REU Site: Biology and Biotechnology Undergraduate Research Experience (BITURE)

This REU Site award to the University of North Carolina Charlotte, located in Charlotte,

NC, will support the training of 10 students in a 10-week program during the summers of

2015-2017. The REU program is open to all undergraduate students who are citizens,

nationals or permanent residents of the United States. Students trained in the program

will gain skills in lab research, develop their critical thinking and problem-solving skills,

understand the process of science, and be able to communicate their research results to

their peers and the general public. Students will have an opportunity to present their

results at a national conference. The REU program provides an experience to students

that is typically not available to them at their home institutions. Students from schools

with limited opportunities for research and from underrepresented groups are encouraged

to apply.

This REU Site program will focus on research in biology and biotechnology in a

traditional research experience while conveying how basic biotechnology research leads

to business creation and industrial development. Example projects include bioinformatics

and whole genome analyses to understand drought resistance of potato crops, generation

and study of transgenic soybeans for agricultural use, study of microbial populations for

biofuel development or water treatment, use of nanoparticles in bioavailability or

environmental impact studies. During the 10-week program, students will participate in

activities including workshops on Research Ethics, Applying to Graduate School, Career

Opportunities, Biotechnology Innovation and Start-Ups, and a program at NC Research

Campus and David Murdock Research Institute featuring research and employment

opportunities. At the end of the program, students will present their research in a poster

and/or oral presentation at the UNC Charlotte Summer Research Symposium.

A common web-based assessment tool used by all REU programs funded by the Division

of Biological Infrastructure (Directorate for Biological Sciences) will be used to

determine the effectiveness of the training program. Students are required to be tracked

after the program and must respond to an automatic email sent via the NSF reporting

system. More information is available by contacting the PI (Dr. Christine Richardson at

C.Richardson@uncc.edu) or co-PI (Dr. Sharon Bullock at sbulloc8@uncc.edu).