Associate Professor of Biology Kevin Smith has been awarded a Research Experience for Undergraduates – REU Supplement from the National Science Foundation (NSF), as part of his grant, “NSF CAREER: An Undergraduate-Intensive Research Program in Experimental Conservation Ecology” (1650554).

The award funds two summer research fellowships and academic-year research experiences for those students most in need after having lost the opportunities to engage in research during summer 2020 and academic year 2020-21, due to the global pandemic.

CAREER grant projects focus equally on student educational outcomes and experience, as well as scientific outcomes. “In addition to the outcome of student exposure to authentic research experiences through a deliberately planned mentored experience, our work contributes to the conservation of biological diversity by contributing a more rigorous assessment of the importance of stochastic (random) and deterministic (selective) extinction processes.”

Professor Smith’s grant has engaged 21 undergraduates since 2017, and continues to attract “a large, diverse and talented applicant pool.” This REU Supplement is Professor Smith’s second, having been awarded another in March 2019. Program strength and growth is supported consistently in surveys indicating positive student outcomes in categories such as problem solving, understanding research methods and design, confidence in ability to do well in future science courses and persistence.

Read more about Professor Smith’s research here.

Registration is required for each session. If a session has reached capacity for the Zoom webinar, you may stream the presentation on YouTube Live. Please visit the registration webpage on the session date for the YouTube Live link. All webinars will be recorded and made available on the NSF Resource Center webpage following the event.

Contact the Office of Grants and Contracts to discuss proposal planning and research funding opportunities.

The Office of Grants and Contracts congratulates Assistant Professor of Biology Bryan Thurtle-Schmidt on his National Institutes of Health AREA: Academic Research Enhancement Award (R15GM132786). 

The $346,277 grant funds the project “Mechanisms of Transport by SLC4 Borate Transporters,” with Davidson College student participation in three years of biomedical research. Experiments will focus on dissecting the transport mechanism of SLC4 borate proteins to understand related diseases at a molecular level and enhance development of new treatments.

 “AREA awards provide funding for small-scale, new, or ongoing health-related meritorious research projects, enhancing the research environment at eligible institutions and exposing students to research opportunities.”  NIH typically funds less than 20% of the AREA proposals received for this highly competitive award.

In addition to the NIH AREA, Professor Thurtle-Schmidt also has support for his research from a Life Sciences Research Foundation fellowship.

Associate Professor of Chemistry Nicole Snyder will lead twelve Davidson College students to engage in high-impact research opportunities in Düsseldorf, Germany in collaboration with the research group of Prof. Dr. Laura Hartmann at the Heinrich-Heine-University (HHU), thanks to a three-year, $299,915 grant from the National Science Foundation.

Awarded in March, Davidson in Düsseldorf: Glycopolymer Research in Düsseldorf, Germany, provides undergraduate students “training in carbohydrate chemistry, polymer chemistry, molecular spectroscopy, and biochemical and biophysical techniques that will enhance their education and prepare them for a competitive international workforce.”

Professor Snyder enjoys “involving undergraduate students in my research, I have mentored nearly 50 over the past eight years. Three quarters of those students have gone on to pursue graduate work and/or medical training at some of the top institutions in the U.S.” 

The National Science Foundation’s Office of International Science and Engineering (OISE) and International Research Experiences for Students (IRES) programs award projects that “engage a group of undergraduate students in active, high quality collaborative research, to develop world-class research skills in an international cohort experience.”

Professor Snyder also serves as Assistant Dean for Research and Creative Works.