REU Site: Plant Genome Research

位于纽约州伊萨卡市康奈尔大学校园的博伊斯·汤普森学院获得了REU Site奖，该奖项将在2024-2026年夏季期间支持10名学生为期10周的培训。预计总共将有30名学生接受培训，这些学生主要来自研究机会有限的学校和(或)代表性不足的群体。REU计划的参与者将发展跨学科技能，这些技能对于充分利用不断增长的生物数据集的规模和复杂性是必要的。这些基本的研究专业知识将为他们未来在学术界、工业界或政府部门的职业生涯奠定坚实的基础。参与者不仅将与其他科学家交流他们的结果，还将通过社区参与和在线视频向更广泛的受众传达他们的结果。对该计划的评估将通过一个在线工具进行。REU参与者将与训练有素的导师合作，设计和实施充分利用现有植物基因组资源以及尖端分子和生化研究方法的实验。学生的研究项目将涉及重要的农作物、与生态相关的植物物种和/或实验室模式生物。建议的研究主题包括果实成熟、病原菌防御、草食、代谢、共生真菌相互作用、非编码RNA、光合作用、抗旱性、微量营养素利用、嫁接亲和性和植物发育。个别学生项目将被设计为提供一些独立性，但仍符合主办实验室的整体研究框架。通过将动手实验室或田间实验与大数据集的生物信息学分析相结合，学生将学习研究植物生物学的新方面。额外的培训将侧重于研究成果的有效展示、研究生院的准备和研究的道德行为。社交辅导计划将促进学生互动，促进学生融入研究环境，并帮助学生在职业生涯早期建立支持网络。申请可以通过NSF ETAP系统提交。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势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 Boyce Thompson Institute, located on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, 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 and/or from underrepresented groups, will be trained. REU program participants will develop interdisciplinary skills that are necessary for taking full advantage of the ever-increasing size and complexity of biological data sets. This essential research expertise will serve as a strong foundation for their future careers in academia, industry, or government service. Participants will communicate their results not only to other scientists but also to a broader audience through community engagement and online videos. Assessment of the program will be done through an online tool. REU participants will work with well-trained mentors to design and implement experiments that take full advantage of available plant genome resources, as well as cutting-edge molecular and biochemical research methods. Student research projects will involve important agricultural crops, ecologically relevant plant species, and/or laboratory model organisms. Proposed research subjects include fruit ripening, pathogen defense, herbivory, metabolism, symbiotic fungal interactions, non-coding RNA, photosynthesis, drought tolerance, micronutrient utilization, graft compatibility, and plant development. Individual student projects will be designed to provide some independence but still fit within the overall research framework of the host laboratories. By combining hands-on laboratory or field experiments with bioinformatic analysis of large data sets, students will learn to investigate novel aspects of plant biology. Additional training will focus on the effective presentation of research results, preparation for graduate school, and ethical conduct of research. A social mentoring program will promote student interactions, facilitate integration into the research environment, and help students build a support network early in their career pathways. Applications can be submitted via the NSF ETAP system.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.