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The beer and biofuels laboratory: A report on implementing and supporting a large, interdisciplinary, yeast‐focused course‐based undergraduate research experience
Author(s) -
Pedwell Rhianna K.,
Fraser James A.,
Wang Jack T. H.,
Clegg Jack K.,
Chartres Jy D.,
Rowland Susan L.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
biochemistry and molecular biology education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.34
H-Index - 39
eISSN - 1539-3429
pISSN - 1470-8175
DOI - 10.1002/bmb.21111
Subject(s) - undergraduate research , brewing , sustainability , medical education , engineering ethics , mathematics education , psychology , engineering , chemistry , food science , biology , ecology , medicine , fermentation
Course‐integrated Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) involve large numbers of students in real research. We describe a late‐year microbiology CURE in which students use yeast to address a research question around beer brewing or synthesizing biofuel; the interdisciplinary student‐designed project incorporates genetics, bioinformatics, biochemistry, analytical chemistry, and microbiology. Students perceived significant learning gains around multiple technical and “becoming a scientist” aspects of the project. The project is demanding for both the students and the academic implementers. We examine the rich landscape of support and interaction that this CURE both encourages and requires while also considering how we can support the exercise better and more sustainably. The findings from this study provide a picture of a CURE implementation that has begun to reach the limits of both the students' and the academics' capacities to complete it. © 2018 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 46(3):213–222, 2018.