REU Site: Biological Adaptations to Stress - Molecular, Cellular, Ecological

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This REU Site award to Pepperdine University, located in Malibu, CA, will support the training of 8 students for 11 weeks during the summers of 2020-2022. Over three years of the award, the program will train a total of 24 students, recruited primarily from schools with limited research opportunities and from underrepresented populations. The program focuses on biological adaptations to stress, and includes projects in cell biology, plant biology, mathematical modeling of biological systems, ecology, and microbiology. Through direct mentoring by faculty, students develop their own independent project questions emerging from a review of the current research literature. Students will engage in authentic and relevant research, with a goal to contribute scholarly findings to the research literature. All REU students will have access to state-of-the-art research infrastructure on the Pepperdine campus. Program success will be assessed using a common web-based assessment tool used by all REU programs (SALG URSSA), as well as specific tools developed within the Pepperdine program. Upon completion of the program, many students will present their research findings at local and national conferences. Students will be tracked after the program in order to determine their career paths. The Pepperdine REU program focuses on the biological adaptation to stress. Projects vary by discipline, but include ecological/genetic studies in the Santa Monica Mountains and Pacific Ocean adjacent to the Pepperdine campus, cellular and biochemical studies of the consequences of environmental toxins, mathematical modeling of biological systems, and the impact of environmental stress upon soil microbial diversity. The program specific aims are to: 1) enhance the maturation of undergraduate students as young scientists; 2) engage students in full-time, authentic biological research and the effective communication of research findings; 3) introduce students to bioinformatics and mathematical modeling; 4) train students to engage non-scientists and the public through service and clear communication; and 5) provide research opportunities for students from underrepresented groups and from schools that lack research opportunities. For more information about the program, students can visit the website (https://seaver.pepperdine.edu/surb/) where they can apply online. In addition, students can contact the PI (Dr. Jay Brewster at jay.brewster@pepperdine.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.