REU Site: Molecular Interactions Virtual REU

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This Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site award to the Hormel Institute at the University of Minnesota in collaboration with the State University of New York College at Cortland and Ithaca College, will support 10 students for 12 weeks of virtual research training and professional development during the summer of 2021. In this fully online program, students take part in guided independent research as part of an online community of peers to analyze and predict the relationship between structure and function in biomolecules. To foster community and to strengthen communication skills, students will also participate in weekly informal social events, professional development activities, and meet for an in-person capstone research symposium at the end of the summer. The inherent flexibility of this virtual format make this program broadly accessible to a wide variety of students, including those who would not otherwise be able to access on-site REU programs. Participants in this program will learn about molecular interactions and explore structure-function relationships in an environment that is supportive and flexible, guided by a team of faculty and peer mentors. The independent research conducted by the summer research students aims to advance our understanding of enzyme function, primary and secondary metabolism, and may help to provide foundations for improvements in biosynthetic pathway engineering. By pairing relevant and independent research projects with professional development and community building, this program seeks to provide a positive, authentic research experience to a diverse group of students early in their academic careers.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.