REU Site: IUSC: Biological Collections and the Extended Specimen for Innovative Research Experiences

This REU Site award to the Prairie Research Institute’s Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS), located at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in Champaign, Illinois will support the training of 10 students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2027–2029. This program will provide undergraduate students with immersive, hands-on research experiences centered on the innovative use of biological collections and the “extended specimen” approach. Biological collections are libraries of preserved plants, animals, fossils, and identifying records that span decades, even centuries and the globe. Collections serve as powerful scientific resources for understanding how biodiversity, ecological communities, and environments change across time. The extended specimen lens enhances the impact of such collections by linking specimens with additional data such as genetic and environmental information, and species interactions. Integrating these data allows scientists to address complex challenges such as emerging diseases, food security, and shifting ecosystems. Through interdisciplinary research projects, students will experience the full scientific data life cycle from field research and specimen curation to data analysis and communication of their results. Students will develop skills in data literacy, scientific reasoning, and teamwork while preparing for careers that address global challenges and that will strengthen the STEM workforce. The program will broaden access to research opportunities for all, particularly for students from institutions with limited research infrastructure. Students will learn how research is conducted, and many will present their findings at scientific conferences. Program assessment will use surveys, interviews, and career-tracking to evaluate outcomes, and students will apply through NSF ETAP (Education and Training Application: https://etap.nsf.gov). The training students will receive is aligned with NSF priorities in Artificial Intelligence and Biotechnology. The scientific theme of this REU Site is the use of collections and the extended specimen framework as a platform for interdisciplinary research training. Students will conduct projects using the world-class collections at INHS that include plants, insects, fishes, reptiles, mussels, and fossils to investigate questions in evolution, ecology, environmental change, and disease dynamics. Projects may involve field sampling, specimen identification and digitization, genomic or ecological data analysis, and development of biodiversity informatics workflows. Students will be mentored by scientists across multiple disciplines, including evolutionary biology, museum science, data science, and environmental biology. Professional development will include workshops in coding, data management, reproducible and responsible conduct of research, as well as training in scientific communication and career development. Through these integrated activities, the program provides a comprehensive research experience spanning specimen collection, data integration, analysis, and communication while advancing innovative digital approaches to collections-based science. 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. NSF Award ID: 2548040 | Program: 01002627DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT | Principal Investigator: Robin Warne | Institution: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, URBANA, IL | Award Amount: $465,401 View on NSF Award Search: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/show-award/?AWD_ID=2548040 View on Research.gov: https://www.research.gov/awardapi-service/v1/awards/2548040.html