REU site: Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Plant Science at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center

This REU Site award to the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, located in St. Louis, MO, will support the training of 10 students each year for 10 weeks during the summers of 2026-2028. The program will provide a comprehensive, real-life research experience to undergraduate students from across the USA, especially those from institutions with limited research opportunities, first generation students and students at the beginning of their undergraduate education. Research and professional development activities will give exceptional training to undergraduate students interested in plant biology and biotechnology, disciplines which are becoming more important as the need for high-yielding resilient crops increases to meet the demands of a rapidly growing world population. Students will learn how research is conducted, how to correctly document and interpret their research and effectively communicate science. All students will present their research at an internal symposium, and many will present at scientific conferences and publish in research journals. The thirty students participating in the program will aid in scientific workforce development in Missouri and the rest of the USA. Assessment of the program will be done through a modified Student Assessment of Learning Gains (SALG) survey and students will be tracked after the program to follow their career paths. Students should apply to the REU site using the designated NSF website (Education and Training Application (ETAP): https://etap.nsf.gov). The training students will receive is aligned with NSF priorities in Artificial Intelligence and Biotechnology. The focus of the program is original, hypothesis-driven research centered on answering important questions in plant science. Research topics range from fundamental science geared towards discovery to technological innovation and development in wet-bench and field research settings. There will also be training in cutting-edge bio-imaging, data science, and AI/machine learning approaches for plant science and phenotyping, and state-of-the-art approaches to plant transformation and plant compositional analysis. To translate basic research to commercial products, students will participate in conversations on product development, regulatory guidelines and dissemination to communities in need. Students will also engage in a variety of professional development activities including training in the responsible conduct of research, science communication, choosing a career, and applying for graduate fellowships. The program will recruit participants from across the USA focusing on students from rural communities, those who are early in their college careers and students from colleges and universities with limited research opportunities. Assessment of the program will be done through a modified Student Assessment of Learning Gains (SALG) instrument. More information about the program is available at https://www.danforthcenter.org/our-work/education-outreach/undergraduate-program/internship-program/, or by contacting the PI (Dr. Tessa Burch-Smith at [email protected]) or co-PI (Dr. Kirk Czymmek at [email protected]). 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: 2548086 | Program: 01002627DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT | Principal Investigator: Tessa Burch-Smith | Institution: Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, SAINT LOUIS, MO | Award Amount: $467,053 View on NSF Award Search: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/show-award/?AWD_ID=2548086 View on Research.gov: https://www.research.gov/awardapi-service/v1/awards/2548086.html