REU Site: Community College Cultivation Cohort (C4)

这个本科生研究经验（REU）网站的重点是招募社区大学生，并为他们提供技术经验和培训，帮助他们获得STEM学位。虽然80%的社区大学生计划获得学士学位，但只有10%的人实现了这一目标，这主要是由于学术障碍，包括资金不足和专业发展不足。通过这个REU奖，暗能量生物圈研究中心（CDEBI）将为24名（每年8名）对环境微生物学感兴趣的高度积极的社区大学生提供研究机会。学生将在南加州大学参加为期8周的住宿项目。在选定的实验室工作，这些队列将学习DNA测序技术，微生物培养，光学和电子显微镜，以及分析化学，以充分表征C-DEBI感兴趣的海洋环境中的新型细菌和古细菌分离物。学生将由一名科学家和一名研究生或博士后单独指导，他们将受益于小组活动和多实验室会议。除了研究部分，该计划还将提供专业发展活动，重点是成功转入四年制大学和申请研究生院入学程序。

This Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Site is focused on recruiting community college students and providing them with technical experience and training that will assist them to obtain a STEM degree. While ~80% of community college students plan to get a bachelor's degree, only ~10% achieve this goal, mainly due to academic hurdles that include insufficient funds and insufficient professional development. Through this REU award, the Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations (CDEBI) will provide research opportunities for 24 (8 per year) highly motivated community college students interested in environmental microbiology. Students will participate in an 8-week residential program based at the University of Southern California. Working in select labs, these cohorts will learn DNA sequencing techniques, microbial culturing, light and electron microscopy, and analytical chemistry to fully characterize novel bacterial and archaeal isolates from marine environments of interest to C-DEBI. The students will be mentored individually by a scientist and a graduate student or postdoc, and they will benefit from group activities and multi-lab meetings. In addition to the research component, the program will provide professional development activities that focus on successful transfer to a 4-year university and the application procedures for admission to graduate school.