Research Experience for Undergraduates Site in Molecular Biology and Genetics

在过去的三年里，在美国国家科学基金会的资助下，我们的项目成员通过允许他们参与分子生物学和遗传学前沿的研究，将30名本科生（大部分来自小型学院）引入了迷人的科学研究世界。我们能够继续这个成功的本科研究项目，使学生主要受益于传统上在研究中代表性不足的群体和来自地区本科院校的学生。十名学生将在实验室进行研究，利用分子生物学和遗传技术研究基因表达的调节、细胞分化和发育的机制、植物中宿主-寄生虫的相互作用和抗病能力、基因进化、信号转导、DNA修复以及病毒感染和复制等问题。这个项目旨在培养参与者的技术和智力能力。我们的理念是，人们通过做研究来学习如何做研究，但这只有在适当的指导下才会发生。我们将通过让学生在密切监督下参与研究项目来强调研究的“动手”方面。学生将通过与导师的互动以及在科学写作和研究伦理的课程中了解科学调查的不同阶段和方面。学生还将在教师导师每周的午餐研讨会上接触到在其他主办实验室进行的研究。

In the last 3 years, with funding from NSF, the members of the our Program have introduced 30 undergraduate students, mostly from small colleges, to the fascinating world of scientific research by allowing them to participate in research at the frontiers of molecular biology and genetics. We are able to continue this successful Undergraduate Research Program to benefit students mainly from groups traditionally under-represented in research and students from regional undergraduate institutions. Ten students will conduct research in laboratories that use molecular biology and genetic techniques to study problems including the regulation of gene expression, the mechanisms of cell differentiation and development, host-parasite interaction and disease resistance in plants, gene evolution, signal transduction, DNA repair, and virus infection and replication. This program is designed to develop both the technical and the intellectual abilities of the participants. Our philosophy is that one learns how to do research by doing it but that this only occurs under the appropriate guidance. We will emphasize the "doing it" aspect of research by involving the students in a research project under close supervision. Students will learn about the different stages and aspects of scientific investigation by interaction with their mentors and in sessions on scientific writing and research ethics. Students will also be exposed to the research conducted in the other host laboratories during weekly lunchtime seminars given by faculty mentors.