Skip to main content
bioRxiv
  • Home
  • About
  • Submit
  • ALERTS / RSS
Advanced Search
New Results

Developing Future Biologists: creating and assessing a portable short course to engage underrepresented undergraduate students in developmental biology

Justine M. Pinskey, Eden A. Dulka, Andrea I. Ramos, Martha L. Echevarría-Andino, David S. Lorberbaum, Brandon S. Carpenter, Jorge Y. Martinez-Marquez, Breane G. Budaitis, Emily M. Holloway, Samhitha Raj, Alana M. Chin, Edu Suarez, Laura A. Buttitta, Deb L. Gumucio, Deneen M. Wellik, Ryan Insolera, Leilani Marty-Santos, Benjamin L. Allen, Scott Barolo
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/467092
Justine M. Pinskey
Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. 48109.;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: jpinskey@umich.edu
Eden A. Dulka
Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. 48109.;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Andrea I. Ramos
Cellular and Molecular Biology Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. 48109.;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Martha L. Echevarría-Andino
Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. 48109.;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
David S. Lorberbaum
Barbara Davis Center, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Center, Aurora, CO. 80206.;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Brandon S. Carpenter
Department of Cell Biology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA. 30022.;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Jorge Y. Martinez-Marquez
Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. 48109.;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Breane G. Budaitis
Cellular and Molecular Biology Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. 48109.;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Emily M. Holloway
Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. 48109.;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Samhitha Raj
Department of Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Alana M. Chin
Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. 48109.;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Edu Suarez
Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico Ponce, Ponce, PR. 00734.;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Laura A. Buttitta
Department of Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Deb L. Gumucio
Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. 48109.;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Deneen M. Wellik
Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. 48109.;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Ryan Insolera
Department of Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Leilani Marty-Santos
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Molecular Medicine & Genetics, Ann Arbor, MI. 48109.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Benjamin L. Allen
Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. 48109.;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Scott Barolo
Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. 48109.;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Abstract
  • Info/History
  • Metrics
  • Supplementary material
  • Preview PDF
Loading

Abstract

Many barriers discourage underrepresented students from pursuing science careers. To access graduate education, undergraduate students must first gain exposure to a particular subject and subsequently accumulate related coursework and research experience. Many underrepresented students lack exposure to developmental biology due to limited undergraduate course offerings and finite resources at smaller institutions. To address this disparity, a group of University of Michigan graduate students and postdoctoral fellows created a portable short course focusing on developmental biology, titled Developing Future Biologists (DFB). This weeklong educational initiative provides hands-on laboratory sessions, interactive lectures, and professional development workshops to teach students about developmental biology and increase awareness of scientific career options. To evaluate course effectiveness, we developed a pre-post assessment, incorporating main ideas from the BioCore Guide. Student understanding of basic concepts and perceived experience in developmental biology increased in DFB participants, despite the abbreviated nature of the course. Here, we provide all course materials and an in-depth analysis of the assessment we created. The DFB portable short course model is an easily adaptable tool that connects undergraduate students with opportunities for advanced study and lowers barriers for underrepresented students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC 4.0 International license.
Back to top
PreviousNext
Posted November 12, 2018.
Download PDF

Supplementary Material

Email

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about bioRxiv.

NOTE: Your email address is requested solely to identify you as the sender of this article.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Developing Future Biologists: creating and assessing a portable short course to engage underrepresented undergraduate students in developmental biology
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from bioRxiv
(Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the bioRxiv website.
Share
Developing Future Biologists: creating and assessing a portable short course to engage underrepresented undergraduate students in developmental biology
Justine M. Pinskey, Eden A. Dulka, Andrea I. Ramos, Martha L. Echevarría-Andino, David S. Lorberbaum, Brandon S. Carpenter, Jorge Y. Martinez-Marquez, Breane G. Budaitis, Emily M. Holloway, Samhitha Raj, Alana M. Chin, Edu Suarez, Laura A. Buttitta, Deb L. Gumucio, Deneen M. Wellik, Ryan Insolera, Leilani Marty-Santos, Benjamin L. Allen, Scott Barolo
bioRxiv 467092; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/467092
Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
Citation Tools
Developing Future Biologists: creating and assessing a portable short course to engage underrepresented undergraduate students in developmental biology
Justine M. Pinskey, Eden A. Dulka, Andrea I. Ramos, Martha L. Echevarría-Andino, David S. Lorberbaum, Brandon S. Carpenter, Jorge Y. Martinez-Marquez, Breane G. Budaitis, Emily M. Holloway, Samhitha Raj, Alana M. Chin, Edu Suarez, Laura A. Buttitta, Deb L. Gumucio, Deneen M. Wellik, Ryan Insolera, Leilani Marty-Santos, Benjamin L. Allen, Scott Barolo
bioRxiv 467092; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/467092

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Subject Area

  • Scientific Communication and Education
Subject Areas
All Articles
  • Animal Behavior and Cognition (999)
  • Biochemistry (1493)
  • Bioengineering (946)
  • Bioinformatics (6831)
  • Biophysics (2429)
  • Cancer Biology (1792)
  • Cell Biology (2530)
  • Clinical Trials (106)
  • Developmental Biology (1700)
  • Ecology (2576)
  • Epidemiology (1496)
  • Evolutionary Biology (5029)
  • Genetics (3623)
  • Genomics (4638)
  • Immunology (1175)
  • Microbiology (4252)
  • Molecular Biology (1629)
  • Neuroscience (10801)
  • Paleontology (83)
  • Pathology (240)
  • Pharmacology and Toxicology (409)
  • Physiology (555)
  • Plant Biology (1459)
  • Scientific Communication and Education (412)
  • Synthetic Biology (542)
  • Systems Biology (1878)
  • Zoology (260)