Jeffrey Patton - US grants

9603550 Patton It is becoming increasingly clear that modified nucleotides in RNA have important functional roles. Of the 93 different modified nucleotides currently known to occur in RNA molecules, pseudouridine is the most abundant. Pseudouridine is important in tRNA function and is thought to participate in the peptidyl transfer reaction of rRNA. Pseudouridine also occurs in highly conserved positions in snRNAs (small nuclear RNAs), essential co-factors in pre-mRNA splicing. Splicing is accomplished by the splicosome, an assembly of co-factors which includes snRNPs (small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particles) composed of snRNAs and proteins. Conserved nucleotide modifications in splicosomal snRNAs are concentrated near the catalytic center of the splicosome and nearly all are found where snRNAs interact with the pre-mRNA or other snRNAs. Pseudouridines occur in regions of U2 snRNA sequence know to be essential for its function as a spicing co-factor. This research will test the hypothesis that pseudouridine modification of U2 snRNA is required for the assembly and/or function of the U2 snRNP. U2 snRNPs will be assembled in vitro using either U2 RNA synthesized in vitro or fully modified U2 snRNA isolated from HeLa cells. Post-transcriptional inhibitors of pseudouridine formation which do not prevent other U2 RNA modifications such as methylation will be used to control the presence or absence the pseudouridine in the U2 RNA synthesized in vitro. U2 snRNPs reconstituted in vitro will be used in a complementation assay of pre-mRNA splicing to determine if pseudouridine modification of U2 snRNA affects splicosome function. It is becoming increasingly clear that modified nucleotides in RNA have important functional roles. Of the 93 different modified nucleotides currently known to occur in RNA molecules, pseudouridine is the most abundant and has been implicated in both tRNA and rRNA function. Pseudouridine also occurs in snRNAs (small nuclear RNAs), essential co-factors for the "sp licing" of pre-mRNAs into functional mRNAs in the cell nucleus. Splicing is accomplished by the splicosome, an assembly of snRNPs (small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particles) composed of snRNAs and proteins. Conserved nucleotide modifications in splicosomal snRNAs are concentrated near the catalytic center of the splicosome and nearly all are found where snRNAs interact with the pre-mRNA or other snRNAs. Pseudouridines occur in regions of U2 snRNA sequence known to be essential for its function as a spicing co-factor. This research will test the hypothesis that pseudouridine modification of U2 snRNA is required for the assembly and/or function of the U2 snRNP.

The STAMPS (Science Technology and Math Preparation Scholarships) program is designed to meet the emerging need for a scientifically literate workforce in the Piedmont Triad of North Carolina, supporting 53 scholarship recipients in 4 cohorts of 11-16 students each. The Triad (Greensboro, High Point and Winston-Salem) forms an urban complex with a population of 1.6 million. The Triad's cultural, social, and economic history was closely tied with tobacco farming and cigarette manufacturing, furniture making, and textiles. In this 21st century, these industries are being replaced with pharmaceutical and technology companies.

STAMPS provides scholarships to students for the 4 years that they attend the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG), with later cohorts receiving support directly from the University after S-STEM funds are completed. Efforts target all of the fundamental sciences at UNCG - Mathematical Sciences, Computer Science, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Biology, Geographic Information Science and Earth Science, Physics and Astronomy - as well as the new Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering. A focus of the program is to recruit talented financially needy students (including women and minorities) into the scholarship program and to provide wide-ranging support to them during their college careers. Scholarship recipients are recruited from area high schools, from students matriculating through the state-supported community and technology colleges or transferring from other universities, and from the current UNCG student population. The STAMPS program focuses on cohorts of approximately 14 students that remain together for as many years as possible so that the resulting cross-disciplinary student community aids in student retention. The STAMPS design includes a freshman seminar, concurrent enrollment in mathematics classes, skill/career development activities, peer mentors, and tutors.

The project STAMPS: Science, Technology and Math Preparation Scholarships is serving the national interest by supporting academically talented and financially needy students, including minority, women and first-generation college students, in their efforts to complete their college degrees in the STEM disciplines (Natural, Physical, Earth and Computer Sciences). The project is providing financial, academic, mentoring and advising support to talented students in the STEM disciplines to increase their retention rates and better prepare students for science and technology-based careers or for advance study in professional (e.g., medical, dental, pharmacy, graduate) schools. By doing so, the project is increasing the pool of talented individuals for highly skilled jobs or careers in science and technology. The project is also developing best practices on how to support and train students for a skilled workforce that is shared with other universities.

STAMPS enrolls a diverse group of first year STEM students into a yearlong integrated science course, designed to create a cohort, supported by faculty and peer mentors and services. STAMPS students have opportunities for research, interacting with STEM speakers, travel, and facilitated shadowing at the Joint School for Nanoscience and Nanoengineering. The goals are to 1) matriculate and then graduate STAMPS scholars into STEM careers or graduate school; 2) identify and support a diverse community of STEM learners; 3) create a supportive and self-sustaining environment for STAMPS scholars; and 4) discover what works and why and share this knowledge to a broad audience.

This project will contribute to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need. The project is led by the University of North Carolina Greensboro, a Minority Serving Institution. Over its five year duration, this project will fund scholarships to 40 unique full-time students who are pursuing bachelor?s degrees in Biology, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Computer Science, Geography (Earth Science and GIS tracks only), Mathematics and Statistics, and Physics and Astronomy. Twenty students will be selected in Year 1, with ten First Time in College (FTIC) and ten Community College transfer (CCT) students; a similar set of twenty students will be selected in Year 2. FTIC students entering in year one will be eligible for up to eight semesters of funding and CCT students will be eligible for up to six semesters of funding. In addition to providing scholarship support, the project will support Scholars' success through cohort development, undergraduate research opportunities, peer and faculty mentors, early advising, and virtual and onsite visits to research labs. To increase knowledge about how to best support the college success of low income STEM students, the project will examine how being in a STEM cohort affects CCT students? sense of belonging, self-efficacy, and science identity. This research study will compare FTIC and CCT students to understand the similarities and differences between the two groups. Results of this research will help other universities develop cohort activities to increase the persistence and graduation of well-qualified FTIC or CCT in STEM fields.

The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. In addition to providing financial assistance to STEM students with financial need, the project aims to increase retention rates by creating a self-sustaining student success environment that will serve as a model for similar institutions. Additionally, the project will study the impact of project activities and student support to determine if the impact of these project elements differ by FTIC or CCT status. New activities and support mechanisms will be added to existing supports to target the unique challenges that CCT students face as they transition to a mid-size, urban university with a highly diverse and rapidly growing transfer student population. Using Tinto?s and Packard?s research on sense of belonging, this project will investigate the effectiveness of essential elements of the project and examine similarities and differences of Scholars' experiences. The project will measure self-efficacy, science identity, sense of belonging, professional skill development, mental health/well-being, and persistence in STEM to determine the impacts of individual project activities and combined effects on CCT and FTIC students. Anticipated outcomes include increased knowledge about the similarities and difference between FTIC and CCT students and facilitating Scholars? career pathways. Project evaluation will use a mixed methods approach to identify themes that emerge from the collected data. Project resources and outcomes will be disseminated through the project website and expanded to include other social media platforms. Project staff will partner with other University personnel and offices to create regional and statewide S-STEM events. This project is funded by NSF?s Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics program, which seeks to increase the number of low-income academically talented students with demonstrated financial need who earn degrees in STEM fields. It also aims to improve the education of future STEM workers, and to generate knowledge about academic success, retention, transfer, graduation, and academic/career pathways of low-income students.

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.