REU Site: Inclusive and collaborative approach to cellular and molecular biology for undergraduate researchers at Delaware State University

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This REU Site award to Delaware State University (DSU), located in Dover, Delaware will support the training of 10 students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2024-2026. 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. The site is open to all but will focus on students from DSU and partnering HBCUs. It will leverage the success of HBCUs in educating students from under-represented backgrounds, and the interdisciplinary research activities at DSU, to engage students in a rigorous summer internship in a culturally-congruent atmosphere. This program will help broaden the participation of individuals from underrepresented groups in STEM by increasing their involvement in research activities that would help them be competitive for matriculation into STEM graduate programs. Students will learn and practice how research is conducted, and many will present the results of their work at scientific conferences. Assessment of the program will be done through the online SALG URSSA tool. The NSF ETAP system will be used to register participants (https://www.nsfetap.gov/). Students will be tracked after the program in order to determine their career paths.The scientific focus is to provide high-impact interdisciplinary summer research in cellular and molecular biology to HBCU students. The departments/programs involved include neuroscience, cell biology, physics, and computational science. The research projects are varied and include those in neuroscience, microbiology, stress response to climate change, and machine learning. The program components also include weekly research meetings and strong professional development activities. Students will be recruited through March to provide ample opportunity for students to apply. Students will be recruited based on resilience (not GPA), response to essay questions, and references from mentors. The selection will be conducted by a committee comprising the PI, Co-PI, and potential mentors. More information about the program is available by visiting the NSF REU website at http://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/list_result.jsp?unitid=5047 or by contacting the PI (Dr. Hakeem Lawal at hlawal@desu.edu) or the co-PI (Dr. Erin Perchiniak at eperchiniak@desu.edu). This project is jointly funded by the Division of Biological Infrastructure in the Directorate of Biological Sciences, the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), and the Historically Black Colleges and Universities - Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP).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.