REU Site: STEM for Plant Health (Plant-STEM)

This REU Site award to Utah State University, located in Logan, UT, will support the training of 10 students for 10 weeks each summer during 2027–2029. Over the course of the program, a total of 30 undergraduate students, primarily from institutions with limited research opportunities, will be trained. Participants will gain the confidence, skills, and passion for lifelong learning needed to prepare for graduate programs and careers in bioscience, agriculture, food science, bioengineering, and related fields. Through this REU, students will learn how research is conducted while contributing to ongoing research activities in faculty mentor laboratories and experimental field sites. At the conclusion of the program, students will share their findings at a campus-wide research symposium, and many will also present their work at scientific conferences, with opportunities to contribute to scientific publications. Program assessment will include pre- and post-REU online surveys and interviews. Students should apply to the REU site through NSF ETAP (Education and Training Application: https://etap.nsf.gov).The training students will receive is aligned with NSF priorities in Biotechnology. REU participants will use multidisciplinary research approaches to investigate how healthy plants, soils, and microbiomes support sustainable agricultural practices and food security. This interdisciplinary research will be guided by faculty mentors in Biology, Biological Engineering, Plants, Soils & Climate, and Nutrition, Dietetics & Food Science. Research projects include: the influence of soil management on plant-microbe health, nutrient cycling, and symbiotic relationships; how belowground communities shape aboveground interactions; optimizing plant nutrition in regenerative controlled-environment agriculture systems; utilizing synthetic biology to monitor and respond to plant–microbiome interactions; identifying phytochemicals associated with maple tree tapping stress-defense responses; exploring potential applications of extremophile microbes associated with plants and soils; and targeted micronutrient delivery to plants and their mixed-microbial biofilms. REU participants will be active members of research teams, interacting with faculty, postdoctoral researchers, graduate students, and undergraduate researchers from multiple disciplines. Formal training will be provided in experimental design, data collection, statistical analysis, and technical communication. Participants will use scanning electron microscopy, confocal microscopy, mass spectrometry, and micro-computed tomography to study the molecular processes that support healthy plants, microbes, and soils. In addition, participants will receive formal training in ethics and the responsible conduct of research. Pathways to graduate programs and related careers will be explored through workshops, panel discussions, and tours of local biotechnology, food, and agriscience industries. 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: 2548434 | Program: 01002627DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT | Principal Investigator: David Britt | Institution: Utah State University, LOGAN, UT | Award Amount: $420,868 View on NSF Award Search: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/show-award/?AWD_ID=2548434 View on Research.gov: https://www.research.gov/awardapi-service/v1/awards/2548434.html