Funds are provided to fund the Integrative Biology Research Facility (IBRF) at Indiana University South Bend (IUSB). These renovations will greatly advance the potential for research and research training in biology at the University. The current IUSB research facility cannot support the increasing need for undergraduate research training that is being driven by student demand, campus initiatives to broaden research opportunities, and state and regional initiatives to increase job opportunities in biotechnology and the life sciences. The small labs cannot accommodate more than 2-3 researchers at a time and are inadequate for modern research programs that require multiple techniques and types of equipment. Therefore, research spaces that are shared by all biology faculty and are currently of limited or no use in research will be renovated. The IBRF would provide (i) a greenhouse with dedicated research space, (ii) three rooms dedicated for equipment used in molecular biology, microscopy, and microbial culture, and (iii) field studies lab that can accommodate research teams of up to 10 people. The renovated IBRF will allow immediate expansion of one-on-one biology research training, but more importantly will drive curricular changes that will integrate research training into our upper-level course offerings and broaden participation in research activities.
Indiana University South Bend (IUSB) is a comprehensive state institution and third largest of IU’s eight campuses, with 8,300 students and 292 full-time faculty. It primarily serves communities of north central Indiana and southwestern Michigan, with a large proportion of non-traditional, first-generation, and low-income students. The natural sciences at IUSB have no graduate programs. Faculty research labs are small (17.6 m2) and cannot accommodate modern, integrative research programs. The National Science Foundation grant, along with funding from IUSB, made it possible to renovate and expand approximately XXXX sq ft of outdated, poorly functioning shared research spaces into an Integrative Biology Research Facility (IBRF) that provides a XXX sq ft, 5-room greenhouse for ecological and botanical research; a xxx sq ft. molecular biology lab to facilitate genetic analyses using DNA cloning, amplification, and sequencing; a xxx sq ft. microbial and cell culture lab for safe and contamination-free growth and manipulation of bacteria and protozoa; a xxx sq ft. microscopy facility to facilitate research requiring video microscopy and fluorescent tissue and cell staining; a xxx sq ft. general-purpose lab to handle small reseach-intensive classes, as well as to provide space for work with samples collected in the field; and a research conference room to use for research planning meetings, discussions of scientific literature and data analyses, and research presentations. The IBRF has transformed the potential for 11 researchers to advance their programs in scale and direction, and foster a significant expansion in undergraduate research training. The transformation from student to scientist is often rooted in undergraduate research experiences. Engagement in undergraduate research increases retention, provides significant learning gains, and helps guide career plans. The IUSB biology faculty have been very successful in research training efforts. More than 150 students have participated in research over the past five years. These students have produced 29 grant proposals and 52 conference presentations, and 46 students have been co-authors on peer-reviewed publications. Nonetheless, prior to the renovations, research facilities at IUSB could not support the increasing need for undergraduate research training that is being driven by student demand; campus initiatives to broaden the scope of undergraduate learning opportunities, increase student retention, and hasten student progress towards graduation; and state and regional initiatives to increase job opportunities in biotechnology and the life sciences. Construction of the IBRF has done more than just allow immediate expansion of one-on-one biology research training. Even more importantly, the renovations have driven curricular changes that integrate research training into our mid- and upper-level course offerings. These courses will broaden participation in research activities by including students who take a strongly vocational approach to higher education and do not see the need, or do not have the additional time, to seek out independent research opportunities. We offered the first research course in 2013, which doubled the number of undergraduates involved in research (in 2012 we had 13 students involved in research and in 2013 we had 30 students involved in research); 50% of the students taking this course were first generation college students. In 2014, we will offer 2 research courses, and thus expect the number of students involved in undergraduate research to increase significantly again. From an economic standpoint, broader participation in research training is needed, because the number of bioscience jobs in Indiana between 2001 and 2010 increased by more than twice the national average (14% in Indiana vs. 6.4% nationwide; biocrossroads.com). The (i) Indiana Life Sciences Initiative, (ii) Center for Nanotechnology at University of Notre Dame and associated Innovation Research Technology Park in South Bend, and (iii) increased partnerships between IUSB and regional green business and technology initiatives are increasing the demand for a local, scientifically literate workforce. The renovated IBRF is allowing Indiana University South Bend to meet that increased demand.
