NSF Grant to Assess Undergraduate Research Courses in Biochemistry

 

Arthur Sikora, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of chemistry in the Halmos College of Arts & Sciences. He was recently funded by a collaborative grant award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) titled “Role of Flexible Design and Instructor Supports in Implementing Sustainable Course-based Research Experiences Across Diverse Institution Types.”

 

Tell me about your recent grant-funded project.

This grant investigates Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs), where we will be identifying barriers to CURE adoption across various universities in the United States. With this grant, I will be meeting professors from across the country to discuss teaching choices, what resources teachers need to implement CURE programs, and the resources they would need for successful implementation.

This project is furthering the Biochemistry Authentic Scientific Inquiry Lab (BASIL) program I have implemented in my biochemistry course at NSU. More information on this program can be found here.

 

 

I am passionate about this project because I think it is vital that students be given the opportunity to engage in research during their undergraduate career. In this way students can move away from rote memorization in the classroom to engaging with science and learning the scientific process.

 

Who is working with you on this project?

This is a large, nationwide effort by investigators from many universities working on different aspects of the grant:

  • Paul Craig (Rochester Institute of Technology) oversees all activities and hosts weekly virtual meetings with the BASIL team
  • Jon Dattelbaum (University of Richmond) develops and leads the support workshops to help faculty sustain the CURE at their institution
  • Anya Goodman (California Polytechnic State University) works on development and delivery of the assessment development workshops
  • Bonnie Hall (Grand View University) manages the data warehouse, implements the data management plan, and handles data requests from outside researchers; alsos serve as the back-up digital resource manager for the project
  • Julia Koeppe (SUNY Oswego) helps participants identify challenges and barriers to adopting computational labs and leads support workshops to help faculty develop computational skills needed to implement and sustain the adoption of the curriculum
  • Erika Offerdahl (Washington State University) coordinates all research aims, develops and delivers assessment workshops, and oversees the faculty learning communities
  • Suzanne O’Handley (Associate Professor, Rochester Institute of Technology) contributes to refining and enhancing the BASIL wet lab modules and applies her social media skills to advancing publicity about the BASIL CURE
  • Michael Pikaart (Hope College) coordinates communication among BASIL instructors and recruitment of faculty new to the curriculum, including leading recruitment meetings at national meetings, hosting virtual faculty support meetings, and organizing faculty learning communities
  • Rebecca Roberts (Ursinus College) helps design recruitment and assessment workshops, hosts an assessment workshop, and participates in the support workshops

 

How does this project connect with your other work at NSU?

It is very important that students are able to engage with research in biochemistry, therefore, my students currently are participating in the BASIL CURE. BASIL students use in silico tools to predict the function of a protein and then use in vitro methods to study the protein in the lab. The BASIL curriculum consists of 11 modules that can be flexibly adapted to meet the needs and and talents of the instructor, work within the constraints of a variety of course structures, and target commonly assessed learning outcomes in biochemistry.

 

What advice do you have for other grant seekers at NSU?

As was the approach in the current project, working with a team of individuals is beneficial as you have other professionals in the field to bounce ideas off of and collaborate with.

 

What is the next grant proposal or project on your agenda?

I am working on a grant focused on developing online course materials to successfully teach biochemistry in online platforms.

 

What is your hope for the outcomes in this project and expanding on it in the future?

My hope is to be able to get more students participating in research by helping NSU faculty develop courses in the CURE format. I think this is especially important in order to diversify the STEM field and engage minority students.

I plan to expand this research by engaging other faculty in various departments at NSU. I am currently working with faculty from the communication and conflict resolution department on CURE programs for their classrooms. To this effect, I would like to design CUREs that can be interdisciplinary to reach more students.