REU Site: Undergraduate Research in Molecular Biology

这个项目的总体目的是激励和培养有才华的学生，特别是更多的女性和少数族裔学生，获得基础生命科学学科的博士学位，并最终成为学院和大学的教员或在私营部门担任领导职务。实现目标的手段这一NSF奖项将支持由明尼苏达大学教职员工在过去12年里开发的非常成功的NSF-REU项目。在接下来的五年里，参与者将继续在全国范围内招募，但特别是从历史上的黑人院校和其他小型私立大学招募。每年，12名高能力本科生将来到明尼苏达州参加为期10周的暑期项目。学生们将在夏季的前三周在伊塔斯卡湖实验室参加一个为期三个学分的强化实验室课程，学习基本的分子生物学技术。课程结束后，每个学生将在双城校区花七周时间完成一个独立研究项目，该项目使用了许多在课程中学到的分子技术。该研究项目将在100多名参与该项目的教职员工的指导下进行，他们对分子生物学研究有着共同的兴趣。补充活动将包括每周一次的学生研讨会和晚间讲习班，旨在加强未来研究生学习的申请。项目结束时，所有学生将通过科学海报在全校范围的研讨会上展示他们的研究项目的成果。项目开始时的迎新周末，伊塔斯卡的实验室课程，校园宿舍的公共住房，以及整个夏季周末的众多社交、文化和娱乐活动，都将促进牢固的个人和专业学生与学生和学生与教职员工之间的纽带的形成。获奖的结果和意义学生将度过一个有趣而令人兴奋的夏天，这将增强他们的信心和进入研究生院获得基础生命科学学科硕士、博士或医学/博士学位的愿望。深入接触高质量和高数量的研究机会，以及与教师导师的支持和培育关系，将激励许多参与者继续攻读研究生课程。此外，来自所有背景和种族的本科生将有机会与研究生榜样互动，以鼓励来自不同背景的本科生攻读研究生学位。从长远来看，越来越多的非裔美国人、美国印第安人和西语裔学生将被激励去攻读生命科学基础学科的研究生学位，并最终成为学院和大学的教员或私营部门的领导者。这些新的硕士和博士学位获得者将是榜样和导师，他们可以帮助更多来自代表不足的少数群体的个人更接近全面参与科学和技术劳动力。

ObjectivesThe overall purpose of this program is to motivate and prepare talented students, specifically more women and minority students, to earn their PhD degree in basic life science disciplines and eventually to become members of the faculty at colleges and universities or to take leadership roles in the private sector. Means to achieve objectivesThis NSF award will sustain the highly successful NSF-REU program developed by University of Minnesota faculty over the past twelve years. For the next five years, the participants will continue to be recruited nationwide, but particularly from Historically Black Institutions and other small private colleges. Each year, twelve high ability undergraduate students will come to Minnesota for the 10-week summer program. The students will spend the first three weeks of the summer in an intensive three-credit laboratory course at the Lake Itasca laboratories learning basic molecular biology techniques. Following the course, each student will spend seven weeks on the Twin Cities campus completing an independent research project that uses many of the molecular techniques learned in the course. The research project will be conducted under the direction of one of the more than 100 faculty members affiliated with the program who share a common interest in molecular biology research. Supplemental activities will include weekly student seminars and evening workshops designed to strengthen future applications for postgraduate studies. All students will present the results of their research project through a scientific poster at a campus-wide symposium at the end of the program. An orientation weekend at the start of the program, the laboratory course at Itasca, communal housing in campus dormitories and numerous social, cultural and recreational activities throughout the summer weekends will foster the formation of strong personal and professional student-student and student-faculty bonds.Outcomes and significance of awardStudents will have an interesting and exciting summer that will strengthen their confidence and their desire to go to graduate school to earn an MS, PhD or MD/PhD degree in a basic life science discipline. Intensive exposure to the high quality and quantity of research opportunities as well as the supportive and nurturing relationships with faculty mentors will motivate many participants to pursue graduate studies. In addition, undergraduate students from all backgrounds and ethnicity will have the opportunity to interact with graduate student role models to encourage undergraduates from diverse backgrounds to seek graduate school degrees. Over the long term, increased numbers of African American, American Indian and Hispanic students will be motivated to earn graduate degrees in basic life science disciplines and eventually to become members of the faculty at colleges and universities or leaders in the private sector. These new recipients of MS and PhD degrees will be role models and mentors who can help move a much larger number of individuals from underrepresented minority groups closer to full participation in the scientific and technological workforce.