REU Site: Collaborative Research and Education in Agricultural Technology and Engineering (CREATE)

EEC-0852090P.I.Jean VanderGheynst REU SITE奖名为“农业技术与工程(CREATE)的合作研究和教育”，将为本科生提供植物科学、分子生物学和工程学方面的综合研究和教育培训。在这个REU项目中，参与者将参与尖端研究领域，以解决我国和世界面临的以下主要问题：1)缺乏快速生产疫苗的技术；2)不断上涨的医疗成本；3)能源和化学原料对化石燃料的依赖；以及4)受污染的土壤和地下水。为了解决这些主要的社会问题，CREATE计划将重点开发和使用转基因植物和/或体外植物系统，用于生产工业非食品产品、生物制药和生物修复。这个REU项目结构良好，同行和导师之间有很高水平的互动。本科生将成为高度多样化的跨学科研究团队的一部分，该团队由教师和研究生研究导师组成，来自不同学科，包括生物系统工程、化学工程、植物生物学、植物病理学、生物化学和分子生物学以及遗传学。除了研究活动外，REU的学生将被要求参加至少一门植物生物技术或植物生物加工的短期课程，以学习植物生物技术中使用的关键实验方法，并加强他们的研究技能。他们还将参加每周轮流举行的专题和道德问题研究研讨会、个人和团队陈述挑战、演讲和海报制作培训、毕业前准备和提交研究生申请的研讨会和实践模块，以及教员-门生务虚会。该计划的最后将是一个创建REU研究研讨会，使与会者能够展示他们个人的研究成果和成就，并为科学和专业学会的会议和演讲做准备。首席研究员致力于从代表性不足的群体中招募本科生参与者。这一REU计划将为本科生准备与农业生物技术相关的研究生水平的研究，并使他们成为未来的研究和教育领导者，帮助解决与负担得起的疫苗和疗法、能源可持续性和环境管理有关的社会最紧迫的问题。该项目的联合资金由NSF生物基础设施部门(DBI)提供。

EEC-0852090P.I. Jean VanderGheynstThe REU Site award, entitled "Collaborative Research and Education in Agricultural Technology and Engineering (CREATE)" will provide undergraduate students with integrated research and educational training in plant sciences, molecular biology and engineering. In this REU program the participants will be involved in cutting edge research areas that address the following major problems facing our nation and the world: 1) Lack of rapid production technologies for vaccine manufacturing; 2) Rising health care costs; 3) Dependence on fossil fuels for energy and chemical feedstocks; and 4) Contaminated soil and groundwater. In order to address these major societal problems, the CREATE program will focus on the development and use of transgenic plants and/or in vitro plant based systems for the production of industrial non-food products, biopharmaceuticals and for bioremediation. This REU program is well structured with a high level of interaction between peers and mentors. The undergraduate students will be part of highly diverse interdisciplinary research teams, made up of faculty and graduate student research mentors, from a variety of disciplines, including Biological Systems Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Plant Biology, Plant Pathology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Genetics. In addition to the research activities, REU students will be required take at least one short course offered in plant biotechnology or plant bioprocessing to learn critical experimental methods used in plant biotechnology and to strengthen their research skills. They will also participate in alternating weekly research seminars on the topical themes and on ethics, individual and team presentation challenges, speech and poster development training, seminars and practice modules in pre-graduate preparation and submitting graduate applications, and a faculty-protégé retreat. The program will culminate with a CREATE REU Research Symposium to enable participants to showcase their individual research findings and accomplishments and prepare them for scientific and professional society conference attendance and presentations.The Principal Investigator is committed to recruiting undergraduate participants from underrepresented groups. This REU program will prepare undergraduate students for graduate-level research related to agricultural biotechnology and prepare them to be the research and educational leaders of the future who will help solve society's most pressing problems related to affordable vaccines and therapeutics, energy sustainability and environmental stewardship.Co-funding for this project is provided by the NSF Division of Biological Infrastructure (DBI).