Two models for an effective undergraduate research experience in physiology and other natural sciences

68A realistic research experience is beneficial to undergraduate students, but it is often difficult for liberal arts colleges to offer this opportunity. We describe two approaches for developing and maintaining an interdisciplinary research program at small colleges. An active and continuing involvement of an individual with extensive research experience is an essential element in both. One model was developed by the faculty of Taylor University, Upland, IN and a research scientist who had retired from a major university to join the Taylor faculty as their first Research Professor. The school's Science Research Training Program was initially funded by a modest endowment provided by interested alumni and by extramural grants awarded to the Research Professor and to the institution; the program now enjoys significant funding from diverse sources. Taylor is not located near any large research university and consequently supplies all resources required for the experiments and stipends for students pursuing projects full-time during the summer. The second model was developed by the faculty at Asbury College in Wilmore, KY, working with a scientist having a full-time appointment at the University of Kentucky and a part-time appointment at the college. In this approach, Asbury faculty may place their students for a period of training, often during the summer, in a laboratory of a cooperating host faculty at the University of Kentucky or other institution. The host faculty funds the research and pays a stipend to those students who work full-time during the summer. Relationships established between faculty at the College and at the University of Kentucky have been mutually beneficial. The success of both programs is evidenced by the students' presenting their data at state and national scientific meetings, by their publishing their results in national journals, and by the undergraduate school faculty developing independent research programs.     

Ten simple rules for designing and running a computing minor for bio/chem students

Science students increasingly need programming and data science skills to be competitive in the modern workforce. However, at our university (San Francisco State University), until recently, almost no biology, biochemistry, and chemistry students (from here bio/chem students) completed a minor in computer science. To change this, a new minor in computing applications, which is informally known as the Promoting Inclusivity in Computing (PINC) minor, was established in 2016. Here, we present the lessons we learned from our experience in a set of 10 rules. The first 3 rules focus on setting up the program so that it interests students in biology, chemistry, and biochemistry. Rules 4 through 8 focus on how the classes of the program are taught to make them interesting for our students and to provide the students with the support they need. The last 2 rules are about what happens “behind the scenes” of running a program with many people from several departments involved.     

The Virtual Scientist: connecting university scientists to the K-12 classroom through videoconferencing

The Vanderbilt University Center for Science Outreach (CSO) connects university scientists to the K-12 community to enhance and improve science education. The Virtual Scientist program utilizes interactive videoconference (IVC) to facilitate this connection, providing 40-50 sessions per academic year to a national audience. Scientists, defined as research faculty members, clinicians, postdoctoral fellows, graduate and medical students, and professional staff, participate through conventional volunteer recruitment and program announcements as well as outreach partnership efforts with other Vanderbilt centers. These experts present 30- to 45-min long, grade-appropriate content sessions from the CSO IVC studio or their own laboratory. Teachers register for sessions via an on-line application process. After the session, teachers, students, and experts are requested to complete an anonymous on-line evaluation that addresses both technical- and content-associated issues. Results from 2003 to the present indicated a favorable assessment for a promising program. Results showed that 69% of students (n = 335) and 88% of teachers (n = 111) felt that IVC improved access to scientists, whereas 97% of students (n = 382) and teachers (n = 126) and 100% of scientists (n = 23) indicated that they would participate in future videoconferences. Students and teachers considered that the Virtual Scientist program was effective [76% (n = 381) and 89% (n = 127), respectively]. In addition, experts supported IVC as effective in teaching [87% (n = 23)]. Because of the favorable responses from experts, teachers, and students, the CSO will continue to implement IVC as a tool to foster interactions of scientists with K-12 classrooms.     

Development of a Distance Education Program by a Land-Grant University Augments the 2-Year to 4-Year STEM Pipeline and Increases Diversity in STEM

Although initial interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is high, recruitment and retention remains a challenge, and some populations are disproportionately underrepresented in STEM fields. To address these challenges, the Microbiology and Cell Science Department in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Florida has developed an innovative 2+2 degree program. Typical 2+2 programs begin with a student earning an associate’s degree at a local community college and then transferring to a 4-year institution to complete a bachelor’s degree. However, many universities in the United States, particularly land-grant universities, are located in rural regions that are distantly located from their respective states’ highly populated urban centers. This geographical and cultural distance could be an impediment to recruiting otherwise highly qualified and diverse students. Here, a new model of a 2+2 program is described that uses distance education as the vehicle to bring a research-intensive university’s life sciences curriculum to students rather than the oft-tried model of a university attempting to recruit underrepresented minority students to its location. In this paradigm, community college graduates transfer into the Microbiology and Cell Science program as distance education students to complete their Bachelor of Science degree. The distance education students’ experiences are similar to the on-campus students’ experiences in that both groups of students take the same department courses taught by the same instructors, take required laboratory courses in a face-to-face format, take only proctored exams, and have the same availability to instructors. Data suggests that a hybrid online transfer program may be a viable approach to increasing STEM participation (as defined by enrollment) and diversity. This approach is particularly compelling as the distance education cohort has comparable grade point averages and retention rates compared to the corresponding on-campus transfer cohort.     

A plan of life science education programs in the Japanese Society for Biological Sciences in Space]

The Future Plan Committee of the Japanese Society for Biological Sciences in Space drafted a Life Science Education Programs. The program consists of preparation of teaching materials for elementary and high school teachers and of summer course of the gravitational and space biology for university students and young scientists. The outline of the programme are presented.     

The Green Design Apprenticeship

In order to convey the results of our industrial ecology research to broader audiences, the Green Design Institute research group at Carnegie Mellon University offers the Green Design Apprenticeship for local high school students. The Green Design Apprenticeship introduces participants to industrial ecology concepts and how they intersect with engineering. The content of the program has evolved to include the topics of life cycle assessment, energy and water resources, transportation, and the built environment. The program has resulted in exposing a new generation of scholars to industrial ecology and has also benefited the research of graduate students involved with the program. The process of developing the instructional materials for younger, novice students based on complex industrial ecology research was a challenging task requiring thoughtful and iterative planning. Through the development and delivery of the program, we have experienced awareness of where our own research fits into the larger industrial ecology scope, have improved our communication of complex industrial ecology concepts into simple terms, and have gained valuable insight for engaging students in our teaching.     

食品科学与工程类专业“微生物学”课程教学改革与实践

微生物与食品的生产加工、储存运输、安全检测和控制等各个环节密切相关,微生物学是绝大多数高校食品类专业重要的必修课程。依据食品类专业的人才培养方案和学院往届毕业生的就业去向,我们从教学内容、教学方法、研究性教学等方面对“微生物学”课程教学进行了改革尝试,探索构建符合食品科学与工程专业的“微生物学”课程教学模式。     

Strategies for avoiding reinventing the precollege education and outreach wheel

The National Science Foundation's recent mandate that all Principal Investigators address the broader impacts of their research has prompted an unprecedented number of scientists to seek opportunities to participate in precollege education and outreach. To help interested geneticists avoid duplicating efforts and make use of existing resources, we examined several precollege genetics, genomics, and biotechnology education efforts and noted the elements that contributed to their success, indicated by program expansion, participant satisfaction, or participant learning. Identifying a specific audience and their needs and resources, involving K-12 teachers in program development, and evaluating program efforts are integral to program success. We highlighted a few innovative programs to illustrate these findings. Challenges that may compromise further development and dissemination of these programs include absence of reward systems for participation in outreach as well as lack of training for scientists doing outreach. Several programs and institutions are tackling these issues in ways that will help sustain outreach efforts while allowing them to be modified to meet the changing needs of their participants, including scientists, teachers, and students. Most importantly, resources and personnel are available to facilitate greater and deeper involvement of scientists in precollege and public education.     

Students investigating the antiproliferative effects of synthesized drugs on mouse mammary tumor cells

The potential for personalized cancer management has long intrigued experienced researchers as well as the na?ve student intern. Personalized cancer treatments based on a tumor's genetic profile are now feasible and can reveal both the cells' susceptibility and resistance to chemotherapeutic agents. In a weeklong laboratory investigation that mirrors current cancer research, undergraduate and advanced high school students determine the efficacy of common pharmacological agents through in vitro testing. Using mouse mammary tumor cell cultures treated with "unknown" drugs historically recommended for breast cancer treatment, students are introduced to common molecular biology techniques from in vitro cell culture to fluorescence microscopy. Student understanding is assessed through laboratory reports and the successful identification of the unknown drug. The sequence of doing the experiment, applying logic, and constructing a hypothesis gives the students time to discover the rationale behind the cellular drug resistance assay. The breast cancer experiment has been field tested during the past 5 yr with more than 200 precollege/undergraduate interns through the Gains in the Education of Mathematics and Science program hosted by the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research.     

Research training between 14 and 18 in Hungary

The first five years of a new program to organize high-level scientific research training for gifted high school students in Hungary are described. Besides giving unique research opportunities for talented students in their most receptive age, the program already helped the establishment of almost 100 scientific research clubs in Hungarian high schools, provided a focal point for science training of high school teachers and helped regional cooperation in Central-Eastern Europe.     

Lessons and recommendations from three decades as an NSF REU site: A call for systems‐based assessment

For more than 30 years, the US National Science Foundation's Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program has supported thousands of undergraduate researchers annually and provides many students with their first research experiences in field ecology or evolution. REUs embed students in scientific communities where they apprentice with experienced researchers, build networks with their peers, and help students understand research cultures and how to work within them. REUs are thought to provide formative experiences for developing researchers that differ from experiences in a college classrooms, laboratories, or field trips. REU assessments have improved through time but they are largely ungrounded in educational theory. Thus, evaluation of long‐term impacts of REUs remains limited and best practices for using REUs to enhance student learning are repeatedly re‐invented. We describe how one sociocultural learning framework, cultural–historical activity theory (CHAT), could be used to guide data collection to characterize the effects of REU programs on participant's learning in an educationally meaningful context. CHAT embodies a systems approach to assessment that accounts for social and cultural factors that influence learning. We illustrate how CHAT has guided assessment of the Harvard Forest Summer Research Program in Ecology (HF‐SRPE), one of the longest‐running REU sites in the United States. Characterizing HF‐SRPE using CHAT helped formalize thoughts and language for the program evaluation, reflect on potential barriers to success, identify assessment priorities, and revealed important oversights in data collection.     

Conceptions of meiosis: misunderstandings among university students and errors

We have designed and tested an exercise to detect misconceptions among students about meiosis, a fundamental concept in genetics. A total of 30 students responded to a questionnaire, all of whom were in the fifth semester of the Biology bachelor’s degree program offered by the Faculty of Science of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Our analysis showed that students have a poor understanding of the fundamental processes of meiosis and that they have trouble distinguishing them. When asked to diagram part of the process, none were able to produce a complete and accurate representation.     

显微系统化与大学生科研培训计划中科研思维的培养

显微系统化是指将各种显微镜融合并统一利用,联合操作,所用程序一体化、规范化、统一化和数字化。显微系统化通过系统化管理,在大学生科研培训计划（Student Research Training Program,SRTP）中实施。实行显微系统化,可突破显微镜本身时间和空间上的局限性,能够进一步完善科学、高效的科研培训计划模式,对从感性方面培养大学生理解科研的概念和建立科研思维的能力、提高大学生科研素养具有重要作用。     

美国长期生态研究计划三十年:特点、效果与启示——以弗吉尼亚海岸带保护区为例

为观测和理解长时间与大范围尺度的生态变化,美国自然科学基金会于1980年启动了长期生态研究计划(LTER),30年来在站点建设、科学研究和社会服务等方面取得了巨大成就.本文将美国LTER的成功经验归纳为5个特点,即:研究网络、研究主题和数据兼容的系统性,项目时间与研究尺度的长期性,资金来源与研究内容的灵活性,国际、人文、方法与机构合作方面的拓展性,数据和教育的共享性;并以弗吉尼亚海岸保护区(VCR)为案例展示其实施效果.在此基础上提出对我国长期生态研究的建议,包括加强组织建设,建立完整网络并增强站际合作,重视数据的质量、管理和分享,增强多学科研究,扩大公共影响等.     

An international basic science and clinical research summer program for medical students

An important part of training the next generation of physicians is ensuring that they are exposed to the integral role that research plays in improving medical treatment. However, medical students often do not have sufficient time to be trained to carry out any projects in biomedical and clinical research. Many medical students also fail to understand and grasp translational research as an important concept today. In addition, since medical training is often an international affair whereby a medical student/resident/fellow will likely train in many different countries during his/her early training years, it is important to provide a learning environment whereby a young medical student experiences the unique challenges and value of an international educational experience. This article describes a program that bridges the gap between the basic and clinical research concepts in a unique international educational experience. After completing two semester curricula at Alfaisal University in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, six medical students undertook a summer program at St. Boniface Hospital Research Centre, in Winnipeg, MB, Canada. The program lasted for 2 mo and addressed advanced training in basic science research topics in medicine such as cell isolation, functional assessment, and molecular techniques of analysis and manipulation as well as sessions on the conduct of clinical research trials, ethics, and intellectual property management. Programs such as these are essential to provide a base from which medical students can decide if research is an attractive career choice for them during their clinical practice in subsequent years. An innovative international summer research course for medical students is necessary to cater to the needs of the medical students in the 21st century.     

八年制临床医学专业实验动物学科教学初探

本文总结了在临床医学八年制的实验动物学科教学中的一些体会,提出了有关教学方法、教学内容、教学重点等方面的建议。希望为八年制医学生未来的科研工作搭建一座有效的桥梁,培养他们出色的科研创新能力。     

无菌动物与微生态学专题教学改革实践

根据研究生教学特点,为适应肠道菌群与人类疾病关系研究成为新研究热点与前沿的形势,对其无菌动物与微生态学专题教学进行改革实践。根据菌群与疾病关系研究的最新研究进展、研究生科研能力培养规律,在研究生《医学实验动物学》课程的无菌动物与微生态学专题教学中设置微生态学理论与研究技术简介、无菌动物培育原理及特点、无菌动物实验设计方法、国内外无菌动物资源简介等4部分内容。力争紧跟学科发展动态,强调知识的前沿性、实用性、综合性和交叉性,促进研究生课题设计能力培养和科研思路的开拓,创建研究生无菌动物与微生态学专题教学的新模式。     

ALGAE AS A TEACHING TOOL IN ELEMENTARY CLASSROOMS

Gordon, R. J.¹, Masters, A. T.² & Doing, M. G.^{2 1}School of Marine Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469 USA; ²Lewis Libby Elementary School, 8 County Road, Milford, ME 04461 USA In the University of Maine's National Science Foundation Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education program, 4th and 5th grade students at Lewis Libby Elementary School in Milford, Maine, were exposed to graduate-level science during the 2000-2001 academic year. This program brought cutting-edge research into the elementary classrooms, enriching the science curricula for students and providing professional development for teachers. Algae were used as subjects to learn microscopy, cell structure, the process of fertilization, and how living things are classified. Students made independent discoveries of the chloroplasts and nuclei in several algal genera, as well as the eyespot in Euglena. These discoveries prompted the students to think about the diversity of life, what similarities and differences exist between species, and the kinds of adaptations organisms have acquired. In addition, algae were used to help students understand the natural history and marine resources of Maine. Algae are ideally suited for use in elementary classrooms because of the ease by which they can be observed and the broad number of concepts they can be used to illustrate.     

Extant primates and development of primatology in China: Publications,student training,and funding

China supports the richest non-human primate diversity in the northern hemisphere, providing an excellent opportunity for Chinese primatologists to take a leading role in advancing the study of primatology.Primatology in China began to flourish after 1979. To date, Chinese primatologists have published more than 1 000 papers in journals indexed by the Chinese Science Citation Database and the Web of Science Core Collection, and universities and academic institutions have trained 107 PhD students and 370 Masters students between 1984 and 2016. In total,the National Science Foundation of China has funded129 primate projects(RMB 71.7 million) supporting 59 researchers from 28 organizations. However, previous research has also shown obvious species bias.Rhinopithecus roxellana, Rhinopithecus bieti, and Macaca mulatta have received much greater research attention than other species. Researchers have also tended to continue to study the same species(55.2%)they studied during their Ph D training. To promote the development of primatology in China, we suggest(1)the need for a comprehensive primatology textbook written in Chinese,(2) continued training of more Ph D students, and(3) encouragement to study less well-known primate species.