Initial Publication Date: March 2, 2020

An update of recent CURE-related research, opportunities, and resources.
Open this newsletter on the CUREnet website.

CUREnet Quarterly - March 2020

Recent Publications

Water in your neighbourhood: a model for implementing a semester-long course-based undergraduate research project in introductory biology
This article presents an approach for incorporating semester-long authentic research-based laboratories into introductory biology, particularly at 2-year institutions. The CURE that is highlighted investigates water quality in students' local communities.

A CURE Biochemistry Laboratory Model to Study Protein-Protein Interactions by NMR Spectroscopy
This article discusses a biochemistry laboratory module that allows students to build upon recently published data to explore essential protein-protein interactions in human biology while gaining knowledge of protein purification, NMR spectroscopy, and analysis of structural data using molecular visualization software.

Models and Impacts of Science Research Experiences: A Review of Literature of CUREs, UREs, and TREs
This paper reviews over 300 papers on course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs), undergraduate research experiences (UREs), and teacher research experiences (TREs). The authors summarize recent reports on program impacts and identify gaps between goals and measured outcomes.

CUREs from the Collection

Investigating the effects of altered thyroid hormone levels on neural stem cell proliferation in the larval zebrafish hypothalamus
This CURE was developed to provide biology majors with a "real-world" research experience in the areas of physiology and neurobiology. Students use a zebrafish model system to explore neural stem cell proliferation in the vertebrate brain and generate and test the hypotheses pertaining to changes in hypothalamic proliferation rates in response to altered physiological conditions.

Characterising the prokaryotic ATPase-ome
Students in this CURE work in teams to identify and characterize putative ATPase enzymes from prokaryotic organisms. Each student identifies a putative uncharacterized ATPase gene from a range of prokaryotes (archaea and bacteria) and uses bioinformatic methods to characterize the gene. Then they work in teams to clone, express, and purify their chosen proteins and characterize them using spectrophotometric ATPase assays.

Announcements and Opportunities

ENCOUR Fellowship Application
The Ethics Network for Course-based Opportunities in Undergraduate Research (ENCOUR) is pleased to invite applications for the 2020 - 2021 ENCOUR fellowship program. This program will provide a year-long, mentored opportunity for CURE instructors, designers, and/or facilitators to develop and field-test resources to integrate Ethics/Responsible Conduct of Research (E/RCR) education into their CUREs.

University of Utah - Science Research Initiative (SRI)
The College of Science at the University of Utah invites applications for a broadly trained scientist to help develop and implement the new Science Research Initiative (SRI). SRI aims to engage undergraduate students in research courses in their first and second year of college. For more information and to apply, click here.

Funding your own CURE

Please visit the CUREnet site to learn more about how others have funded their CUREs and share your own experiences!

Voices from the CURE community

We are interested in collecting narratives from individuals who have implemented CUREs and are willing to share their experience and advice with the rest of the CUREnet community. If you are interested in being featured in an upcoming issue of CUREnet Quarterly, email Logan Gin.