Biology Research Laboratories at Governors State University

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This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).The proposal seeks funding to replace existing biological research labs with 11 modern wet laboratories designed to support faculty and student research and research training at the undergraduate and master levels. The renovated biology lab complex will support research projects with an emphasis on environmental biology questions. The laboratories include facilities focused on research in population ecology, plant ecology, comparative physiology, anatomy, microbiology, and science education. The renovated laboratories will be used to advance knowledge and understanding of prairie and woodland restorations with emphasis on natural and controlled fire regimes; polyphasic DNA-based molecular analyses of diversity, structure, function, and population dynamics of microbial communities; comparative physiology and environmental toxicology; conservation biology and vertebrate ecology focused on population structure, community composition, and ecotoxicity; functional morphology of mammalian jaw mechanisms; and modeling hydrological and ecophysiological processes in forest ecosystems.The institution serves a diverse student body of mainly adult learners, averaging 34 years of age, with the majority attending school part-time (74%). The total student population includes a high proportion of students from groups that are under-represented in science and engineering. In the Academic Year 2007-2008, roughly one-third of undergraduates were low-income students and over half were first-generation college students. Amongst other impacts on the integration of research and education, will be the inclusion of research experiences into the preparation of secondary school science teachers.