What is this CURE about:
This course focuses on the microbial role in environmental, agricultural, and industrial processes with emphasis on how microbes function and what we can do to control or enhance their capabilities. Topics covered include water treatment, biofuels, environmental remediation, food production, and pharmaceutical development. The associated lab will provide hands-on experience and the opportunity to use cutting-edge sequencing technologies to conduct a course-based undergraduate research project.
In Fall of 2020, Michelle Chamberlain was the Graduate Teaching Assistant for our Microbial Biotechnology class. I asked about what the students did during the course as well as her experience.
“Students in Microbial Biotechnology sequenced and analyzed the genome of a microbial isolate from aluminum coupons. They could either choose one organism that had biofouling properties (thus preventing biocorrosion) or one that contributes to biocorrosion. Students then used that information to discuss ways in which we could manipulate the growth of the given microbe in order to protect metal structures from biodegradation. It was really interesting to see what genes stood out to the student researchers and how they used genomic information to determine how we might control the growth of each isolate. Although the students were not able to do the wet-lab techniques such as DNA extractions and Nanopore Sequencing, they watched demonstrations of me performing the work and were able to learn about the processes virtually.
Since this class was taught virtually and asynchronously due to COVID, most of the challenges were due to communication and timing. In order to help students collaborate, I held multiple synchronous meetings with each team to discuss their ideas and research questions. These meetings helped resolve misunderstandings and make sure every team member understood where the project was headed. Teams that were the most successful utilized consistent communication according to their communication plans and did not procrastinate their work. Teams that struggled did not follow their communication or research plans or procrastinated. Due to the significant challenges during a virtual semester, there was a wide variety of dynamics among all of the teams. I was impressed by the ability of the students to self-reflect at the end of the semester and take ownership over their mistakes. Overall, it was a valuable course and the unique challenges associated with COVID created many opportunities for growth that might have been absent otherwise.”