REU Site: Engineering Across Cell Types

在美国国家科学基金会工程教育和中心部（EEC）的支持下，马萨诸塞大学阿默斯特分校的这个为期三年的REU项目将使9名本科生能够进行细胞工程研究，这是一个令人兴奋的工程和应用生物学的新前沿。大自然在设计新工艺、制造产品和将材料从一种形式转化为另一种形式方面具有非凡的能力。细胞生物表现出如此广泛的特征，基本上任何特征都可以被设计成合适的宿主。近40年前，分子生物学在细菌中制造人类胰岛素，实现了医学上的巨大飞跃。科学家和工程师们现在正处在这样的前沿：他们能够设计出以植物为原料的生物，清除土壤、水和空气中的有毒污染物，生产大量抗癌药物，甚至将人类细胞转化为有用的组织。在过去的十年中，新的工具已经被开发出来，跨细胞类型（例如，细菌，酵母，哺乳动物，植物）的发现促进了细胞工程；然而，在不同的科学界之间存在有限的串扰，突出了这个REU计划的相关性：跨细胞类型工程（EnACT）：探索细胞之间的科学和物理接口。工程/生命科学领域的传统研究和课程通常不包括细胞类型之间的异同的讨论，因此，学生们没有提供一个完整的视角来看待工程细胞的可用工具。例如，大多数生物化学和生物工程本科课程都强调微生物系统，因为它们被广泛研究和使用。然而，最近的许多进展都是在高等真核生物中，由于细胞生物学的差异，如区隔化、细胞器特异性基因表达和途径的冗余，这些生物要复杂得多。REU学生将有机会与使用不同细胞系统（如细菌，酵母，动物和植物）的研究人员一起工作，以说明跨细胞类型的研究方法和基础知识的适应和应用。学院的研究领域包括蛋白质工程、代谢工程、组织工程、药物输送和系统生物学。理解不同细胞类型的细胞功能和操纵细胞/组织以特定方式运作是生物医学、生物技术和制药行业许多企业的基础。参与者将从事细胞工程研究，解决制药科学、医疗技术、生物能源和环境方面的重大挑战。EnACT（跨细胞工程）REU的具体目标是：(1)鼓励和激励学生攻读细胞工程的研究生课程；(2)通过专注于招募代表性不足的人群，包括聋人和听力障碍学生、非研究密集型大学的学生和学术生涯早期阶段的学生，创建多样化的学生研究人员队伍；(3)通过合作研究和近同伴指导活动，培养学生从依赖研究者到独立研究者的转变；(4)使学生能够跨学科有效沟通；(5)为学生提供职业成功的策略。除了跨学科研究项目外，REU的参与者还将参与由两个研究实验室的学生和教师组成的研究超级小组，一个专业研讨会；一个研究影响之路研讨会，以及一个学生海报会议。招聘工作将面向化学工程、生物工程、化学、生物学和生物化学各阶段的本科生。PI将与美国国家科学基金会（nsf）赞助、美国州立大学领导的东北AGEP和LSAMP联盟合作，加强对代表性不足的少数民族学生的招募，与春田技术社区学院（Springfield Technical Community College）合作，招收攻读副学士学位课程的学生，与国家聋人技术学院合作，招收聋人和听力受损的学生。EnACT REU将让学生参与工程/物理科学和生命科学的跨学科研究，并鼓励他们在生物工程和相关领域攻读高级学位和职业，创造一支技术先进、前瞻性思维、跨学科思维的劳动力队伍。

Supported by the National Science Foundation Division of Engineering Education and Centers (EEC), this three-year REU Site program at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst will enable 9 undergraduate students to conduct research in cellular engineering, an exciting new frontier of engineering and applied biology. Nature has remarkable capabilities to engineer new processes, make products and transform materials from one form to another. Cellular organisms display such a wide range of features that essentially any trait can be engineered into an appropriate host. Nearly four decades ago, molecular biology enabled a quantum leap for medicine with the production of human insulin in bacteria. Scientists and engineers are now on the cusp of being able to engineer organisms to pump out fuel using plant matter as a feedstock, clean up toxic pollutants from soil, water and air, produce large quantities of anticancer drugs, and even transform human cells into useful tissues. In the past decade, novel tools have been developed and discoveries made across cell types (e.g., bacteria, yeast, mammalian, plant) to facilitate cellular engineering; however, there has been limited crosstalk amongst the varied scientific communities, highlighting the relevance of this REU Program: Engineering Across Cell Types (EnACT): Exploring the Scientific and Physical Interfaces Amongst Cells. Traditional research and curricula at the engineering/life sciences interface do not typically include discussion of the similarities and differences amongst cell types, and therefore students are not provided with a complete perspective on the tools available for engineering cells. For example, most undergraduate courses in biochemistry and bioengineering emphasize microbial systems because of their widespread study and use. However, many recent advances are in higher eukaryotes, which are considerably more complicated due to differences in cell biology such as compartmentalization, organelle-specific gene expression and redundancy of pathways. REU students will get a chance to work with researchers using different cell systems (e.g., bacteria, yeast, animal, and plant) to illustrate adaptation and application of both research approaches and fundamental knowledge across cell types. Faculty research areas include protein engineering, metabolic engineering, tissue engineering, drug delivery, and systems biology.Understanding cellular function across cell types and manipulating cells/tissues to perform in a particular manner is the basis for many ventures in the biomedical, biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Participants will engage in cellular engineering research that addresses grand challenges in pharmaceutical sciences, medical technology, bioenergy and the environment. Specific objectives of the EnACT (Engineering Across Cell Types) REU are to: (1) encourage and inspire students to pursue graduate studies in cellular engineering; (2) create a diverse pool of student researchers by focusing on recruitment of underrepresented populations, including deaf and hard-of-hearing students, students at non-research intensive universities, and students in earlier stages of their academic careers; (3) train students to transition from dependent to independent researchers through collaborative research and near-peer mentoring activities; (4) enable students to communicate effectively across disciplines; and (5) provide students with strategies for professional success. In addition to interdisciplinary research projects, REU participants will be involved in Research Supergroups involving students and faculty from two research laboratories, a Professional Seminar; a Pathways to Research Impact Seminar, and a student poster session. Recruitment efforts will target undergraduates at all stages majoring in chemical engineering, bioengineering, chemistry, biology, and biochemistry. The PI will collaborate with the NSF-sponsored, UMA-led Northeast AGEP and LSAMP alliances to enhance the recruitment of underrepresented minority students, Springfield Technical Community College to recruit students enrolled in associate degree programs, and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf to recruit deaf and hearing-impaired students. The EnACT REU will engage students in cross-disciplinary research at the interface of engineering/physical sciences and life sciences and encourage them to pursue advanced degrees and careers in bioengineering and related fields, creating a technologically advanced, forward thinking, interdisciplinary minded workforce.