Kenneth Petren, PhD - US grants

The permanent loss of species, called extinction, is occurring on a global scale at a rapidly increasing rate. Over the long term, only the process of speciation can increase the number of species. This project will investigate the role played by small, isolated populations in the rapid speciation of Darwin's finches, which provide a model system for evolutionary research. The investigators will compare birds from many island populations in the Galapagos, using different molecular markers and including recently developed methods of DNA fingerprinting. These data will provide a rare opportunity to critically evaluate what many scientists believe to be a very common mode of speciation.

Nature reserves are designed primarily to protect existing species from extinction, but these designs may also affect future speciation. This project will provide valuable information about the role of geography in speciation. Funding for this project will support the training of a post-doctoral researcher, graduate students and undergraduates. These research opportunities dovetail with existing host institution programs that include course credit for research, support for independent research, and fellowships that target traditionally underrepresented groups. The general interest in Galapagos organisms will also provide opportunities to educate the public about evolutionary processes.

A Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Sites award has been made to the University of Cincinnati that will provide research training for 10 students, for 10 weeks during the summers of 2014- 2016. The program focuses on sensory ecology -- the study of how animals acquire and respond to information about their environment-- which integrates the experimental and mechanistic study of sensory processes with the conceptual approaches of ecology, evolution and behavior. The Department of Biological Sciences has 11 faculty in a new research focus area - Sensory Biology, Behavior and Evolution (SBBE) - who serve as mentors in a tiered multi- level mentoring program along with graduate students and post-docs in a team environment. There is a wide range of very interesting and exciting projects for the students, ranging from neurobiology to behavioral ecology. Students are expected to do full-time lab research as well as participate in seminars and various workshops, such as the responsible conduct in research, professional communication skills, career opportunities in industry and academia, and the graduate school application process. REU students have access to a rich array of individual mentor's research facilities as well as many interdepartmental labs and centers such as the UC Chemistry department, and collaborating institutions such as Cincinnati Zoo Center for Research on Endangered Wildlife, UC / Cincinnati Children's Hospital Biomedical Research Center and the UC Center for Field Studies field station. The program's multi-phase recruitment effort consists of both traditional "hard copy" formats as well as digital-based advertising, and visits to regional college campuses. Students are selected based on academic record, research performance, and potential for outstanding research. Students are tracked to determine their continued interest in their academic field of study, their career paths, and the lasting influences of the research experience. Information about the program will be assessed by various means, including use of an REU common assessment tool available to BIO-funded REU PIs. More information is available by visiting http://www.artsci.uc.edu/departments/biology/undergrad/REU.html, or by contacting the PI (Dr. George Uetz at george.uetz@uc.edu).

This project is initiating transformative change in the faculty culture and behavior regarding teaching and learning within and across the departments of Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. The success of this project is being judged and guided by the resulting enhanced student learning and improved success in completing eight gatekeeper courses in these three departments. The key processes are coordinated activities that will encourage and support a broad collection of faculty instructors in these disciplines to utilize the full breadth of research-based instructional strategies in their teaching of these lower division courses. Individual participating faculty instructors are choosing and adapting their own research-based strategies. In this way they are participating directly in this key aspect of faculty culture.

Two university resources are particularly important in supporting this change. Technical guidance and assistance are being provided by departmental Teaching and Learning Liaisons (TLLs). The TLLs are faculty members within each department who have received special training and are prepared to encourage and support the department and individual faculty members as they increasingly incorporate research-based instructional strategies into a core of 8 gatekeeper courses. Secondly, a unique faculty development component is being tailored by the Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning (CET&L) to provide support both for the Teaching and Learning Liaisons (TLLs) and for individual faculty. This project is proceeding with the full support of the Provost (who is a PI), the Dean of Arts and Sciences, and the three department heads. Change strategies are being detailed that will respond differently and appropriately for the local environments found within specific departments. Collectively these efforts will provide increasingly supportive environments or, viewed more broadly, an increasingly supportive ecosystem that will be the foundation for sustainable increased and increasingly effective use of research based instructional strategies. A series of assessments will guide and improve the impact of this effort, and provide useful research knowledge about the effectiveness of this approach to change.