REU Site: Microbiology of Low Oxygen Ecosystems (MLOxE) at Montana State

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This REU Site award to Montana State University, located in Bozeman, Montana, will support the training of 10 students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2021-2023. The program will recruit primarily Underrepresented Minority (URM) students, particularly American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students from Tribal and community colleges, as well as students from schools with limited research opportunities. It is anticipated that 30 students will be trained in total. These students will learn how research is conducted, and many will present the results of their work at scientific conferences. Participation will prepare students to help solve contemporary scientific and societal problems through understanding the role of microorganisms in ecosystems. Program assessment will be done through the online SALG URSSA tool. Students will be tracked after the program to determine their career paths.This REU program immerses students in research on the Microbiology of Low Oxygen Ecosystems (MLOxE). Microorganisms living in the absence of oxygen influence some of Earth's most important environmental processes (e.g., nutrient, toxin, or greenhouse gas cycling), play essential roles in human health, and can provide insight into how life first arose and diversified on this planet. Students will explore questions in three thematic areas: Microbial Interactions, Metabolism and Physiology, and Community and Ecosystem Function. Student projects may involve diverse low-oxygen systems, such as the microbial habitats of the human body, terrestrial hot springs, or marine oxygen minimum zones. Participating faculty advisors represent the Departments of Microbiology and Immunology, Land Resources and Environmental Sciences, Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Chemical and Biological Engineering. During the 10-week program, students will conduct lab, field, or computational research in the lab of an advisor and participate in a range of other activities. These activities include include team-building field trips, educational and career development workshops, and networking designed to empower students to pursue science as a career and to build supportive professional and community relationships. Application instructions and additional information about the program can be found at http://www.montana.edu/mbi/reu, or by contacting the PI (Dr. Frank Stewart at frank.stewart@montana.edu) or the co-PI (Dr. Eric Boyd at eric.boyd@montana.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.