March 19, 2024
Publications

A recent manuscript, published in the journal Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education, describes how undergraduates in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB) department engage with authentic research as part of their major requirements.

Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) provide students the opportunity to gain research experience by participating in research projects conducted in the classroom. This model offers students more agency over their coursework, helping them feel more personally invested in their scientific studies while increasing their sense of belonging in STEM.

The BMB department has embedded the CURE model into all of their laboratory courses, including one centered around the research topic of the senior author Professor Li-Jun Ma. The Ma lab focuses on a cross-kingdom fungal pathogen Fusarium oxysporum that infects both plants and humans. Long since regarded as a highly destructive plant pathogen, F. oxysporum was recently recognized by the World Health Organization as a high-priority threat to human health.

Students in this course investigate the functions of secreted proteins using the molecular cloning technique, bringing global food security and human health issues to the classroom. The CURE model empowers students to know that their work is making a difference, while also providing researchers with the unique opportunity to gather large amounts of data to advance their ongoing lab research.

The manuscript describes long-standing collaborations among undergraduates, graduate students, Professor Li-Jun Ma, and Senior Lecturer Amy Springer. Reflecting on the challenges of transforming a research project into a CURE, the manuscript offers some possible solutions. “It is widely accepted that Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences add tremendous value to BMB education,” says Ma. “This manuscript describes a tested working protocol for faculty members who are interested in implementing this type of curriculum.”