REU Site: Synthesis and Characterization of Bioactive Orbioinspired Molecules

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This Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site award to the University of Pittsburgh, located in Pittsburgh, PA, supports the training of 10 students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2023-2025. In this REU Program, funded by the Division of Chemistry, participants pursue collaborative research projects, with a focus on the synthesis, characterization, and simulation of biological molecules or bio-inspired materials. An overall effort to promote belonging, anchored by evidence-based intervention and cohort-building social activities, is combined with training on research-relevant topics. Through targeted recruitment of applications and promoting belonging, this site broadens participation in STEM. Student participants undertake individual projects that span a range of topics, including sequence-controlled biodegradable polymers, DNA nanostructures for bottom-up nanofabrication, and modeling biomolecules adsorbed on graphene. Students are also trained in research-related topics/skills, including laboratory safety, research ethics, personal conduct, and graduate school application skills. In addition, the site implements belonging interventions that are based on activities that have proven successful in decreasing performance disparities in STEM at the University of Pittsburgh. Four outcomes are targeted: participants will 1) persist in science education and careers; 2) see themselves as having the potential to pursue a science career; 3) exhibit persistence in the face of challenges; and 4) experience similar outcomes regardless of their demographic and socioeconomic background. To ensure that the applicant pool is diverse, student participants are recruited, in part, from the 6-institution collaborative to which the University of Pittsburgh belongs. This collaborative, which is organized by the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers, includes three HBCUs. The team will also leverage the established network with colleagues in Puerto Rico, and the feeder network for ongoing internally funded Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (Pitt SURF) program to further strengthen recruitment efforts.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.