RCN-UBE Incubator: Stem Research on Non-model Genomes Network

该项目旨在通过增加学生参与科学研究的机会为国家利益服务。参与研究来回答现实世界的问题，可以提高学生在STEM方面的坚持性。基因组学为本科生的研究提供了丰富的机会。技术进步正在帮助解开越来越多生物体的基因组序列，其中包括许多对经济、人类健康和自然环境至关重要的生物体。基因组序列数据积累得如此之快，以至于理解它的主要瓶颈是大量受过科学教育的劳动力来分析数据。该项目将建立一个基因组科学家和教育工作者网络，为本科生从事科学研究创造机会。该网络的重点将集中在西部玉米根虫的基因组。该项目将提供牵线搭桥服务，帮助兴趣互补的基因组科学家和教育工作者找到彼此，建立伙伴关系。该项目将提供资源和指导，以帮助确保以课程为基础的本科生研究经验既为学生提供良好的教育体验，又为科学家提供可靠的数据。 这个孵化器项目将建立一个网络，将需要帮助分析数据的基因组科学家和为本科生寻找研究机会的教师聚集在一起。项目团队将实施一系列基于课程的本科生研究经验（CURES）作为现有课程或独立课程中的模块。CURE将在人口多样化的多个机构实施。学生调查数据和学生工作将由领导团队进行分析，以告知循证最佳实践网络中的其他人，并为那些创建新的CURE的人提供指导。符合批准标准的学生工作将被传达回科学界。例如，人工策划的基因模型将提交给NCBI，以改进现有的基因组注释。实施基于基因组学的CURE所需的适度基础设施要求使其成为向能力有限的机构的学生提供研究机会的理想选择，以提供基于实验室的研究经验。在孵化器阶段发展网络的努力将非常重视在两年制院校，主要是本科院校和少数民族服务机构招募成员，以最大限度地发挥网络的社会效益。该项目由生物基础设施部生物科学理事会（BIO）和本科教育部教育和人力资源理事会（EHR）联合资助，作为应对本科生物学教育中的愿景和变革所带来的挑战的努力的一部分：行动呼吁（网址：//visionandchange.org/finalreport/)该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project aims to serve the national interest by increasing students' opportunities to participate in scientific research. Participating in research to answer a real-world problem is known to increase a student's persistence in STEM. The science of genomics offers rich opportunities for undergraduate research. Technological advances are helping to unlock the genomic sequences of a growing number of organisms, including many that are critically important to the economy, human health, and the natural environment. Genome sequence data is accumulating so fast that the main bottleneck to understanding it is a large scientifically educated workforce to analyze the data. This project will create a network of genome scientists and educators to create opportunities for undergraduate students to engage in scientific research. The emphasis of this network will focus on the genome of the western corn rootworm. The project will provide a matchmaking service to help genome scientists and educators with complementary interests find each other and set up partnerships. The project will provide resources and guidance to help ensure that the course-based undergraduate research experiences produce both a good education experience for the students and reliable data for the scientists. This incubator project will set up a network that brings together genome scientists in need of help analyzing their data and instructors seeking research opportunities for their undergraduate students. The project team will implement a series of Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) as modules within existing classes or as standalone classes. CUREs will be implemented at multiple institutions with diverse populations. Student survey data and student work will be analyzed by the leadership team to inform others in the network of evidence-based best practices and to provide guidance for those creating new CUREs. Student work that meets approved standards will be communicated back to the scientific community. For example, manually curated gene models will be submitted to NCBI to improve existing genome annotations. The modest infrastructure requirements needed to implement genomics- based CUREs makes them ideal for extending research opportunities to students at institutions with limited capacity to offer lab-based research experiences. Efforts to grow the network during the incubator phase will place a strong emphasis on recruiting members at 2-year institutions, primarily undergraduate institutions and minority serving institutions to maximize the societal benefits of the network. This project is being jointly funded by the Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO), Division of Biological Infrastructure, and the Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR), Division of Undergraduate Education as part of their efforts to address the challenges posed in Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action (http://visionandchange.org/finalreport/).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.