Collaborative Research: REU Site: Phenotypic plasticity research for community college students

该REU网站奖授予伊利诺伊大学厄巴纳-香槟分校（位于伊利诺伊州厄巴纳）和帕克兰学院（位于伊利诺伊州香槟市），将在2017-2019年夏季为10名学生提供为期10周的培训。参与者将在表型可塑性领域进行研究，即单个基因型根据环境产生多种表型的现象。该项目将以为期两周的“新兵训练营”开始，主题从具体的实验室方法到研究伦理的讨论。然后，学生们将参加伊利诺伊大学一个研究实验室的浸入式研究项目。可能的研究项目包括基因型与臭氧污染对玉米生长的相互作用、环境胁迫对神经解剖学的影响以及基因与环境的相互作用对鱼类行为的影响。学生们将在伊利诺伊大学校园以及他们所在的社区学院的本科生研究研讨会上展示他们的研究。申请将在夏季课程之前的12月开始接受，并在3月31日做出最终录取决定。预计三年内将有30名学生接受该项目的培训。这个REU网站将重点关注社区学院的学生，这些学生通常很少有研究机会。社区大学通常有很大比例的未被充分代表的群体，这个REU网站将鼓励这些群体的申请。学生将学习如何进行研究，许多人将在科学会议上展示他们的工作成果。由生物基础设施司（生物科学理事会）资助的所有REU项目使用的通用网络评估工具将用于确定培训计划的有效性。课程结束后，将对学生进行跟踪，以确定他们的职业道路。学生将被要求回复通过NSF报告系统自动发送的电子邮件。有关该计划的更多信息，请访问http://dev2.igb.illinois.edu/reu-plasticity/，或与PI （Nathan Schroeder博士nes@illinois.edu）或co-PI （C. Britt Carlson博士ccarlson@parkland.edu）联系。

This REU Site award to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign located in Urbana, IL, and Parkland College, located in Champaign, IL, will support the training of 10 students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2017-2019. Participants will conduct research in the area of phenotypic plasticity, the phenomenon of a single genotype producing multiple phenotypes depending on environment. The program will begin with a two-week "boot-camp" on topics ranging from specific laboratory methods to discussions of research ethics. Students will then join a research immersion program within a research lab at the University of Illinois. Possible research projects include the interaction between genotype and ozone pollution on maize growth, the effect of environmental stress on neuroanatomy, and the interactions of genes and environment on fish behavior. Students will present their research at an undergraduate research symposium on the University of Illinois campus as well as their community college. Applications will be accepted beginning in December preceding the summer program and final decisions on admittance made by March 31st. It is anticipated that a total of 30 students over three years will be trained in the program. This REU Site will focus on students from community colleges, which typically have very few research opportunities. Community colleges often have a large percentage of underrepresented groups and this REU Site will encourage applications from these groups. Students will learn how research is conducted, and many will present the results of their work at scientific conferences.A common web-based assessment tool used by all REU programs funded by the Division of Biological Infrastructure (Directorate for Biological Sciences) will be used to determine the effectiveness of the training program. Students will be tracked after the program in order to determine their career paths. Students will be asked to respond to an automatic email sent via the NSF reporting system. More information about the program is available by visiting http://dev2.igb.illinois.edu/reu-plasticity/, or by contacting the PI (Dr. Nathan Schroeder at nes@illinois.edu) or the co-PI (Dr. C. Britt Carlson at ccarlson@parkland.edu).