MCC: Malate Dehydrogenase CUREs Community
Ellis Bell, University of San Diego
The Malate Dehydrogenase CUREs Community (MCC) project is designed to facilitate the adoption of effective, protein‐centric, Course Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) into teaching labs at a wide variety of undergraduate serving institutions. (Primarily Undergraduate Institutions, Research Intensive Universities and Community Colleges) MCC coordinates and conducts pedagogical research into two major features of CUREs:1) their duration (whole semester versus 5‐6 week modules incorporated into a lab class), and 2) the impact of scientific collaboration between institutions (a key aspect of much modern research). Using validated assessment tools we seek to establish their effects on student confidence, persistence in STEM, and ability to design research experiments and interprete data. To facilitate faculty adoption of CURE approaches the project provides a number of resources. These focus on a variety of research areas related to Malate Dehydrogenase including mechanisms of catalysis and regulation, adaptation and evolution, cofactor specificity, folding and stability and interactions in metabolons. Resources include biologics, experimental protocols and assessment tools. The project also coordinates interactions between courses at different institutions to allow incorporation of scientific collaboration into CUREs. These collaborations also facilitate the use of more sophisticated experimental approaches and broaden the experimental scope of the CUREs.

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.

Genome to phenome: DNA-protein interactions involved in butterfly wing colored development
Michelle Borrero, University of Puerto Rico
We are interested in understanding the genomic mechanisms underlying morphological differences within species. We will use the wing color pattern of Heliconius erato as a model. We have developed a Course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) that will engage undergraduate biology majors in the identification and purification of transcription factors in butterfly wing development. Through this experience students will be able to use the knowledge and concepts from the literature to make and defend decisions, explain the role of DNA binding proteins in the genome to phenome relationship and recognize the application and utility of the techniques used in the research for their career development.

DNA cloning and protein analysis of animal-heme peroxidase within collagen IV of the extracellular matrix
Isi Ero-Tolliver, Hampton University
This CURE is to expose undergraduate students to the process of DNA cloning to identify the critical amino acids of the animal-heme peroxidase,peroxidasin, responsible for catalyzing sulfilimine bond formation within collagen IV of the basement membrane. Students will bioengineer a variety of mutants through primer design and polymerase chain reactions that contain point mutations within the immunoglobulin domain of the peroxidasin.

Judi Roux: BIOL 1001: Biology and Society at University of Minnesota Duluth
Judi Roux, University of Minnesota-Duluth
Even though Biology and Society has a large student enrollment, I prefer that students are actively engaged with the course topics and with each other rather than always listening to a PowerPoint lecture. At the beginning of the semester, students were assigned to teams of four using the CATME Team-maker surveys at http://info.catme.org/ Students worked in these teams during lab activities and specific classroom activities. With my fall course, I began to implement case studies to introduce and engage students with required topics, so I appreciated that case studies were available for certain activities within the modules.

Structural Requirements for NADase activity of bacterial Toll/interleukin-1 receptor (TIR) domain-containing proteins
Michelle Snyder, Towson University
Toll-like receptors (TLRs) initiate innate immune signaling pathways via interactions of their Toll/interleukin-1 receptor (TIR) domains with cytoplasmic TIR domain-containing signaling proteins. Various bacterial species also express TIR domain-containing proteins that appear to contribute to bacterial evasion of the innate immune system. Bacterial TIR domains also have been found to exhibit NADase activity. We have developed a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE class) involving 16-20 undergraduate students per year to characterize the structural requirements for the NADase activity of the TIR from Acetinobacter baumanii (AbTIR). Students use the molecular visualization software UCSF Chimera to analyze the AbTIR crystal structure and identify amino acids near the predicted NAD binding site in AbTIR that they hypothesize will play a role in AbTIR NADase activity. Students then perform site-directed mutagenesis to create plasmids for expression of their His-tagged mutant AbTIR proteins. Recombinant mutant AbTIR proteins are expressed in E. coli, purified by nickel chromatography and tested for NADase activity. Results from the course are presented at the annual department research poster symposium, allowing students a forum in which to practice their scientific communication skills and engage with faculty and other research students from the department. Overall, the course aims to provide research experiences for a large and diverse group of students, engaging these students in critical research skills including hypothesis formation, experimental design, data collection, data analysis, and communication of scientific findings.