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Bridging the Divide Between Research and Teaching in the Biomedical Sciences
Summary: Using Drosophila and mouse models, Diane O'Dowd studies the activity of living neurons from the brain. She uses molecular genetic approaches to explore the communication between neural cells. Her HHMI project aims to bridge the gap between research and teaching in the biomedical sciences at research universities through teaching, training, and mentoring.
Project Summary
Most freshman biology majors at research universities arrive on campus with the goal of a career in the biomedical sciences, many hoping to become M.D.s. These students are selected primarily on the basis of their performance on tests that measure their ability to remember large quantities of information. At a time when mountains of facts are available literally at the students' fingertips via the Internet, teaching them to evaluate and use this information is critically important to their success as future health-care professionals and educators. While smaller classes are ideal for developing this skill set, the challenge for students in research universities is to learn these skills in classes that often have more than 300 students.
Biomedical faculty hired on undergraduate campuses of research universities arrive with the goal of establishing an internationally recognized research program that is funded by R01 grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). They are selected on the basis of their outstanding promise in specific areas of research, but they usually have had little or no teaching experience. While promotion to tenure depends on excellence in research and extramural funding levels, these faculty are also required to teach, often in large core courses. The challenge for the faculty is to learn to teach effectively in large lecture classes, while building a research program that includes successfully competing for NIH funding with their peers at medical schools and research institutes who often do little or no teaching.
Our project will bridge the divide between research and teaching in the biomedical sciences at research universities through a three-part program. The first initiative focuses on increasing students' conceptual understanding of basic principles in cellular and molecular biology. We will identify strategies to help faculty create dynamic learning environments that foster student engagement and development of critical thinking skills in large biology classes, while building and maintaining successful research programs.
A second initiative will establish a formal training program in interactive teaching for graduate students and undergraduates who have an interest in academic research and teaching careers. Graduate students will receive training in the theory and practice of active learning and participate in a program designed to train them to balance concurrent teaching and research responsibilities. Undergraduates will serve as peer tutors, which will give them an opportunity to test their skills and aptitude for teaching and give their peers an alternative source of academic support.
The third initiative of our project is a research mentoring program that pairs first-year undergraduate trainees with postdoctoral fellow mentors. The fellows will receive formal training in overseeing undergraduate research before and during their active mentoring period. This experience should provide valuable preparation for the postdoctoral fellows when they establish their own labs. In addition, the undergraduates will be exposed to the excitement of research and have the opportunity to develop a close association with an academic mentor early in their undergraduate experience.
We anticipate that this integrated program of training will enhance the undergraduate learning experience, engage more research faculty in interactive teaching, and allow us to offer practical recommendations for implementing similar approaches at other large research universities.
Research Summary
Our lab studies the activity of living neurons from the brains of fruit flies, Drosophila melanogaster, and mice. Using the powerful molecular genetic approaches feasible in these model systems, we are exploring the role of specific receptors, ion channels, and signaling cascades in regulating communication between cells in neural circuits that generate complex behaviors.
One set of studies focuses on understanding the cellular changes underlying memory formation in Drosophila. These animals learn and remember information in much the same way that humans do, developing associations to neutral stimuli when these are presented in conjunction with unpleasant stimuli, like electric shocks. To identify genes that are important in regulating neural communication during memory formation, our lab has developed techniques to record from neurons in the brain of the tiny fly. Analysis of synaptic communication between neurons from a variety of mutant and transgenic animals shows that the cAMP signaling cascade and activity mediated by nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are involved in modulation of neuronal connections. Recordings from Kenyon cells, key members of a neural circuit essential for olfactory learning in flies, demonstrate that nAChRs are also responsible for the majority of the excitatory drive in these neurons in the adult brain. With the ability to study synaptic activity in this behaviorally relevant neural circuit, we are taking advantage of the genetic tools available in Drosophila to examine the cellular links between gene expression and memory formation.
Last updated September 2006
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