Collaborative Research: REU Site: Multisite REU in Synthetic Biology

This collaborative REU site award to Simmons University, located in Boston, MA, and North Carolina A&T State University, located in Greensboro, NC, will support the training of 12 students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2019- 2021. This is a multisite REU collaborative and each site will host 6 students each summer. The focus of the program is to provide research experiences in the multidisciplinary field of Synthetic Biology, an emerging field of biology that integrates multiple scientific disciplines, including biology, mathematics, chemistry, and computer science. Faculty mentors will be drawn from the Departments of Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics, and Computer Science at both institutions. During the 10-week program, students will be engaged in synthetic biology research projects that teach them how to 1) use synthetic biology strategies to solve complex biological problems, 2) work in a multidisciplinary research team, and 3) develop cross-disciplinary communication skills. A common week-long boot camp will be incorporated at both institutions using shared modules to articulate common objectives, laboratory techniques, and computational skills. To foster the collaboration between the sites, paired virtual research groups will be created between sites and joint programming in STEM career planning will be delivered using a variety of social media platforms. The online learning community will consist of weekly cohort meetings via webinar and a virtual journal club led by students and facilitated by faculty mentors. During the program, students will also participate in a series of workshops focused on core synthetic biology techniques, bioethical issues associated with synthetic biology, implicit bias and sexual harassment in STEM, and careers in STEM. The summer program will culminate with a consortium-wide virtual symposium where students will have the opportunity to present their research to their colleagues and receive constructive feedback. Students will be selected based on their interest in research, academic record, recommendation letters from their home institutions and phone interviews with faculty mentors on the selection committee.

It is anticipated that a total of 36 students, primarily from underrepresented minority groups and from schools with limited research opportunities, will be trained in the program. Students will learn how research is conducted, and many will present the results of their work at scientific conferences. This program is designed for students interested in pursuing research careers in STEM fields.

A common web-based assessment tool used by all REU Site programs funded by the Division of Biological Infrastructure will be used to determine the effectiveness of the training program. Students will be tracked after the program in order to determine their career paths. Students will be asked to respond to an automatic email sent via the NSF reporting system. More information about the program is available by visiting or by contacting the PI (Dr. Jennifer Roecklein-Canfield at Jennifer.canfield@simmons.edu) or the co-PI (Dr. Mariam Ismail at Mariam.ismail@simmons.edu) at Simmons University or the PI (Dr. Robert Newman at rhnewman@ncat.edu) at North Carolina A&T State University.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.