Program Objectives
GOALS:
The goal of our HHMI award is to train biological science students for success in the interdisciplinary research environments of the future. Our approach is to integrate the applicable principles of physics, chemistry, mathematics, and bioinformatics into the biology curriculum in both the classroom and laboratory setting.
OBJECTIVES:
1. To reform the biological science curriculum by integrating the teaching of biology with physical and information sciences. We will team teach four new courses that bridge scientific disciplines at the introductory (freshman and sophomore) level.
2. To provide authentic research opportunities to undergraduates in the Life Sciences with an emphasis in genomics and bioinformatics. We will provide both summer and academic year research internships to students in research labs. Exceptional senior researchers will participate in a culminating experience, the Junior Fellows in the Life Sciences Program.
3. To develop teaching and mentoring skills of current and future faculty in the interdisciplinary curriculum. Pairs of junior and senior faculty, teaching our redesigned curriculum, will attend the National Academies Summer Institute on Undergraduate Education. A HHMI Mentoring Seminar will serve postdoctoral fellows and graduate students serving as laboratory mentors or teaching assistants.
4. To create cross-disciplinary collaborations at UMass and peer institutions for the development and teaching of an integrated biological science curriculum. In the UMass 2010 Institute, interdisciplinary faculty teams will work on projects to incorporate cross-disciplinary themes into their teaching.