REU Site: Synthetic Biology (SynBREU)

REU Site奖授予位于伊利诺伊州埃文斯顿的西北大学，将在2018-2020年夏季支持8名学生为期10周的培训。该项目的重点是提供有指导的研究经验，以培养合成生物学领域的下一代学生。来自化学和生物工程、生物化学和分子遗传学、分子生物科学、工程科学和应用数学、生物医学工程、化学和物理学系的教师将担任导师。在为期一周的训练营教授所有必要的基本实验室技术后，参与的学生将进行独立的合成生物学研究项目。同时，学生将参加精心设计的课程，以培养在未来STEM职业生涯中取得成功所需的技能，包括沟通、网络、道德和创业。这些信息将通过研讨会、研讨会、与教职员工的非正式每周午餐、与其他大学研究人员的社交活动以及对地区公司和博物馆的实地考察来传达。在项目结束时，学生们将在一个研究研讨会上展示描述他们的项目和结果的海报。除了提供住房、餐饮和旅行津贴外，还将提供津贴。申请将在网上接受，并由一个教员委员会审查，以挑选参与者。鼓励来自代表人数不足或特权不足群体的学生申请。预计共有24名学生将在该计划中接受培训，这些学生主要来自研究机会有限的学校。学生将学习研究是如何进行的，许多人将在科学会议上展示他们的工作成果。对于那些希望在合成生物学或相关科学研究方面从事更多活动的人，将提供持续的指导。由生物基础设施部资助的所有REU网站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。将使用额外的标准和量身定制的评估来持续改进活动，以满足计划目标。项目结束后，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报告系统发送的自动电子邮件。欲了解更多有关该计划的信息，请访问http://synbreu.northwestern.edu，或联系国际和平组织(Tullman-Ercek博士，电子邮件：ercek@northwestern.edu)或联合国际组织(朱厄特博士，电子邮件：m-juett@northwestern.edu)。该奖项由生物科学局(DBI和MCB分部)和工程部(EEC分部)支持。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This REU Site award to Northwestern University, located in Evanston, IL, will support the training of 8 students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2018- 2020. The focus of the program is to provide mentored research experiences to train the next generation of students in the field of Synthetic Biology. Faculty from the Departments of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Molecular Biosciences, Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics, Biomedical Engineering, Chemistry, and Physics will serve as mentors. After a one-week bootcamp to teach all necessary basic lab techniques, the participating students will carry out an independent synthetic biology research project. Concurrently, students will participate in a carefully designed curriculum to develop skills necessary for success in their future STEM careers, including communication, networking, ethics, and entrepreneurship. This information will be conveyed via seminars, workshops, informal weekly lunches with faculty, social events with other university researchers, and field trips to area companies and museums. At the end of the program, students will present posters describing their projects and results at a research symposium. A stipend will be provided, along with housing, meals, and a travel allowance. Applications will be accepted online, and reviewed by a faculty committee to select participants. Students from underrepresented or underpriviledged groups are encouraged to apply. It is anticipated that a total of 24 students, primarily from schools with limited research opportunities, will be trained in the program. Students will learn how research is conducted, and many will present the results of their work at scientific conferences. Continued mentoring will be available to those wishing to pursue additional activities in synthetic biology or related science research.A common web-based assessment tool used by all REU Site programs funded by the Division of Biological Infrastructure will be used to determine the effectiveness of the training program. Additional standard and tailored assessments will be used to refine activities continuously to meet program goals. 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://synbreu.northwestern.edu , or by contacting the PI (Dr. Tullman-Ercek at ercek@northwestern.edu) or the co-PI (Dr. Jewett at m-jewett@northwestern.edu). This award is supported by the Directorate for Biological Sciences (DBI and MCB Divisions) and the Directorate for Engineering (EEC Division).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.