REU Site: Purdue Undergraduate Research Experiences for Plant Biology and Data Science (PURE-PD)

Purdue University, West Lafayette IN

Investigators

Abstract

This REU Site award to Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, IN, will support the training of 10 students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2022-2024. It is anticipated that a total of 30 students, primarily from schools with limited research opportunities or from under-represented groups, will be trained in the program. Students will learn how to conduct research and generate hypotheses, and will present the results of their work at scientific conferences. Through diverse research projects the program will increase the participation of students in STEM disciplines and prepare them for careers in plant biology in the era of data science. Assessment of the program will be done through the online SALG URSSA tool. Students will be tracked after the program in order to determine their career paths. The Purdue Undergraduate Research Experiences for Plant Biology and Data Science (PURE-PD) program aims to provide student participants with advanced training in basic plant biology and data science. The PURE-PD program was developed as an interdisciplinary collaboration between the Center for Plant Biology, Purdue Libraries and the School of Information Studies. Research projects in the PURE-PD program are diverse and include the regulation of nutrition signals, plant health monitoring, plant host-pathogen interactions, and the regulation of developmental processes, which collectively offer a significant and agriculturally relevant research environment for student participants. In addition, each student will be involved in professional development activities including research ethics, research data management and scholarly communication. Applicants will submit their materials via the program website and need to include digital transcripts, a statement of purpose describing career goals and research interests, and two recommendation letters. Candidates will be selected based on their excellence in academic performance and strong interests in science by a committee consisting of three faculty mentors. A holistic project evaluation will be conducted at the end of each summer session for the iterative improvement of the program. More information about the program is available by visiting https://ag.purdue.edu/cpb/intern/, or by contacting the PI (Dr. Chao Cai at caic@purdue.edu) or the co-PI (Dr. Natalia Dudareva at dudareva@purdue.edu). 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.