MDH CURE Community Faculty Fellows: A new mentoring program supporting Biochemistry CUREs

Abstract

The Malate Dehydrogenase Cures Community Faculty Fellows (MCC‐FF) Program is part of an NSF RCN sponsored program focused on expanding and sustaining community among faculty teaching a course in the course undergraduate research experience (CURE) format using malate dehydrogenase (MDH). All faculty interested in adopting an MDH CURE are welcomed to become part of this supportive national group working together to provide research opportunities to their students within the context of the labs they teach. In addition, each faculty fellow will be part of a regional hub of local faculty teaching MDH CUREs. These regional hubs will host workshops, office hours, and expertise in MDH CUREs. Opportunities to teach well developed MDH CUREs or to design new MDH CUREs exist, as do opportunities to collaborate on particular MDH labs with faculty at different institutions.Starting in Summer 2022, we will be forming the first of four, two‐year MCC‐FF cohorts providing individually mentored training. The program will provide two years of individually mentored experience to the faculty members who want to teach labs in a CURE format using MDH. During the first summer they will participate in virtual and hands‐on professional development (a one day virtual workshop, a 2 day hands‐on workshop, and a flexibly scheduled week long period of time where faculty fellows have access to their mentors as they adapt techniques/protocols to their home institutions). In the second year, these faculty fellows will teach their first MCC CURE course and develop mentorship skills help mentor subsequent cohorts of faculty fellows. Up to nine faculty per cohort will be selected for additional financial support including funds to purchase minor equipment/instrumentation. The selection of these faculty will give preference to faculty from under‐resourced institutions and/or those who work with large populations of students from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in higher education. Faculty fellows will be selected from different types of institutions (community colleges, MSIs, PUIs, regional comprehensives, research intensives), teaching different types of courses (introductory, advanced, interdisciplinary, remote/online), at different places in their careers (new faculty members, experienced faculty members interested in changing pedagogical approaches). For faculty who teach with a postdoctoral fellow, graduate TA, or UG TA, these students will also be affiliated with the cohort and have access to training/support. Expectations of cohort membership are that faculty will be working to get an MDH CURE up and running as part of their teaching load within 2 years, will be an active part of their local network, and in the future will become a mentor to new faculty fellows.