A Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Sites award has been made to the University of Tennessee Knoxville (UTK) that will provide research training for 10 students, for 10 weeks during the summers of 2012- 2014. This "Sensing and Signaling" program, supported by both the NSF Directorate for Biological Sciences and the Department of Defense ASSURE program, focuses on a variety of experimental approaches, including computational biology, structural biology, neurobiology, cell biology and genetics, to study the ways organisms sense environmental cues and adapt to their surroundings. Faculty from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular and Cell Biology will serve as mentors. Students will engage in full-time lab research and will participate in a variety of seminars and workshops, including ethics and the responsible conduct of research, networking, professional communication skills, career opportunities in industry and academia, and the graduate school application process. Students are also provided tours of the nearby Oak Ridge National Lab, including the high-performance computing and neutron facilities. REU students have access to state-of-the-art resources housed in individual faculty mentor labs as well as core facilities for advanced imaging, DNA sequencing, bioanalytical methods, etc. Recruitment for the program involves circulating flyers by mail, establishing a web site, and digital advertising through a variety of distribution methods, and campus visits. Students are selected based on academic record, faculty recommendations, and potential for outstanding research using modern approaches in solving biological problems. REU participants are tracked to determine their continued interest in science, their academic and career paths, and the impacts of the summer research experience. Information about the program will be assessed in collaboration with local assessment experts at UTK, participation in the web-based SURE III nationwide survey sponsored by Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and the NSF REU common assessment tool. More information is available by visiting http://web.bio.utk.edu/bcmb/summer/reu.html, or by contacting the PI (Dr. Cynthia Peterson at cbpeters@utk.edu) or the co-PI (Dr. Brad Binder at bbinder@utk.edu).
". During this time, 30 students from diverse institutions across the country engaged in cutting-edge research with individual faculty in the department of Biochemistry, Cellular, and Molecular Biology at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. Intellectural Merit: These students spent most of their time leaerning the techniques and culture of lab research by conducting independent, mentored research. This hands-on experience was augmented by formalized instruction in signal transduction and related biological topics. This program also included workshops on other skills important for a modern biologist that covered topics such as: safety, use of databases, responsible conduct in research, mentor-mentee relationships, diversity in science, how to write, and public speaking. The students also participated in two round-table discussions, one with PhD's in biology and one with graduate students, for career development. The students presented their research at a public forum and several are co-authors on peer-reviewed publications from their REU research. The outcome of these activities is that these students left the program with an understanding about the objectives and values of scientists and with a solid foundation to understand how to carry out research. Broader Impacts: Many of the students who participated in this program came from small colleges including community colleges where no research opportunities exist. Approximately 30% were from under-represented groups and 58% were women. A recent survey of our first two summer cohorts showed that this program influenced their careeer choice with most choosing to follow a career in science. Thus, this program is having a positive impact on bulding a diverse population of future biologists.
