Developing Classroom-based Undergraduate Research Experiences in Antibody Bioengineering

抗体是参与脊椎动物免疫反应的蛋白质。它们也被用于医疗和其他目的。例如，全美有近300家雇主开发基于抗体的药物或诊断测试，将抗体作为生物试剂出售，或提供与抗体相关的实验室服务。毫不奇怪，抗体是诊断和治疗新冠肺炎感染的重要一线工具。生物工程抗体是应用生物技术研究的一个活跃领域。生物工程抗体有可能降低抗体的制造和储存成本，以及改善基于抗体的药物输送。该项目将招募来自美国各地的教师、行业代表和两年制大学生参与抗体生物工程研究项目的开发和实施。这项工作产生的研究项目和实验室方案将帮助两年制大学将高影响力和相关技术纳入新的或现有的课程，从而提供一种机制，让学生参与进来，同时为他们在实现职业生涯中做好准备。此外，该项目将提供有关新冠肺炎疫苗开发和测试的专家信息，从而使学生、教师和公众受益。该项目的具体目标包括：1)开发实验室模块，以支持与抗体生物工程相关的基于课程的本科生研究经验；2)调查使用黑客马拉松作为参与协作课程开发的新策略的可行性。该项目将开发学习模块，每个模块都涉及计算技能(例如，数据科学、结构生物学、生物信息学)、技术技能(例如，突变、蛋白质纯化、分析、染色)和就业能力技能(例如，海报演示、沟通、领导力)。这些模块将列出相关的技能标准和学习结果，使教师可以轻松地将这些模块纳入他们的课程，并让雇主评估参与研究的学生的投资组合。该项目团队已经组建了一个国家顾问委员会，由来自生物技术公司、研究机构和核心实验室的抗体技术专业人员组成。董事会成员同意就项目想法和行业需求提供指导，并对模块进行评估。一年一度的黑客马拉松将举行，参赛者将围绕行业建议的项目或其他新项目想法之一进行团队组织。在黑客马拉松期间，团队将努力提炼想法，并确定每个项目所需的模块和材料。黑客马拉松结束时的项目推介将被用来确定将选择哪些项目进行开发和实施。项目团队和教师合作者将继续开发选定的模块，与学生实施项目，并分享发现。工业和研究实验室中无处不在的抗体的存在确保了学习抗体相关劳动力技能的学生将在几乎任何地方都能找到工作。因此，该项目可以帮助缓解新冠肺炎对那些受到疫情影响过大的个人的影响。该项目由高级技术教育计划资助，该计划专注于为推动国家经济的先进技术领域培养技术人员。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。

Antibodies are proteins involved in vertebrate immune responses. They are also used for medical and other purposes. For example, nearly 300 employers across the United States develop antibody-based drugs or diagnostic tests, sell antibodies as bioreagents, or provide antibody-related laboratory services. Not surprisingly, antibodies are an important front-line tool for diagnosing and treating COVID-19 infections. Bioengineering antibodies is an active area of applied biotechnology research. Bioengineered antibodies have the potential to reduce the costs of antibody manufacturing and storage, as well as to improve antibody-based drug delivery. This project will enlist faculty, industry-representatives, and two-year college students from across the United States to participate in developing and implementing research projects in antibody bioengineering. The research projects and laboratory protocols that derive from this work will help two-year colleges incorporate high-impact and relevant technologies into new or existing courses, thus providing a mechanism to engage students while preparing them to work in fulfilling careers. In addition, the project will provide expert information about COVID-19 vaccine development and testing, thus benefitting students, instructors, and the public.The specific aims of the project include 1) developing laboratory modules to support course-based undergraduate research experiences related to antibody bioengineering, and 2) investigating the feasibility of using hackathons as a novel strategy for engaging participants in collaborative curriculum development. The project will develop learning modules that each address computational skills (e.g., data science, structural biology, bioinformatics), technical skills (e.g., mutagenesis, protein purification, assays, staining), and employability skills (e.g., poster presentations, communication, leadership). The modules will list related skill standards and learning outcomes, making it easy for instructors to incorporate the modules in their courses and for employers to evaluate portfolios of students participating in the research. The project team has assembled a national advisory board comprised of individuals with expertise in antibody technologies from biotechnology companies, research institutions, and core laboratories. Board members have agreed to provide guidance concerning project ideas and industry needs, as well as to evaluate modules. An annual hackathon will be held where the participants will organize in teams around one of the industry-suggested projects or other new project ideas. During the hackathon, the teams will work to refine the ideas, and to identify the modules and materials needed for each project. Project pitches at the end of the hackathon will be used to determine which projects will be selected for development and implementation. The project team and faculty collaborators will continue to develop the selected modules, implement the projects with students, and share findings. The ubiquitous presence of antibodies in industry and research labs ensures that students who learn antibody-related workforce-skills will be employable in nearly any locale. The project can, thus, contribute to mitigation of COVID-19 impacts on individuals who have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. This project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education program that focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced-technology fields that drive the nation's economy.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.