REU Site: REU Chemical Biology Site at New York University

New York University, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). This award will support 10 undergraduate students for 10 weeks of research training and professional during the summers of 2022-2025 at New York University (NYU). This site, managed by Professors Paramjit Arora and Daniela Buccella, will introduce young scientists to the rapidly growing and technologically important research field of chemical biology. The site aims to introduce undergraduate science majors to cutting-edge research at the chemistry-biology interface that will capture their interest in science and engineering careers. It will provide students with basic professional skills to succeed in graduate school and beyond, and increase the awareness of various career opportunities in science and engineering fields. Finally, the site will also create a collaborative environment to broaden participation in chemistry by recruiting and supporting a diverse set of participants. For this REU Site, programming combines research, professional development training, and social activities designed to foster a sense of community among student participants and mentors. The research component will be integrated with thematically related efforts at NYU, including new university initiatives in the Department of Chemistry such as the Biomedical Chemistry Institute (BCI), the Laboratory of Molecular Recognition and Synthesis (LMRS), and the Center for Computational Chemistry (C3). Featuring open lab spaces specifically designed to foster communication and collaboration between research groups with complementary expertise, the site will provide an interdisciplinary science experience to the participants as each student will have the opportunity to interact with at least two groups that have ongoing collaborations and joint students. Participants will explore fundamental aspects of chemical biology through projects that range from computational design to organic synthesis of biomolecular scaffolds to biochemical analysis of molecular interactions. A series of workshops will provide the students with professional development exercises that often are lacking in traditional undergraduate curricula, including skill-building activities in scientific writing and presentation, and workshops related to ethics of research and publication 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.