INBRE UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH EXPERIENCE CORE

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Delaware INBRE Annual Progress Report (APR) 2008 Grant No. 5P20RR016472-07 Undergraduate Research Experience Core Core Directors: Ms. Jeanette Miller, DBI Assistant Director Dr. Veronica Rempusheski, UD School of Nursing Core Objectives: a.) To strengthen the biomedical research skills of undergraduates by involving them in faculty research, and to encourage interested students to pursue careers in science generally, and biomedical research specifically. b.) To improve expertise of Nursing faculty in research & grantsmanship. The Undergraduate Research Experience Core addresses these two objectives by implementing a) Mentored undergraduate research and coursework with a focus on the research process; and b) Mentored research opportunities for Nursing faculty within the UD School of Nursing, a primarily undergraduate I. Undergraduate Research Internships Overview: The Delaware INBRE grant provides research experiences for students from the network to carry out biomedical research throughout the network through summer and academic year research, both in laboratory settings and through coursework. a. Summer Laboratory Research for Undergraduates: Students engaged in summer research work full time for a ten-week period, June-August. The program requires students to work forty hours per week at their research assignments, and to prepare a poster or talk for an end of summer research symposium, hosted by the University of Delaware through a grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. All INBRE students participated in a four-session seminar series on clinical and translational research and research ethics. The seminar series is co-hosted by the INBRE partners, and includes sessions at Delaware Biotechnology Institute, Christiana Care Health System and Delaware State University. Each student is provided a stipend, housing allowance, and when needed, transportation to required events. A number of students continue their research projects during the academic year, and present at poster sessions at national meetings. b. Institutions Involved: All six Delaware INBRE partner institutions participate in the program, as host research sites or as a source of students. The research internships are cross-institutional assignments, typically with 40% of students conducting research at an institution other than their home institutions. During the placement process, students are asked to describe their areas of scientific interest, to review faculty research descriptions and to suggest up to four labs of interest throughout the INBRE network. Whenever possible, students are placed in one of their labs of choice. Some thirty network faculty were involved, either as research mentors or in selecting student participants from their respective institutions. For the second year, the group included nursing faculty and students from the University of Delaware and Wesley College. Jeanette Miller, Assistant Director, Delaware Biotechnology Institute provided student placement and program oversight. c. Student Data: In 2007, a cohort of 22 students participated in the summer internships, with students conducting research at each of the INBRE partner institutions. Internships continue to involve a diverse student group. The 2007 group included 54% women and 23% underrepresented minority students, and involved more than 30 faculty members at all Delaware INBRE partner institutions. INBRE undergraduate researchers present their research at an end of summer research symposium organized in collaboration with the HHMI undergraduate research program at the University of Delaware. In summer 2007, more than 150 undergraduates presented their research in talks and poster sessions. Undergraduates involved are highlighted on the Howard Hughes Medical Institute website at UD, at http://www.udel.edu/chem/white/HHMI3/Summer07/S07symposium.html. d. Program Evaluation and Student Outcomes: Interns completed evaluations at the conclusion of the internship. Students reported that the internship was a very positive experience, which in many instances confirmed or catalyzed a student's interest in a biomedical research career. Students often reported that the internship developed or gave them confidence in some of their own skills: that they could function as a member of a lab team; that they could develop a deep understanding of a scientific project and talk about it to other scientists, which they had the opportunity to do at the end-of-summer research symposium. All INBRE students prepared scientific posters. A long-term survey of Delaware BRIN/INBRE undergraduate research students was carried out in spring and summer 2007, to gather data on students' continued educational and career choices, and the effect of the internship experience on this choice. Delaware BRIN/INBRE has supported 112 undergraduates in full-time summer research 2002-2007. Student outcomes are encouraging. Sixty students (53%) were still undergraduates at the time of the survey. Of the 52 students who were no longer undergraduates, 23 (44%) reported that they were pursuing advanced degrees. Twenty students (38%) reported employment in science/health. We are encouraged that 82% of former INBRE interns who are no longer undergraduates are pursuing advanced degrees or have found employment in science/health professions. e. Long-term Evaluation Summary: + 60 students (53% of Del. INBRE research interns )  Currently Undergraduates in 2007 + 23 students (44% of non-undergraduates)  Currently in PhD programs, Master's programs, medical, dental, & pharmacy school + 20 students (38% of non-undergraduates)  Employed in science/health companies (Hercules, Kimberly-Clark, WL Gore, and Merck) + 9 students no information available Several examples of Delaware INBRE impact on student research interns: 1. Mary Beth Stant-Boggs, a former Wesley College student, will complete her PhD in Biochemistry at the University of Delaware in 2009, and will be the first PhD from the BRIN-INBRE undergraduate cohort. (Internships 2002-2004) 2. Timothy Mills, a former Delaware Technical & Community College student, is now completing his BS in Biology at University of Delaware, and is planning to enter a Ph.D. program. He attributes his decision to pursue a career in research to his INBRE-funded research opportunities. (Internships 2005, 2006) 3. Stephanie Callahan, a former Delaware Technical & Community College student, began as an INBRE research intern in the lab of Dr. Eric Kmiec at the Delaware Biotechnology Institute. Two years later, she is still there, pursuing a Master's in Biotechnology and working with a small start-up company founded upon research she helped carry out. She attributes her career decisions to the opportunity provided through INBRE. (Internship 2006) 4. In 2007, four INBRE undergraduate researchers and their mentor, Dr. Malcolm D'Souza, Wesley College, were honored for posters presented at the American Chemical Society annual meeting. There were 1200 undergraduate posters, and 50 students (4%) were selected for Special Recognition, including all four of the Wesley College Students. II. UD Nursing Research Experience and Training a. The UD School of Nursing (SON) has a goal through INBRE to develop scientifically literate nurses who are capable of making data-driven decisions  to evaluate and measure outcomes of their care, and read and evaluate the scientific literature for their evidence-based practice. To achieve this goal, UD SON has developed new curricular options to provide students (and their faculty) with research experience. 1. A new course, Research Concepts in Health Care (NURS 362) provides students the opportunity to carry out nursing research with a faculty member during the academic year. Students work both with Nursing faculty and with faculty from other relevant departments, including Medical Technology, Biology, and Health Nutrition & Exercise Sciences. The impact is substantial; by the end of the Delaware INBRE grant, more than 500 nursing students will have participated in this course. 2. A revised Nursing Honors Capstone (Biomedical Research Ethics - Honors) course has been approved and is being offered in Spring semester 2008. The course is taught by Dr. Veronica Rempusheski, Buxbaum Chair of Nursing. b. To further develop the research culture in the UD School of Nursing, INBRE has supported a total of 6 nursing faculty with 50% release time to pursue research. Nursing faculty are publishing the results of research, and to date, one INBRE investigator (Riley-Lawless) has been awarded a resulting 2007 grant as a co-I, as part of the National Children's Study, a five-year, multi-site study to track long-term exposure to chemical, physical, psychological and social factors in a child's environment, following them from birth to age 21.