Isolation and characterization of antibiotic-producing soil bacteria
Maria Messner, Lenoir Community College
One of the biggest threat in hospitals is the rising cases of people who harbor antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains. Therefore, it is critical to find and characterize novel antibiotics to combat the resistant strains. Most of the antibiotics used in healthcare settings come from anti-biotic producing bacteria and fungi found in the soil. The goal of this CURE will be to isolate antibiotic-producing bacteria and fungi from the soil in the local area, and to determine the chemistry of the antibiotics. An extension of the project will be to determine how the presence of antibiotic-producing microbes affect other organisms resident in the soil, as it is unclear as to why microbes use energy to produce antibiotic factors.

Get the Lead Out: Impacts of Toxins from SuperFund Sites on Human Health, Ecology, and Socioeconomic Conditions, with an Evaluation of Environmental Racism in Regional Communities
Jessica Smith-Rohrberg, Massachusetts Bay Community College
Students in a community-college introductory Environmental Studies course will extract soil samples from a Massachusetts-based SuperFund site. They will analyze toxins and perform research to enhance and promote scientific literacy, to examine impacts of environmental toxins on human health and development, and to discuss equity and environmental racism.

Heterogeneous Anodes Rapidly Perused for Oxygen Overpotential Neutralization (HARPOON) as a module in the introductory chemistry laboratory
Lori Del Negro, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Investigating the genetic diversity of Morella cerifera, a traditional medicine of American Indians of the Southeast.
Conner Sandefur, University of North Carolina at Pembroke
In order to provide all UNCP Biology majors with a authentic research experience, we are implementing a CURE in our genetics lab course (a one credit course required of all Biology majors, taken concurrently with a three credit lecture section). This CURE will investigate phenotypic and genotypic intraspecies diversity of Nicotania tabacam originating from North Carolina and Oklahoma.

Characterizing and comparing environmental microbial communities
Nikolas Stasulli, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

College Success Undergraduate Research Experience
Andrea Fernandez, North Carolina A & T State University
The term student success has increasingly permeated the higher education landscape over the past several years. Higher education professionals define student success in various ways; however, the student's experience should always be at the nucleus of the definition. As with any institution, students entering North Carolina A&T State University experience varying levels of stress anxiety. Some of these students are successful and some students are not. Our goal is to develop an understanding of who students at NC A&T define success and what factors contributes to or hinders their success.

DNA Barcoding
Heather Aloor, Durham Technical Community College; kathy zarilla, Durham Technical Community College
Using a DNA barcoding protocol from the DNA Learning Center, Cold Spring Harbor, students will be exposed to authentic research in an introductory biology class. Students will experience a multi-step, several week project requiring planning, implementation and documentation similar to that of a molecular biology research lab. Students will be expected to explain their project results both orally and in writing. Students will also be able to relate the research activity to the lecture content of the course.

Drosophila Models of Spinal Muscular Atrophy
Ashlyn Spring, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Hunting for Microbes
Barbara Stegenga, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
In this introductory research course, students will develop microbiology skills to help them identify soil bacteria and perform co-culture screens to investigate bacterial interactions. Students will collect soil samples, predict how treatments will affect bacteria and then isolate the bacteria. The treated bacteria will be co-cultured with a reporter strain so that fluorescence among colonies can be screened to identify the organisms whose secreted compounds induced the bacteria to differentiate. Discovery of new products formed by bacteria is an exciting possibility in this course for students.

TUMORFLI – Teaching Using Mentored, Original Research For Life sciences Impact
Christopher Abdullah, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The research underlying many cancer therapeutics has been conducted in model organisms. Chemical screens in model organisms are useful for identifying targets at much lower costs than mouse or human trials. However, these screens generate many more compound "hits" than any research lab can feasibly test. The first iterations of this CURE intend to take compounds and have students test the effects on viability on the larvae of Drosophila cancer models. Students will also work to identify the top potential protein targets of each of the compounds in a means to explain what effects the students' observations. Students will use oral and poster presentations to convey their findings to fellow students. Long-term goals of this CURE include modifying the cure to look at using genetic inhibition of targets of one compound to further identify what genes may be involved.