UBM-Group: RUI: Undergraduate Mathematical Biology Research at Marshall University

UBM 集团：RUI：马歇尔大学本科数学生物学研究

• 批准号: 1029239
• 负责人: Marcia Harrison
• 金额: $ 23.67万
• 依托单位: Marshall University Research Corporation
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-09-01 至 2014-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1029239&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: UBM; Group; RUI; Undergraduate; Mathematical

Marshall University's UBM program is a coordinated education and research initiative to prepare Mathematics and Biological Sciences undergraduates to pursue graduate study and careers at the interface of the disciplines. The program's research component begins with engagement of teams of 2-4 students in intensive summer research experiences and participation in a data club. An Introduction to Mathematical Biology course during the prior semester prepares students for the summer. The teams continue their research during the next academic year, and participate in a Mathematical Biology Seminar during which they present their work and prepare for presentations at local and national symposia and conferences. Students can also apply for a second year of support to continue with their research projects. Additional coursework is targeted to individual students' need for strengthening of biological or mathematical training. Collectively the research and coordinated classroom activities foster development of skills at problem-solving, experimentation, and communication. Students also receive extensive research mentoring and academic advisement by faculty (from both disciplines), as this can be a successful mechanism for guiding students to graduate programs. The research component has as its intellectual focus the non-linear characterization of and prediction of change in biological phenomena, a focus designed to increase students' understanding of observed patterns over time, and increase predictive precision through higher mathematics. Physiological projects include mass-dependent allometric and temperature effects of oxygen consumption rates of freshwater mussels, the optimal feeding rates of freshwater mussels, and a curvature analysis of plant stems' gravitropic reorientation in response to horizontal placement. A genetics project focuses on the relationship between epithelial cell shape and polarity in Drosophila, while an environmental study entails modeling of the influence of road-side trees on urban climate.Recruitment efforts focus on freshmen and sophomore students, with an interest in attracting talented female, minority, and Appalachian first generation college students. The program capitalizes on the participating faculty's experience with sponsoring student research through participation in several programs aimed at broadening participation of underrepresented minorities and students with disabilities, including the Marshall Chapter of the WV Space Grant Consortium's NASA Research Scholarships Program, the NSF Kentucky-WV Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, and the state-funded Marshall Summer Undergraduate Research Experience. In addition to sponsoring student engagement in mentored research in mathematical biology, the Marshall UBM program is enhancing curriculum development by integrating mathematical biology concepts into new and existing courses, lab exercises, and projects, an effort that is expected to ultimately benefit all students in the College of Science.

马歇尔大学的 UBM 项目是一项协调的教育和研究计划，旨在帮助数学和生物科学本科生在学科交叉领域进行研究生学习和职业生涯。该项目的研究部分首先由 2-4 名学生组成的团队参与夏季强化研究体验并参加数据俱乐部。上学期的数学生物学概论课程为学生的暑假做好准备。这些团队在下一学年继续他们的研究，并参加数学生物学研讨会，在研讨会上他们展示他们的工作，并为在当地和国家研讨会和会议上的演讲做准备。学生还可以申请第二年的支持以继续他们的研究项目。额外的课程作业是针对个别学生加强生物或数学训练的需要。研究和协调的课堂活动共同促进了解决问题、实验和沟通技能的发展。学生还可以获得教师（来自两个学科）的广泛研究指导和学术建议，因为这可以成为指导学生攻读研究生课程的成功机制。 研究部分的知识重点是生物现象变化的非线性表征和预测，该重点旨在增加学生对随时间推移观察到的模式的理解，并通过高等数学提高预测精度。生理项目包括淡水贻贝耗氧率的质量依赖性异速生长和温度影响、淡水贻贝的最佳摄食率以及植物茎响应水平放置的向重力重新定向的曲率分析。遗传学项目侧重于果蝇上皮细胞形状和极性之间的关系，而环境研究则需要模拟路边树木对城市气候的影响。招聘工作重点针对一年级和二年级学生，有兴趣吸引有才华的女性、少数民族和阿巴拉契亚第一代大学生。该计划利用了参与教师在资助学生研究方面的经验，通过参与多个旨在扩大代表性不足的少数族裔和残疾学生的参与的项目，包括西弗吉尼亚州太空资助联盟马歇尔分会的美国宇航局研究奖学金项目、美国国家科学基金会肯塔基州-西弗吉尼亚州路易斯斯托克斯少数族裔参与联盟以及国家资助的马歇尔暑期本科生研究体验项目。除了资助学生参与数学生物学的指导研究外，马歇尔 UBM 项目还通过将数学生物学概念融入新的和现有的课程、实验室练习和项目来加强课程开发，这一努力预计最终将使理学院的所有学生受益。