RCN UBE: Connectomes for Undergraduate Education and Learning (CUNEL)

RCN UBE：本科教育和学习的连接组 (CUNEL)

• 批准号: 2217333
• 负责人: Andrew Bellemer
• 金额: $ 49.37万
• 依托单位: Appalachian State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-10-15 至 2027-09-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2217333&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RCN; UBE; Connectomes; Undergraduate; Education

While it is understood that students experience tremendous educational benefits from exposure to authentic research as part of their undergraduate coursework, the availability of these experiences may be limited by high cost and difficult implementation. The Connectomes for Undergraduate Neuroscience Education and Learning (CUNEL) project seeks to provide students with access to cutting-edge neuroscience research tools and provide the framework to integrate these tools into their undergraduate education. The CUNEL project will accomplish this by recruiting and training a network of neuroscience instructors who will implement and assess laboratory protocols that provide authentic research experiences in connectomics, the burgeoning field of neuroscience that seeks to create comprehensive maps of synaptic connectivity, the ‘wiring diagram’ showing how nerves connect within a nervous system. The broad outcome of the CUNEL project will be to enhance both the quality and accessibility of neuroscience education, while providing undergraduate students with real-world scientific experience within an area of neuroscience at the forefront of the field. The CUNEL project will create, implement, and assess undergraduate laboratory materials that make use of the publicly available Female Adult Fly Brain (FAFB) dataset and Collaborative Annotation Toolkit for Massive Amounts of Image Data (CATMAID) software platform. The CUNEL team will create instructional materials that facilitate adoption, implementation, and assessment of FAFB/CATMAID laboratory modules in undergraduate classes at diverse undergraduate institutions. These modules will be disseminated and assessed through a user network of neuroscience instructors who will be recruited, supported, and coordinated by the project leadership. Students who work with laboratory materials created by the CUNEL project will have opportunities to engage scientifically with students at other network institutions and with the connectomics research community. The outcomes of this project will include: 1) the creation of laboratory materials that can be successfully implemented at a wide variety of undergraduate institutions to provide authentic research experiences in connectomics as part of undergraduate coursework, and 2) the creation and organization of a network of neuroscience educators who will collaborate to enhance neuroscience education using these authentic research tools.This project is being jointly funded by the Directorate for Biological Sciences, Division of Biological Infrastructure, and the Directorate for Education and Human Resources, 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/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.

虽然可以理解的是，学生从接触真实的研究作为他们的本科课程的一部分体验到巨大的教育效益，这些经验的可用性可能会受到高成本和难以实施的限制。Connectomes for Undergraduate Neuroscience Education and Learning（CUNEL）项目旨在为学生提供尖端神经科学研究工具，并提供将这些工具整合到本科教育中的框架。CUNEL项目将通过招募和培训一个神经科学导师网络来实现这一目标，这些导师将实施和评估实验室协议，提供连接组学的真实研究经验，这是一个新兴的神经科学领域，旨在创建突触连接的全面地图，显示神经如何在神经系统内连接的“接线图”。CUNEL项目的广泛成果将是提高神经科学教育的质量和可及性，同时为本科生提供该领域前沿神经科学领域的真实科学经验。CUNEL项目将创建，实施和评估本科实验室材料，这些材料利用公开的成年女性苍蝇大脑（FAFB）数据集和大量图像数据协作注释工具包（CATMAID）软件平台。CUNEL团队将创建教学材料，以促进在不同本科院校的本科课程中采用，实施和评估FAFB/CATMAID实验室模块。这些模块将通过神经科学讲师的用户网络进行传播和评估，这些讲师将由项目领导招聘，支持和协调。谁的学生与实验室材料工作由CUNEL项目创建将有机会参与科学与学生在其他网络机构和与连接组学研究社区。该项目的成果将包括：1）创建可以在各种本科院校成功实施的实验室材料，以提供连接组学的真实研究经验，作为本科课程的一部分，和2）创建和组织一个神经科学教育者网络，他们将利用这些真实的研究工具合作加强神经科学教育。由生物基础设施部生物科学理事会和本科教育部教育和人力资源理事会资助，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/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。