REU Site: Synthetic Biology at Northwestern: From Molecules to Society (SynBREU2.0)

该REU站点奖授予位于伊利诺伊州埃文斯顿的西北大学，将在2022-2024年夏季支持10名学生的培训，为期10周。预计总共有30名学生将接受该项目的培训，这些学生主要来自研究机会有限的学校或代表性不足的群体。学生将学习如何进行研究，许多人将在科学会议上展示他们的工作成果。该计划的评估将使用在线工具完成。课程结束后，将对学生进行跟踪，以确定他们的职业道路。额外的标准和量身定制的评估将用于不断改进活动以满足计划目标。该计划将在快速发展的合成生物学领域提供指导研究经验，在该领域中，新的生物系统被构建以使生物解决方案能够解决重要问题。来自分子生物科学、化学工程、生物医学工程、生物化学与分子遗传学、药理学、化学、工程科学与应用数学、土木与环境工程等院系的强大师资队伍将担任该项目的导师。学生将进行独立的实验室和/或计算合成生物学项目，如开发用于水中污染物的新型生物传感器、自我修复材料、新的基因治疗传递机制等。同时，学生将参加精心设计的课程，让他们接触到各种实验室技术，以及在未来STEM职业生涯中取得成功所需的技能，包括道德、负责任的研究行为、沟通和网络。活动包括研讨会，讲习班，与教师喝茶，实地考察当地合成生物学公司。在课程结束时，学生将在研究研讨会上展示他们的项目和成果。将提供津贴、住房、一些餐费和旅行津贴。申请将每年在REU网站上接受，并由参与的教师和招生委员会进行审查。有关该计划的更多信息，请访问http://synbreu.northwestern.edu，或联系PI (Tullman-Ercek博士ercek@northwestern.edu)，联合PI （Rocklin博士grocklin@gmail.com）或项目工作人员（synbreu@northwestern.edu）。该奖项由国防部ASSURE项目与NSF REU项目合作支持。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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 REU Site award to Northwestern University, located in Evanston, IL, will support the training of 10 students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2022-2024. It is anticipated that a total of 30 students, primarily from schools with limited research opportunities or from an under-represented group, will be trained in the program. Students will learn how research is conducted, and many will present the results of their work at scientific conferences. Assessment of the program will be done using an online instrument. Students will be tracked after the program in order to determine their career paths. Additional standard and tailored assessments will be used to refine activities continuously to meet program goals.The program will provide mentored research experiences in the rapidly growing field of synthetic biology, in which new biological systems are constructed to enable biological solutions to important problems. A strong cohort of faculty from departments including Molecular Biosciences, Chemical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Pharmacology, Chemistry, Engineering Science and Applied Mathematics, and Civil and Environmental Engineering will serve as mentors in the program. Students will carry out independent laboratory and/or computational synthetic biology projects such as the development of new biosensors for contaminants in water, self-healing materials, new gene therapy delivery mechanisms, and more. Concurrently, students will participate in a carefully designed curriculum to expose them to a variety of laboratory techniques as well as the skills necessary for success in their future STEM careers, including ethics, responsible conduct of research, communication and networking. Activities include seminars, workshops, teas with faculty, and field trips to local synthetic biology companies. At the end of the program, students will present their projects and results at a research symposium. A stipend will be provided, along with housing, funds to cover some meals, and a travel allowance. Applications will be accepted at the REU website each year, and reviewed by participating faculty and an admissions committee. More information about the program is available by visiting http://synbreu.northwestern.edu, or by contacting the PI (Dr. Tullman-Ercek at ercek@northwestern.edu), co-PI (Dr. Rocklin at grocklin@gmail.com), or the program staff (synbreu@northwestern.edu). This award is supported by the Department of Defense ASSURE Program in partnership with the NSF REU Program.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.