REU Site: Animal Behavior in Context

位于印第安纳州布卢明顿的印第安纳大学将在2021年至2023年的夏季为10名学生提供为期10周的培训。预计总共有30名学生将接受该项目的培训，这些学生主要来自研究机会有限的学校或代表性不足的群体。学生将研究环境（包括外部事件、内部状态和过去经验的概念）如何影响行为决策。这个主题结合了生物学、心理学、生态学、人类学和认知科学的观点和方法。项目将在家庭实验室进行，可能使用一系列方法学方法，包括基因组学，神经科学，微生物学，内分泌学和现代实地工作来研究环境的机制基础。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。该计划的评估将通过在线SALG URSSA工具进行。课程结束后，将对学生进行跟踪，以确定他们的职业道路。REU站点位于动物行为综合研究中心。生物系、心理与脑科学系、人类学系的教员将担任导师。环境作为行为信息的科学主题将导致对动物行为可塑性能力的新见解，并有助于在行为机制方面进行开创性的研究。例如，几个项目将集中在微生物组、基因组、激素或神经机制，这些机制调节小鼠、仓鼠、电鱼或树燕的攻击行为。除了研究之外，学生还将接受研究伦理行为、科学写作和研究报告方面的培训。学生将为申请研究生院做好准备。与特定项目的匹配将基于学生和家庭实验室之间的共同兴趣。学生成绩将通过SALG URSSA工具，通过与教育学院合作的形成性和总结性评估，以及长期的个人跟踪来评估。有关该计划的更多信息，请访问https://animalbehavior.indiana.edu/research/reu/index.html，或联系PI （Laura Hurley博士：lhurley@indiana.edu）或联合PI （Cara Wellman博士：wellmanc@indiana.edu）。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，认为值得支持。

This REU Site award to Indiana University, located in Bloomington, IN, will support the training of 10 students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2021 - 2023. It is anticipated that a total of 30 students, primarily from schools with limited research opportunities or from an under-represented group, will be trained in the program. Students will conduct research on how context, a concept that includes external events, internal state, and past experience, influences behavioral decision-making. This theme unites perspectives and methods from biology, psychology, ecology, anthropology, and cognitive science. Projects will be conducted in home labs that may use a range of methodological approaches including genomics, neuroscience, microbiomics, endocrinology, and modern field work to study the mechanistic bases of context. Students will learn how research is conducted, and many will present the results of their work at scientific conferences. Assessment of the program will be done through the online SALG URSSA tool. Students will be tracked after the program in order to determine their career paths.The REU Site is housed at the Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior. Faculty members in the departments of Biology, Psychological and Brain Sciences, and Anthropology will serve as mentors. The scientific theme of context as behaviorally informative will lead to new insight into the capabilities of animals for behavioral plasticity and lends itself to groundbreaking research in the mechanisms of behavior. For example, several projects will focus on the microbiomic, genomic, hormonal, or neural mechanisms that regulate aggressive behaviors in mice, hamsters, electric fish, or tree swallows. In addition to research, students will be trained in the ethical conduct of research, scientific writing, and research presentation. Students will be prepared for applying to graduate school. Matches with specific projects will be based on mutual interests between students and home labs. Student achievements will be assessed via the SALG URSSA tool, by formative and summative assessments in conjunction with the School of Education, and via long-term individual tracking. More information about the program is available by visiting https://animalbehavior.indiana.edu/research/reu/index.html , or contacting the PI (Dr. Laura Hurley: lhurley@indiana.edu) or the co-PI (Dr. Cara Wellman: wellmanc@indiana.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.