RAPID: The National Summer Undergraduate Research Project (NSURP), a Virtual Platform for Engaging Underrepresented Minorities in STEM

RAPID：国家暑期本科生研究项目 (NSURP)，一个让代表性不足的少数群体参与 STEM 的虚拟平台

• 批准号: 2128247
• 负责人: Michael Johnson
• 金额: $ 20万
• 依托单位: University of Arizona
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-04-15 至 2023-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2128247&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RAPID; National; Summer; Undergraduate; Research

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented disruption to the REU Sites program. During summer 2021, very few REU programs will be able to offer the typical in-person lab- or field-based REU research experience. This RAPID award to the University of Arizona will help mitigate the impact of the pandemic by offering a completely virtual REU program to undergraduates. Summer research is vital to retention of students in STEM and an important activity for students applying to graduate school. The National Summer Undergraduate Research Project (NSURP) at the University of Arizona will engage approximately 40 undergraduates in an REU program for 8 weeks during summer of 2021. NSURP is a virtual program so students will conduct research remotely (i.e., not in a wet lab setting at an institution). Students will be matched to one of many laboratories around the country, based on their interest. There is no travel required to participate in the program, and students will get the full suite of research training under the mentorship of faculty and/or scientists who have volunteered to host an undergraduate. REU participants are expected to work full time on a project they will develop with their mentor. Students will learn how research is conducted, gain professional skills, and have the opportunity to present the results of their work at a national scientific conference. NSURP will recruit underrepresented minorities in STEM, students attending Minority Serving Institutions and community colleges, and students who have been accepted to an REU but denied the program due to cancellation. The effectiveness of the program will be assessed using the online SALG URSSA tool as well as an assessment to be done by the University of Arizona College of Education. Students will be tracked after the program in order to determine their career paths.NSURP is focused on all fields of microbiology (host-microbe interactions, environmental microbiology, physiological mechanisms, symbiosis, signaling pathways, etc.) and computational immunology. Student research projects encompass biological research from various departments around the country. Participants will be required to attend weekly seminars, professional development talks and ethics training, complete program assessments in a timely manner, and attend all events deemed necessary by the laboratory in which they are doing the work. Student selection for program participation will be made by the NSURP board of directors and will be based on student career goals and their ability to work remotely. Students, who must be a US citizen, US national or permanent resident to be eligible, will be provided stipends. More information, including a list and presentations of previous NSURP projects, can be found at https://nsurp.org. Additional details can be obtained by contacting the PI (Dr. Michael D. L. Johnson) or program administrators at [e-mail]. This project is supported by the Divisions of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences (MCB), Integrative and Organismal Systems (IOS), Environmental Biology (DEB), and Biological Infrastructure (DBI), all within the Directorate for Biological Sciences.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.

COVID-19疫情对REU场地计划造成前所未有的干扰。在2021年夏季，很少有REU项目能够提供典型的现场实验室或现场REU研究经验。授予亚利桑那大学的RAPID奖项将通过为本科生提供完全虚拟的REU课程来帮助减轻大流行的影响。暑期研究对于学生在STEM的保留至关重要，也是学生申请研究生院的重要活动。亚利桑那大学的国家夏季本科生研究项目（NSURP）将在2021年夏季期间让大约40名本科生参加REU课程8周。NSURP是一个虚拟程序，所以学生将远程进行研究（即，而不是在机构的湿实验室环境中）。学生将根据他们的兴趣与全国各地的许多实验室之一相匹配。有没有旅行需要参加该计划，学生将获得全套的研究培训下的教师和/或科学家谁自愿主办本科生的指导。REU的参与者将全职从事他们将与导师一起开发的项目。学生将学习如何进行研究，获得专业技能，并有机会在全国科学会议上展示他们的工作成果。NSURP将招募STEM中代表性不足的少数民族，参加少数民族服务机构和社区学院的学生，以及已被REU录取但因取消而被拒绝的学生。该计划的有效性将使用在线SALG URSSA工具进行评估，以及由亚利桑那大学教育学院进行评估。NSURP专注于微生物学的所有领域（宿主-微生物相互作用，环境微生物学，生理机制，共生，信号通路等）。和计算机免疫学。学生的研究项目包括来自全国各地的各个部门的生物研究。参与者将被要求参加每周的研讨会，专业发展讲座和道德培训，及时完成项目评估，并参加他们工作的实验室认为必要的所有活动。学生参与计划的选择将由NSURP董事会进行，并将基于学生的职业目标和他们的远程工作能力。学生，谁必须是美国公民，美国国民或永久居民才有资格，将提供助学金。更多信息，包括以前的NSURP项目的列表和介绍，可以在https://nsurp.org上找到。L.约翰逊）或程序管理员在[e-mail]。该项目得到了生物科学理事会下属的分子和细胞生物科学部（MCB）、综合和有机系统部（IOS）、环境生物学部（DEB）和生物基础设施部（DBI）的支持。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。