REU Site: Water, Society and Health

弗吉尼亚大学（UVA）与位于南非林波波省的文达大学（UNIVEN）合作举办了这个REU网站项目。本课程将向本科生介绍社会、水和人类健康学科之间复杂的研究。本科生将与教师和研究生合作，开发、设计和测试在技术性能、对人类健康的益处和当地经济发展潜力方面与文化相适应的系统和技术。研究活动将在多个尺度上进行，包括：1)隐孢子虫和肠聚集性大肠杆菌的分子和抗原特征；2)利用小鼠模型、通过介电泳细胞预构建增强的传统活死实验和基于电旋转的新实验来定量银和铜纳米颗粒对隐孢子虫的影响；3)对使用点水处理技术进行社区一级随机干预（有适当的控制措施），并研究其经济影响和对人类健康的影响；4)开发和测试基于主体的模型（ABM），以更好地理解水、卫生设施和人类健康之间的复杂关系，特别是考虑到幼儿腹泻和营养不良。这项研究还将利用一项新授予的赠款，重点研究UNIVEN周围农村社区的胃肠道感染与营养不良之间的关系。REU的招生将集中在没有研究生课程或只有有限研究生课程的大学，包括弗吉尼亚州历史上的黑人学院和大学。入选该项目的学生将被安排在一个跨学科研究团队中，由一名或多名主要研究人员监督。学生将在春季和秋季学期通过视频会议使用illuminate参加团队会议。每位学生将在南非林波波省参加为期8周的研究活动。他们的暑期经历将从与弗吉尼亚大学和UNIVEN的教职员工和学生的一系列培训开始。一名博士生将在整个夏季担任本科生的协调员和导师。学生团队将由跨学科设计，通常包括REU学生和UVA和UNIVEN本科生。学生们都将住在一个封闭的小屋里，在那里他们可以分享食物和经历。在秋季学期，学生将负责提供他们的研究书面报告，并通过视频会议进行口头报告。REU学生将被要求在他们的主要部门之外的家庭机构完成一门3学分的课程，但在研究计划的主题范围内。教师队伍在学科、种族和性别方面都很多样化。将对每个学生群体进行整体课程和学生学习情况的评估。

This international REU Site award at the University of Virginia (UVA) is partnering with the University of Venda (UNIVEN) located in Limpopo Province, South Africa to host this REU Site program. This program will introduce undergraduate students to the complexities of research at the interface between society, water, and human health disciplines. Undergraduate students will collaborate with faculty and graduate students to develop, design, and test culturally appropriate systems and technologies with regard to technical performance, benefits to human health, and local economic development potential. Research activities will be at multiple scales, including: 1) the molecular and antigenic characterization of Cryptosporidium and Enteroaggregative E. coli; 2) quantification of the effects of silver and copper nanoparticles on Cryptosporidium using a murine model, a conventional live-dead assay enhanced through dielectrophoretic cell pre-construction, and through the development of a new assay based on electro-rotation; 3) randomized community-level interventions (with appropriate controls) for point-of-use water treatment technologies and studies of their economic impact and effects on human health; and 4) development and testing of an agent-based model (ABM) to better understand the complex relations between water, sanitation, and human health with particular consideration of early childhood diarrhea and malnutrition. This research will also leverage a newly awarded grant that focuses on the relations between gastrointestinal infection and malnutrition in the rural communities surrounding UNIVEN.REU student recruitment will focus on colleges without, or with only limited, graduate programs, including historically black colleges and universities in the state of Virginia. Students selected for the program will be placed in an interdisciplinary research team under the supervision of one or more of the principal investigators. Students will participate in team meetings via videoconferencing using Elluminate during the Spring and Fall semesters. Each student will participate in research activities during an 8-week period in Limpopo Province, S. Africa. Their summer experience will begin with a series of orientations with UVA and UNIVEN faculty and students. A doctoral student will serve as a coordinator and mentor for the undergraduate students throughout the summer. Student teams will be interdisciplinary by design, and will typically include REU students and UVA and UNIVEN undergraduates. Students will all reside in a gated facility of cottages where they will be able to share meals and experiences. During the Fall semester, students will be responsible for providing a written report of their research and giving an oral presentation via videoconferencing. REU students will be required to complete a 3-credit course at their home institution that is outside their major department but within the theme of the research program. The faculty team is diverse in discipline, race, and gender. Assessments of the overall program and student learning will be conducted for each student cohort.