Proposal
The DeBakey Institute at Texas A&M University offers a unique opportunity for 15 middle and high school teachers (of math and science) to explore basic cardiovascular bioengineering research in a 8-week summer program-4 weeks onsite, and 4 weeks offsite. This program is designed to act synergistically with a proposed Summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates Site and the existing Michael E DeBakey Summer Research Program, to provide a multi-level, multidisciplinary experience. Through the eBat Project and the Wings Across Texas Program, interactive research and teaching experiences will be made available to teachers and their classes throughout the year following the summer experience. The activities of this program are designed to achieve a number of objectives: 1) to introduce live-animal cardiovascular bioengineering research to middle and high school students, 2) to familiarize teachers with cross-disciplinary collaborative teams that integrate biology and mathematics, 3) to complete real-world research projects that leverage the unique advantages of the bat wing preparation to advance the science of microvascular mechanobiology, and 4) to integrate teachers and students into a growing community of bioengineers including undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty. Accordingly, this RET will have three distinct phases. In the first phase, teachers will come to Texas A&M to participate in bat experiments for 4 weeks. They will attend Bat Boot Camp in the first week to learn about possible projects and receive intensive training in microvascular biology and measurement methods. Teachers will choose one of four projects and will be divided into 4 interdisciplinary project teams that include 2 middle school teachers and a 2 high school teachers.. In the second phase, teachers will return home to participate in distance learning of the use of Walden’s Path and STELLA. In the third phase, teachers will be charged with reconstituting a new team and will given the ability to connect to the ongoing experiments throughout the year using Internet-based access to the microscope and computer-mediated communication tools to maintain the network ties arising from the program.
Proposal Reviews
The DeBakey Institute at Texas A&M University offers a unique opportunity for ten undergraduate students (5 engineering and 5 life sciences) to explore basic cardiovascular research in a 10-week onsite summer program. Advances in the basic science of mechanobiology require the computational approaches offered by engineers (including quantitative analysis and mathematical modeling) as well as the experimental approaches offered by life scientists (including functional characterization and mechanistic determination). Students will choose one of five projects and will be divided into 5 interdisciplinary project teams that include both life science and engineering graduate students. Following a problem-based learning model, each team will address the project problem using the experimental tools learned in Boot Camp under the guidance of project faculty mentors. Students will then conduct hands-on experiments guided by engineering and life sciences faculty members. Students will learn the use of specially designed tools to control the microscope from a remote location via the Internet. After completing the program, students may continue their research from their home institutions, involving home-campus researchers and peers, using remote Internet-based access to the microscope and computer-mediated communication tools to maintain the network ties arising from the program. Project activities are designed to achieve a number of objectives: 1) to introduce live-animal cardiovascular mechanobiology research to students whose home schools lack resources for such study, 2) to familiarize students with cross-disciplinary collaborative teams that integrate computational and experimental components, 3) to complete real-world research projects that leverage the unique advantages of the bat wing preparation to advance the science of microvascular mechanobiology, and 4) to integrate students into a growing community of mechanobiologists including undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty.
Proposal
Despite the potential for capturing the imagination of budding scientists, research experiences on live animals typically are not feasible for undergraduates because of the high cost and steep learning curve. The lack of access is particularly acute for undergraduate students in Texas lacking ties to networks of cardiovascular scientists: underrepresented minority students and students with economically-disadvantaged backgrounds. We are establishing a three-phase, short-term undergraduate research program that exploits our unique resources. The objectives are 1) to provide underrepresented undergraduate students to translational, interdisciplinary biomedical cardiovascular research, 2) to provide training in scientific communication skills, career counseling, and networking activities, 3) to form a persistent, multilevel, interdisciplinary scientific community that enhances the transition of students to cardiovascular research careers. In phase I, undergraduate students (6 engineering and 6 life sciences per year) interested in exploring a career in cardiovascular research will be recruited from 2- and 4-yr colleges throughout Texas. Students will be brought to the DeBakey Institute for 10 weeks to pursue experimental microvascular research using the batwing model. Building on the experience gained from an ongoing program, six interdisciplinary, multilevel teams will be formed and charged with completing complementary projects addressing basic questions in microvascular science, following an inquiry-based approach. Each team will consist of two graduate students (in physiology and human/veterinary medicine) and two undergraduate students (in engineering and life sciences). Students will attend Bat Boot Camp the first week to receive intensive training in bat physiology, microvascular structure and function, microscopic techniques, and noninvasive measurement methods. In the second week, each team will be charged with developing a problem statement and a research plan utilizing the tools learned in Boot Camp. Students will then conduct experiments with the help of a research assistant and be guided by engineering and life science faculty mentors. Students also will learn to use specially designed tools to control the microscope from a remote location via the Internet. Every Friday, mentors for the second phase will present information on clinically-relevant research, and students will learn about research careers, scientific communication, and graduate school. By the end of the 10 week period, the students will prepare an abstract for presentation at a conference. In Phase II, students will have the opportunity to continue their research at their home school with remote Internet-based access to the microscope and computer-mediated communication with former team members. In Phase III, students will return to join a lab in one of the 8 participating science or engineering departments with an active, applied cardiovascular research program. Each student will be will be mentored directly by the lab director, and will follow a disciplinary, problem-based approach. Students will continue to have Friday meetings to enhance both interdisciplinary communication and development of a persistent, multilevel interdisciplinary scholarly community.
Continuing a program established in the Fall and Spring semesters of the 2004-2005 school year, this Fall we will select a total of 30 students to participate in ongoing research in Dr. Quick’s lab. The goal of this program is threefold: 1) to give students with little or no research experience an authentic experience that will help clarify future career goals, 2) to select promising undergraduate students for long-term mentoring and inclusion in the QuickLab team, and 3) to produce quality research for publication. Each student will have the opportunity to work in a team consisting of a graduate student from various backgrounds (Engineering and Physiology) and undergraduate students from a different field of study (Biomedical Engineering, Biomedical Sciences, etc). Students will participate in the DeBakey Boot Camp in the first few weeks, where all students will be given training in bat physiology, the structure and function of microvasculature, lymphatic biology, in vitro vessel function studies, microscopic techniques, and blood flow measurement. Five basic questions under investigation by cardiovascular physiologists will be presented. The research projects for this program were chosen for their importance to the field of physiology and their potential to be solved by motivated students with little training in animal experimentation. Students will have an opportunity to conduct hands-on experiments guided by Dr. Quick and dedicated graduate students. At the end of the semester, students will write a one-page abstract of their findings. Select students will be given the opportunity to submit their abstract to biomedical engineering or physiology conferences.
Our first attempt to couple our unique undergraduate research model with the remote resources of the eBat Project has led us to a unique pilot program. Under the direction of Dr. Felecia Nave, 10 undergraduate Prairie View students from both engineering and life sciences will participate in microvascular research using the batwing model in the lab of Dr. Quick at College Station using the eBat interface. Students will be divided into teams to develop their own projects based on current questions that can be addressed using this unique animal model and the tools that have been developed. Dr. Quick will travel to PVAMU once a week to meet with students. Five faculty mentors/cardiovascular investigators from TAMU-College Station will visit Prairie View once a month to meet with students and share their knowledge and experience. Students will have the opportunity to travel to Dr. Quick’s Lab to perform experiments live, although most experiments will be conducted remotely using our internet-based control of the intravital microscope. Students from Prairie View and College Station will have joint meetings online to discuss research projects. The primary goal of this program is to introduce students to interdisciplinary microvascular research careers by performing authentic research. The secondary goal is to develop a new paradigm for developing partnerships that bridges the TAMU system components, implementing the TAMU System Pathways Concept.
Proposal
The Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Physiology & Pharmacology propose to establish a three-phase research training program that exploits our unique resources. In the first phase, 6 undergraduate and 6 graduate students (divided between engineering and life sciences) interested in exploring a career in vascular bioengineering research will be recruited. In the first summer, students will be brought to the DeBakey Institute for 10 weeks to be exposed to vascular bioengineering. In the mornings, both undergraduate and graduate students will attend classes taught by biomedical engineering and physiology faculty, focusing on vascular biomechanics and mechanobiology. Following morning didactic lessons, undergraduates and graduates will break into separate interactive workshops. Undergraduates will be exposed to topics including graduate admissions, developing research credentials, and pragmatic strategies to prepare for bioengineering careers. Graduate students will be exposed to topics such as mentoring interdisciplinary teams of students, cross-disciplinary communication, and managing a research program. In the afternoon, undergraduate and graduate students will unite to pursue experimental and computational microvascular research using the batwing model. Building on the experience gained from ongoing programs, three interdisciplinary teams will be formed and charged with completing complementary projects addressing basic questions in microvascular bioengineering. Projects will be designed to 1) be completed in 10 weeks with our unique resources, 2) be interdisciplinary in nature, 3) be amenable to an inquiry-based approach, and 4) be potentially publishable in peer-reviewed journals. Each team will consist of two graduate students (in engineering and life sciences) and two undergraduate students (in engineering and life sciences). In the first week they will receive intensive training in bat physiology, microvascular structure and function, microscopic techniques, and noninvasive measurement methods. In the second week, each team will be charged with developing a problem statement and a research plan utilizing both experimental and computational tools. Students will then conduct experiments and develop mathematical models of the batwing vasculature. Students also will learn to use specially designed tools to control the microscope from a remote location via the Internet. By the end of the 10 week period, the students will prepare an abstract for presentation at a conference. In the second phase, students will be encouraged to continue their research at their home schools using remote Internet-based access to the microscope and computer-mediated communication tools through the eBat Project, connecting local faculty and peers to the lab. In the third phase, students will be asked to return to continue research using a problem-based approach, continuing the projects developed over the past year.
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5526&org=NSF&from=fund
Since the summer of 2003, an interdisciplinary team housed in the lab of Dr. Christopher M. Quick (BME/VTTP) began to reintroduce the batwing as an animal model in the fields of physiology, biomedical engineering, and the life sciences more generally, and have established the sole extant colony of bats dedicated to nondestructive microvascular research. To make best use of unique lab resources requires the participation of many researchers, and we are developing an Internet-based interface that makes these resources available. The microscope is connected to a computer which records everything observed during an experiment session. Each experiment session can be recorded and archived and made available to researchers not present during the experiment. Because the microscope computer is also web-accessible, a remote researcher may participate in synchronous on-site experiments, as well as observe the lab activities through a webcam. Participants may ask questions of the on-site researchers, get live responses, and participate in building a publicly available archived set of comments, questions, responses, and discussions. We encourage the building of a scientific community that will have the opportunity to collaborate in research, teaching, and learning. eBat facilitates the creation and use of primary scientific data by ‘out-sourcing’ both labor and resources, yet re-centralizing these assets in an online site supported by the infrastructure of a global network, thus creating new lines of access to learning and research. What can this access lead to?
The access to digital resources has grown to include the poorest of school districts. Access to INFORMATION has grown, but not access to PROCESSES and NETWORKS. Students don’t see science in action (processes) or feel themselves as part of the same community as those in college (networks). We recognize that there is a “new digital divide” in education. The real problem is not the lack of access to technology, but the inherent limitation of educational structures that developed in the absence of technology: 1) insularity of research labs, 2) geographically-limited apprenticeship models, 3) lack informal networks connecting geographically dispersed students, teachers, and university denizens, and 4) centralized concentration of resources for research purposes. The divide is among those who have the technology AND have the structures to use it, and those who have the technology, but cannot use it. Simply installing high-speed Internet access in poor schools does not bridge the digital divide – we need to recognize how the Internet allows us to build new educational structures.
We are also concerned with this divide with regard to race, class, and gender. We seek to deal with access issues in terms of technology, higher education and science education in particular, and science careers. The goals of the Texas Rural Systemic Initiative, the National Science Foundation, and dealing with the aftermath of the Hopwood v. Texas decision and the Texas Ten Percent plan are among the policy initiatives and realities that orient this project and its research assessment. A more general theoretical understanding of education as a key aspect of citizenship also orients this project. The project is multilevel (elementary through postdoctoral), interdisciplinary (currently involves 4 colleges and 10 departments within TAMU, and 5 universities, two outside of Texas), and informal as well as formal learning paradigms.
Grant Opportunities
Name: MARC U*STAR
Organization: NIH/NIGMS
Years: 5
Max Award: $500,000
Date: Jan 10/May 10
Limited Submission: Yes
URL:http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-02-033.html
Purpose:T34 that supports institutional training grants for underrepresented minority junior and senior honors students in any of the above cited science areas to improve their preparation for graduate training in the biomedical/behavioral sciences, specifically encouraging the development of pedagogical tools for incorporating quantitative concepts, computational skills, and principles of modeling complex biological phenomena. May include pre-MARC student development activities designed to increase student retention and improve the academic preparedness of students in the freshman/sophomore years.
Name: MARC PREP
Organization: NIH/NIGMS
Years: 5
Max Award: $1,800,00
Date: Oct 20
Limited Submission: Yes
URL: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-03-140.html
Purpose: to encourage 6-12 underrepresented minorities/yr who hold a recent baccalaureate degree in the biomedically relevant sciences to pursue a Ph.D. The purpose of this program is to heighten the interest of the post-baccalaureate participants in such areas of scientific research as cell biology, biophysics, biochemistry, genetics, neurobiology, physiology, computational biology and behavioral sciences.
Name:Strengthening Qualitative Research through Methodological Innovation and Integration
Organization:NSF
Years:
Max Award:
Date:
Limited Submission:
URL:http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/ses/soc/sqrmii.jsp
Purpose:The Sociology Program is seeking regular research proposals that advance qualitative methods in sociological research. It is especially interested in projects that have both a theoretically-motivated substantive focus and that 1) contribute to the development of new qualitative methods, 2) strengthen the validity and reliability of qualitative methods, 3) present new techniques for analyzing qualitative data (broadly defined, including observational, ethnographic, visual, textual, interview, or other qualitative data), 4) evaluate the strengths and power of alternative data collection and/or analysis strategies, 5) employ research designs using qualitative data that are falsifiable and/or adjudicate among competing explanations, and/or 6) outline innovative combinations of methodologies. In the case of the latter, projects may be predominately qualitative and make connections to quantitative research, predominately quantitative with strong links to qualitative research, or can draw equally on both types of data. What is most important is that the linkage between various types of methods is clear and strong. Projects should demonstrate their potential impacts on and contributions to the advancement of qualitative social science research methods.
