RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Fly-CURE, a Multi-institutional CURE using Drosophila, Increases Students’ Confidence, Sense of Belonging, and Persistence in Research JF bioRxiv FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory SP 2023.01.16.524319 DO 10.1101/2023.01.16.524319 A1 Julie A. Merkle A1 Olivier Devergne A1 Seth M. Kelly A1 Paula A. Croonquist A1 Cory J. Evans A1 Melanie A. Hwalek A1 Victoria L. Straub A1 Danielle R. Hamill A1 David P. Puthoff A1 Kenneth J. Saville A1 Jamie L. Siders A1 Zully J. Villanueva Gonzalez A1 Jackie K. Wittke-Thompson A1 Kayla L. Bieser A1 Joyce Stamm A1 Alysia D. Vrailas-Mortimer A1 Jacob D. Kagey YR 2023 UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2023/01/19/2023.01.16.524319.abstract AB The Fly-CURE is a genetics-focused multi-institutional Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) that provides undergraduate students with hands-on research experiences within a course. Through the Fly-CURE, undergraduate students at diverse types of higher education institutions across the United States map and characterize novel mutants isolated from a genetic screen in Drosophila melanogaster. To evaluate the impact of the Fly-CURE experience on students, we developed and validated assessment tools to identify students’ perceived research self-efficacy, sense of belonging in science, and intent to pursue additional research opportunities. Our data show gains in these metrics after completion of the Fly-CURE across all student subgroups analyzed, including comparisons of gender, academic status, racial and ethnic groups, and parents’ educational background. Importantly, our data also show differential gains in the areas of self-efficacy and interest in seeking additional research opportunities between Fly-CURE students with and without prior research experience, illustrating the positive impact of research exposure (dosage) on student outcomes. Altogether, our data indicate that the Fly-CURE experience has a significant impact on students’ efficacy with research methods, sense of belonging to the scientific community, and interest in pursuing additional research experiences.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.