Forging a 21st Century Model for Undergraduate Research

Not all biology students get to experience scientific research firsthand, but the National Genomics Research Initiative (NGRI) is working to change that, says its director, Tuajuanda Jordan. "The goal is to support educators and improve the number and quality of 21st century scientists," Jordan says. The NGRI is the first initiative to spring from Howard Hughes Medical Institute's (HHMI) new Science Education Alliance (SEA). At present, a competitive application process determines which institutions become part of NGRI. The goal is to make the experience readily available to all who are interested within the next few years. Participating faculty receive curricular resources and a framework to infuse genomic research into a yearlong course, as well as connections to other faculty in the SEA network. Undergraduates taking part in the courses become bacteriophage "hunters," sampling their local environments for novel bacteriophage species. In the first semester, students isolate, characterize, and purify phages, completing a preliminary characterization of the phages' DNA before sending it to the sequencing center. The following semester, students annotate their phages' DNA sequences and select one to submit to GenBank. They present their research to fellow students at their home institutions, and selected students give presentations at an annual SEA symposium. "The program has shown that freshmen can be engaged in real research that is moving science forward," Jordan says. Be...
Source: Eye on Education - Category: Biology Authors: Source Type: news