RAPID-REU Site: Mitigating the Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Undergraduate Research Training in the Biosciences

新冠肺炎疫情对通过本科生研究体验网站计划进行的本科生研究培训造成了前所未有的破坏。REU网站的大规模取消导致本科生被剥夺了在REU项目中获得的智力和职业发展机会。其他联邦和私营机构赞助的类似本科生实习项目的关闭进一步加剧了这种情况。由于疫情导致的暑期工作缺乏，给大学生提供的选择很少。对于少数族裔学生来说，情况尤其严峻，他们在STEM中的代表性不足一直是该国面临的一个持续挑战。这一快速提案有助于减轻新冠肺炎疫情对美洲原住民和其他代表性不足的少数族裔学生的影响。蒙大拿州立大学周边地区的学生将有机会进行环境生物科学的研究，包括新冠肺炎相关领域的研究。这些项目的设计目的是让学生可以远程进行研究。专业发展培训实际上将通过定期安排的活动进行，类似于学生在面对面培训计划中接受的培训。这一快速提案将通过可以远程进行的项目，让未被充分代表的少数族裔学生参与研究。研究项目包括在蒙大拿州管理的污水处理系统中对SARS-CoV-2病毒进行量化，初步研究表明，可以使用针对SARS-CoV-2病毒的标准CDC检测试剂盒方案来检测病毒载量。对水样的后基因组分析可以作为病毒社区传播的指标，并可以成为公共卫生官员的监测工具之一。其他项目涉及将使蒙大拿州的美洲印第安人保护区受益的研究，例如关于重新引入野牛对黑脚保护区的影响和好处的生态学研究，关于保护区土地上受管理农场的生物多样性、生态系统服务和作物质量的研究，以及微生物群落在土壤砷的植物修复中的作用。学生将接受数据分析和建模工具使用方面的培训。学生将从部落学院和蒙大拿州的其他大学和学院招收。学生的职业发展将强调道德和负责任的研究行为、STEM职业生涯和有效的科学交流。在为期10周的项目结束时，学生们在一个虚拟会议上展示他们的研究成果。该项目由生物基础设施部和既定的激励竞争研究计划(EPSCoR)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。

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented disruption in the research training of undergraduates thru the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Sites program. Massive cancellations of REU Sites caused undergraduates to be deprived of both the intellectual and professional development opportunities they would have received in an REU program. The situation is further aggravated by the closures of similar undergraduate internship programs sponsored by other Federal and private agencies. The lack of meaningful summer jobs due to the pandemic provides little alternatives for college students. The situation is particularly acute for minority students whose underrepresentation in STEM has been a continuing challenge for the Nation. This RAPID proposal helps to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Native American and other underrepresented minority students. Research opportunities in environmental biosciences, including research in COVID-19 related area, will be made available to students in the regional areas surrounding Montana State University. The projects have been designed so that students can conduct the research remotely. Professional development training will be done virtually thru regularly scheduled events, similar to what the students would receive in an in-person training program. This RAPID proposal will engage underrepresented minority students in research thru projects that can be conducted remotely. Research projects include the quantification of SARS-CoV-2 virus in a managed wastewater treatment system in Montana, where preliminary studies have shown that viral load can be detected using a standard CDC test kit protocol for SARS-CoV-2 virus. The metagenomic analysis of the water samples can be used as an indicator of community spread of the virus and can become one of the surveillance tools for public health officials. Other projects involve research that would benefit American Indian reservations in Montana, such as the ecological study of the impacts and benefits of bison reintroduction on the Blackfeet reservation, studies on biodiversity, ecosystem services and crop quality on managed farms on reservation lands, and the role of microbial communities in the phytoremediation of arsenic in soil. Students will be trained on the analysis of data and use of modeling tools. Students will be recruited from tribal colleges and other Montana universities and colleges. Student professional development will emphasize ethics and the responsible conduct of research, careers in STEM, and effective scientific communication. Students present their research at a virtual conference at the end of the 10-week program. This project is supported by the Division of Biological Infrastructure and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).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.