REU Site: Early Collaborative Research Experience in Microbial Biofilm Development, Resistance, & Community Structure

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This REU Site award to Binghamton University, located in Binghamton, NY, will support the training of 10 students for 10 weeks during the summbers of 2022-2024. The focus is to provide a collaborative research experience in the area of microbial biofilms. It is anticipated that a total of 30 students, primarily from schools with limited research opportunities and from historically under-represented groups, will be trained during the 3-year program. Students will learn how research is conducted, and many will present the results of their work at scientific conferences. The broad objective of this program is to provide high-quality, well-mentored research opportunities to students early in their college careers so that they have sufficient time to pursue their projects, build scientific and professional skills, and prepare to be competitive in STEM post-bac opportunities. Assessment of the program will be done through online surveys. Students will be tracked after the program in order to determine their career paths.Student projects will be organized around three main areas: environmental biofilms in the built and natural environment, biofilms and engineered systems, and basic microbiological mechanisms for biofilm control. Faculty from the Departments of Biological Sciences, Biomedical Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering will serve as faculty mentors. Students will participate in a collaborative and multi-mentored research project in one of these main areas. Additionally, students will participate in biofilm seminars, professional development workshops, and lab safety and responsible and ethical conduct of research training. Students will present their research at an end of summer poster session with other REU and undergraduate summer research programs on campus. Students will also create a collaborative manuscript report of their summer findings. Housing, stipend, meal and travel allowances will be provided. Students will be selected based on their interest and motivation for biofilm research, potential impact of this experience for students’ career trajectory, academic record, and recommendation letters. More information about the program is available by visiting https://www.binghamton.edu/centers/bbrc/landing_reu.html, or by contacting the PI (Dr. Caitlin Light, clight@binghamton.edu) or the co-PI (Dr. Karin Sauer, clight@binghamton.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.