Like most small to midsize institutions, Marist University has far more students who would like research opportunities than there are positions in faculty labs via traditional apprenticeship models. We are beginning to implement large-scale efforts to address this, but students who arrive as transfers or arrive with credit towards General Biology are still missing these experiences. Here, we describe the creation of a semester-long lab course designed to provide students an opportunity to learn important skills and build their scientific identities. This optional course can substitute for an internship that our students are required to take. In the course, students are introduced to the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) which are durable, have a short life cycle, and are budget-friendly, making them ideal for student research. C. elegans also possess observable phenotypes and contain many homologs of human genes, allowing for study of disease-related mutations in individual genes, including let-418/chd3 which was analyzed here. Students learn worm husbandry and utilize phenotypic assays and molecular techniques to investigate consequences of mutations in this gene. The lab included hands-on wet lab experience, as well as dry labs to supplement major theories, gain experience reading the primary literature, and support students in analyzing and understanding the data they generate. We used pre-post testing to assess gains in scientific self-efficacy, identity, community building, and research interest. We found a small but significant increase in scientific self-efficacy and scientific identity among students at the end of the course ??? both of which are linked to persistence of minority students in the sciences. The ultimate goal is for this type of inquiry-based experience to foster greater engagement in research and support of students as they progress on to the next stages in their scientific careers.
Keywords: CURE, DNA repair, C. elegans, full-semester
University of Manitoba (2025)
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