Biomass conversion into highly useful chemicals
SAPNA JAIN, Alabama State University
This is CURE based course that aims at bridging the gap between theoretical knowledge in chemistry and its practical applications at solving real-world problems. It gives students an opportunity to construct and synthesize their knowledge and skills by learning to apply theoretical knowledge to practice by the laboratory research. The purpose of this course is to acquaint students with the fundamental concepts of chemistry, synthetic methods and techniques. The emphasis will be on novel catalysts synthesis and evaluating their activity towards biomass conversion to liquid fuel and useful chemicals. Students will design synthesize, deduce identities of the biomass conversion products from chemical and spectral clues, and predict reaction products.

Population & Community Ecology
Cascade Sorte, University of California-Irvine
Students in a Population and Community Ecology class participate in coastal marine research focused on understanding factors determining population sizes and community interactions, particularly in the context of species that appear to be shifting their ranges with climate change. Students participate in all aspects of the research from making observations and collecting data in the field to defining questions, stating hypothesis, designing and completing statistical analysis, and interpreting and presenting results. The outcomes are a research proposal, research paper, and poster presentation. All are intended to be at a level appropriate for use as a writing sample or presentation at undergraduate conferences. Results are incorporated into the ongoing research project led by the course instructor and graduate student teaching assistant.

Characterizing the Aging Process Using Caenorhabditis elegans and Reverse Genetics
Joslyn Mills, Brown University
Using gene silencing (RNAi) in the nemotode C. elegans, students will identify genetic modifiers of proteins with roles in aging by reverse genetics. Specifically, students will analyze the effect of knocking down genes on the level of aging-related proteins tagged with fluorophores (GFP, RFP, etc.). Each group of students will use function-specific RNAi libraries (transcription factors, kinases, etc) already established in our lab. Furthermore, students will evaluate the effect of genetic modifiers on proteostasis and lifespan. In addition to becoming familiar with C. elegans work and appreciating the use of model organisms, the students will master microscopy, genetic crosses, gene silencing, and molecular and biochemical readout assays such as qPCR and immunoblotting.

Neurogenetics Laboratory: Mapping a functional circuit for cold nociception in Drosophila
Sarah Clark, Georgia State University
Students will work in small groups to identify neural populations that may be involved in the Drosophila larval response to noxious cold. They will use the GAL4/UAS expression system to excite or inhibit neural populations and assess the impact of their manipulation on the larvae's behavioral response to cold. If a relevant neural population is identified, students will then identify (based on current literature) genes that are likely to be involved in neurite development and/or maintenance in that population. They will use mutations and/or RNA interference to disrupt the function of these genes in the population of interest and assess the effect of the disruption on neuronal morphology and larval behavior.

An Arabidopsis Mutant Screen CURE for a Cell and Molecular Biology Laboratory Course
Jinjie Liu, Michigan State University
This CURE is designed from a crucial component of a chloroplast lipid signaling research project and has been implemented for a cell and molecular biology laboratory course at Michigan State University. The research laboratory generated an engineered plant line producing a lipid-derived plant hormone and mutagenized this line. The research question is "what transporters or receptors are involved in the hormone signaling transduction or perception processes?". Students form research hypotheses based on the research model, design experiments, perform experiments, collect and analyze data, make scientific arguments, and share their findings with the learning community. Specifically, the students culture the mutagenized plant population and select the desired mutant phenotypes, followed by genotyping the mutants and characterizing the mutants by basic biochemical approaches. Mathematics is also integrated into the course design. As the students studied the relevant genetic, molecular and biochemical concepts during this CURE, they use the core idea of information flow and data they generate in the lab to make claims about their mutant plants and support these claims with evidence and reasoning.

The HICA project
In this CURE, inspired by the work of Hoffmann, et al., students prepare mutant Haemophilus influenzae carbonic anhydrase (HICA) proteins. Using PyMOL to visualize the three-dimensional structure of the HICA protein, students choose one or more surface amino acid residues to mutate to histidine residues in order to create a surface histidine cluster that will allow the mutant protein to bind to a nickel affinity column. Using site-directed mutagenesis, recombinant plasmids are constructed and are then used to transform an E. coli expression vector. The mutant HICA protein is overexpressed, cells are lysed, and students load the cell lysate onto Ni-NTA columns and determine the imidazole concentration required to elute the mutant protein. The construction of a library of mutant proteins will allow the development of a general method in which specific surface histidine residues of any protein can be mutated in order to facilitate affinity purification. The Haemophilus influenzae bacterium described herein is a respiratory pathogen that causes meningitis (in its encapsulated form) and mucosal infections such as otitis media, sinusitis and conjunctivitis (in its unencapsulated form). A recent study showed that the carbonic anhydrase enzyme is absolutely required for pathogenesis. Furthermore, expression of the HICA enzyme allows the pathogen to survive in host immune cells (Langereis, et al.). These observations make the study of HICA itself particularly attractive, in addition to the overall goal of contributing to a body of work that will allow the minimal histidine character required for nickel affinity to be ascertained.

Exploring the Structure-Function Relationship in RNA Biochemistry

Molecular Parasitology
Swati Agrawal, University of Mary Washington
In Spring 2021, we piloted a mini-CURE where student groups from University of Mary Washington and Georgia State University collaboratively completed research projects as part of a research-intensive course on Molecular Parasitology. The benefits of this approach were immediately obvious as students interacted across institutions, learned from each other's disciplinary expertise while informing their own research with data collected by their collaborators.

Community Flood Risk Assessment from Rising/Surging Seas Project
Kevin Kupietz, Elizabeth City State University
Globally 634 million people, 10% of the world's population, live in coastal areas less than 10 meters above sea level. According to 2010 census data, 123 million people, 39% of the United States population, live in coastal counties with an estimated increase to this number by 8% in the 2020 census. As natural disasters have been seen to increase in frequency and severity in the past five years coupled with expected sea rises from climate change it is important that anyone involved with the safety and resiliency planning of their organization/community have an understanding of how to scientifically assess risk from flooding in order to mitigate and recover from the effects. This project allows students the ability to develop skills to utilize computer modeling systems and to apply the data to real world communities in examining risk to structures as well as different groups in the community.

U-CARE: Undergraduate Coral Aquarium Research Experience
Matthew Partin, Bowling Green State University-Main Campus
After completing their gateway biology courses (sophomore or junior year) marine biology students at BGSU enroll in a required Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) called BIOL 3700: Introduction to Inland Marine Research. This course teaches advanced aquarium husbandry, along with aquarium sciences, and aquarium research methods. Other skills taught in the class include scientific design, data collection, and analysis. A large portion of the course is dedicated to conducting research with coral fragments housed in the BGSU Marine Lab. Students work in small groups to answer questions concerning the morphology and growth rates of a variety of coral species based on variables such as water flow (pattern or intensity), light (cycle, color, or intensity), or diet (food type, frequency, or amount). Results are uploaded to a public database to address the long-term goal of predictably inducing corals to spawn in aquaria. Data is shared publically with interested stakeholders.All students in the CURE course are assigned a peer research Learning Assistant (rLA) to serve as a mentor. rLAs are undergraduates who have previously performed well in the course and have advanced knowledge of the Marine Lab, coral husbandry, and the research process. Each rLA oversees 1 group of 5 students. Students meet with the rLAs and instructor weekly. The instructor meets with the rLAs for weekly husbandry and pedagogy training, as well as discussing progress and needs in the CURE research projects.