MRI/RUI: Acquisition of Growth Chambers for Undergraduate and Faculty Research on Genetic and Environmental Interactions

Viterbo University, Inc., La Crosse WI

Investigators

Abstract

A grant has been awarded to Viterbo University under the direction of Dr. Jennifer Sadowski, Principal Investigator, and Dr. Glena Temple, co-Principal Investigator, for a project to strengthen faculty-directed undergraduate research experiences in the Biology Department. This grant award investigates the interacting role of the environment and genes on the expression of traits in insects and plants. The grant award will support the purchase of four large and two small growth chambers, each with stringent environmental controls, including light and temperature. Presently there are no growth chambers on campus suitable to conduct this research; borrowed space at a remote greenhouse has been an inadequate substitute. The new growth chambers will enable students and their faculty mentors to simulate multiple, precisely controlled environments to examine the interacting effects of genes and the environment. Research is an essential component of the undergraduate curriculum at Viterbo University. All seniors in the Natural Science Division are required to work with a faculty mentor to develop a testable hypothesis, design and implement the appropriate experiments, and formally present their results. The growth chambers will be used to investigate genetic and environmental interactions in both plants and insects. Over half of the students in the Biology department, working with faculty members, will use the requested instrumentation for their capstone research projects each year. Projects include studying the interacting effects of the environment and genes on the social and mating behaviors in insects, and analyzing the biochemical and genetic adaptations that plants make in response to environmental stress. The faculty members involved will collaborate with others both within and outside the university to conduct research of high intellectual merit, which will lead to peer-reviewed publications and presentations at scientific meetings with undergraduates. The acquisition and use of the new growth chambers will greatly enhance the educational experience of students at Viterbo University and support high quality research. This facilities enhancement is expected to encourage more students to pursue advanced degrees in the sciences, particularly women and first generation college students who form a large percentage of Viterbo's student body.