REU Site: Research Experiences for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students in Molecular Signaling - How Cells and Organisms Make Decisions

该REU站点奖授予位于田纳西州诺克斯维尔的田纳西大学，将在2024- 2026年夏季支持10名学生的培训，为期10周。该项目的目标是为聋人和听障学生提供研究经验，提高对聋人文化的认识，并为科学界提供聋人教育实践方面的培训。我们也鼓励了解美国手语（ASL）或对聋人文化感兴趣的听力正常的学生申请。预计将有30名学生在该项目中接受培训。学生将获得必要的技能和知识，以做出明智的职业选择，在研究生研究项目中具有竞争力，并在其他STEM职业中取得成功。他们将接受培训，发展和检验假设，收集和分析数据，解决问题和排除故障，回顾原始文献，并将他们的研究成果传达给科学听众。该计划的评估将通过在线工具完成。学生应使用NSF ETAP（教育和培训申请：https://etap.nsf.gov）向REU网站申请。该网站将为对遗传学、细胞和分子生物学感兴趣的学生提供研究机会。来自生物化学和细胞与分子生物系的导师团队将指导学生完成探索各种生物信号转导机制的项目。本课程的学生将学习生物与环境之间的相互作用、细胞间的通讯以及信号转导机制。项目将使用各种生物，包括细菌、酵母、植物、老鼠和人类细胞。除了学习基本的分子、生化和细胞生物学方法，如克隆、遗传分析和微生物培养，学生还将有机会使用最先进的技术，包括单分子和活细胞荧光显微镜、病毒载体的颅内注射、基因组数据集的计算分析和流式细胞术。一个特别的研讨会将讨论D/hh个人在STEM职业生涯中的独特挑战和机遇。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 the University of Tennessee, located in Knoxville, TN, will support the training of 10 students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2024- 2026. The goals of the program are to provide research experiences for Deaf and hard of hearing (D/hh) students, to improve awareness of Deaf culture, and to provide training in deaf education practices to the scientific community. Hearing students who know American Sign Language (ASL) or are interested in learning more about the Deaf culture are encouraged to apply too. It is anticipated that a total of 30 students will be trained in the program. Students will acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to make informed career choices, be competitive in graduate research programs, and succeed in other STEM careers. They will be trained to develop and test hypotheses, gather and analyze the data, problem-solve and troubleshoot, review original literature, and convey their research findings to a scientific audience. Assessment of this program will be done through an online tool. Students should apply to the REU site using NSF ETAP (Education and Training Application: https://etap.nsf.gov). This site will provide research opportunities to students interested in genetics and cellular and molecular biology. A team of mentors from the Biochemistry & Cell and Molecular Biology department will guide students through projects that explore signal transduction mechanisms in a variety of organisms. Students in this program will study interactions between organisms and their environment, cell-to-cell communications, and mechanisms of signal transduction. Projects will be available using a variety of organisms, including bacteria, yeast, plants, mice, and human cells. In addition to learning basic molecular, biochemical, and cell biology methods such as cloning, genetic analysis, and microbial cultivation, students will have an opportunity to use state-of-the-art techniques, including single-molecule and live-cell fluorescence microscopy, intra-cranial injection of viral vectors, computational analysis of genomic datasets, and flow cytometry. A special workshop will discuss unique challenges and opportunities in STEM careers for D/hh individuals.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.