REU Site: Research experiences for Deaf Students in Systems Biology and Molecular Signaling- How Cells and Organisms make Decisions

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This REU Site award to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, will support the training of 10 students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2019- 2021. An interdisciplinary faculty team in the biological, physical, and computational sciences will mentor students in projects that address the global question: "How do cells and organisms perceive their environment and make life or death decisions?" Students will use stae-of-the-art molecular, genetic, genomic, and systems biology/bioinformatics techniques to investigate how organisms across the biological kingdom sense and adapt to a changing environment. Besides independent research projects, professional development workshops on science communication, responsible research/scientific inquiry, and career options in STEM will be held. As part of a larger Summer REU Scholars community, students will present their work at a campus-wide science/engineering symposium.A total of 30 students, primarily from schools with limited research opportunities, will be trained in the program. This program will specifically target Deaf and hard-of-hearing (D/HH) students, a population underrepresented in STEM careers nationally. In addition to D/HH students, hearing students interested in research training as well as American Sign Language (ASL) are encouraged to apply. Students will be incorporated into a heterogeneous environment of hearing and D/HH individuals that stresses modern scientific training, research competency, and independence and communication. In addition, to stimulate the participation of young K-12 D/HH students in STEM careers, REU students will also participate in program outreach through lab visits with students from regional Tennessee D/HH high schools.A common web-based assessment tool used by REU Site programs funded by the Division of Biological Infrastructure 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. Additional program assessment will determine impact on 1. Scientific knowledge development; 2. Communication and integration; and 3. Career development prospects . More program information is available at http://bcmb.utk.edu/reu, or can be obtained by contacting the PI (Dr. Daniel Roberts at drobert2@utk.edu) or the co-PI (Dr. David Smith at dsmit147@utk.edu).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.