Sustainability Profiles

Freshman Research Initiative, The University of Texas at Austin
Kara Rogers, The University of Texas at Austin
The Freshman Research Initiative at the University of Texas at Austin gives first-year students the opportunity to participate in authentic research from the very start of their college careers. Housed in the College of Natural Sciences, FRI is a large program with 30 different CUREs, called "Research Streams," that span the disciplines in the college -- astronomy, computer science, biology, chemistry, neuroscience, mathematics, physics, and everything between. (Read more...)

Prevalence of Antibiotic Resistance in the Environment (PARE), Tufts University
Carol Bascom-Slack, Tufts University
The PARE CURE studies the prevalence of antibiotic resistant in the environment, couched in the broader "One Health" concept - that human health is related to the environment and animal health. The CURE is modular in nature, with each module requiring roughly three traditional laboratory course periods (of 2-3 hours each). All modules are related to the study of environmental antimicrobial resistance. The PARE network consists of implementing instructors, researchers, and the miniPCR company. (Read more...)

Genomics Education Partnership, The University of Alabama
Laura Reed, The University of Alabama
The Genomics Education Partnership (GEP) is a consortium of faculty from more than 100 colleges and universities in 31 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Canada, and Taiwan. The typical GEP faculty member teaches genetics at a mid-size Primarily Undergraduate Institution, but the consortium also includes faculty from community colleges and research universities. (Read more...)

Biochemistry Authentic Scientific Inquiry Lab (BASIL), Ursinus College
Rebecca Roberts, Ursinus College
The Biochemistry Authentic Scientific Inquiry Lab (BASIL) is a modularly-designed CURE aimed at supporting the transition of students to thinking as scientist. The students identify the function of proteins that are available in the Protein Data Bank that have known structures but no known functions. The modular design of BASIL allows instructors to tailor the CURE to their needs. (Read more...)

VIP, Georgia Institute of Technology
Randal Abler, Georgia Institute of Technology
Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) is a model of CUREs that has been implemented at a wide range of institutions - 25 VIP programs are currently operating at a variety of US institutions: large and small; public and private; Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs); Hispanic-Serving Institutions; undergraduate-only; and R3 through AAU. VIP has also been established at 11 international institutions, with at least one on every continent except Antarctica. (Read more...)

CUREs at Santa Rosa Junior College, Santa Rosa Junior College
Abigail Zoger, Santa Rosa Junior College; Michelle Conley, Santa Rosa Junior College
CUREs got started at SRJC when one of us (Abigail) started teaching a CURE through a collaboration with the UnPAK network (Undergraduates Phenotyping Arabidopsis Knockouts). I then learned that an administrator at our college was working on a proposal to the National Science Foundation (NSF) to offer CUREs at our college. We decided to join forces to write the proposal together with the aim of supporting the development of CUREs across our STEM curriculum. (Read more...)

Sustainable Interdisciplinary Research to Inspire Success (SIRIUS), California State University-Sacramento
Kelly McDonald, California State University-Sacramento
The Sustainable Interdisciplinary Research to Inspire Undergraduate Success (SIRIUS) Project, launched in 2015 with support from CSUPERB, NSF and the W.M. Keck Foundation, aims to increase the number and diversity of science students participating in undergraduate research at Sacramento State, a minority-serving, Masters-granting institution. SIRIUS further aims to create a community of practice through scaffolded, research-based curricula focused on the human impacts on the river system running through the Sacramento State campus. (Read more...)

Cell Biology Education Consortium (CBEC), Ouachita Baptist University and Jacksonville State University
Nathan Reyna, Ouachita Baptist University; Lori Hensley, Jacksonville State University
The Cell Biology Education Consortium (CBEC) is an NSF-RCN funded network of faculty and students designing and utilizing tissue culture resources in the context of cell biology CUREs. These resources are called Cell Blocks and can be used in a mix-and-match fashion to answer unique, authentic research questions. The modular design of CBEC makes it extremely flexible to implement. Faculty can address very different research questions using the pedagogical and technical tools, ranging from studying cancer lines to neuron functioning. (Read more...)