Transitioning CUREs to Undergraduate Research Experiences

Abstract

Inquiry based and/or course‐based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) have been repeatedly demonstrated as high impact practices in biology education for a host of factors including increased student engagement, retention, and building a general interest in science. When deployed in entry‐level courses, CUREs also have the benefit to cultivate strong working relationships between student and mentor, allowing the faculty member to recruit interested students to continue the project beyond the scope of the course. In the Fall of 2019, we updated our curriculum to incorporate molecular/cell biology CUREs into 100‐level courses with the goal of increased student engagement and research interest. Here we describe the process of successfully recruiting students and the transition from their previous strictly coursed‐based research experience to that of an independent research experience. Numerous challenges and changes occurred between the boundaries of the classroom and the research lab. Through our experience, we hope to provide a template for both students and faculty to consider using CUREs as a mechanism to recruit and train student researchers over the duration of their undergraduate careers.