RAPID-REU Site: Mitigating the Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Undergraduate Research Training in the Biosciences

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented disruption in the research training of undergraduates thru the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Sites program. Massive cancellations of REU Sites caused undergraduates to be deprived of both the intellectual and professional development opportunities they would have received in an REU program. The situation is further aggravated by the closures of similar undergraduate internship programs sponsored by other Federal and private agencies. The lack of meaningful summer jobs due to the pandemic provides little alternatives for college students. The situation is particularly acute for minority students whose underrepresentation in STEM has been a continuing challenge for the Nation. This RAPID proposal helps to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Native American and other underrepresented minority students. Research opportunities in environmental biosciences, including research in COVID-19 related area, will be made available to students in the regional areas surrounding Montana State University. The projects have been designed so that students can conduct the research remotely. Professional development training will be done virtually thru regularly scheduled events, similar to what the students would receive in an in-person training program.

This RAPID proposal will engage underrepresented minority students in research thru projects that can be conducted remotely. Research projects include the quantification of SARS-CoV-2 virus in a managed wastewater treatment system in Montana, where preliminary studies have shown that viral load can be detected using a standard CDC test kit protocol for SARS-CoV-2 virus. The metagenomic analysis of the water samples can be used as an indicator of community spread of the virus and can become one of the surveillance tools for public health officials. Other projects involve research that would benefit American Indian reservations in Montana, such as the ecological study of the impacts and benefits of bison reintroduction on the Blackfeet reservation, studies on biodiversity, ecosystem services and crop quality on managed farms on reservation lands, and the role of microbial communities in the phytoremediation of arsenic in soil. Students will be trained on the analysis of data and use of modeling tools. Students will be recruited from tribal colleges and other Montana universities and colleges. Student professional development will emphasize ethics and the responsible conduct of research, careers in STEM, and effective scientific communication. Students present their research at a virtual conference at the end of the 10-week program. This project is supported by the Division of Biological Infrastructure and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.