One goal of the RIMES Program is to foster increased research opportunities for community college students. The RIMES program on Montserrat thus provides community college faculty and students with collaborative research projects with major institutions through which research-based curriculums can be developed or enhanced. The replication of the RIMES program (or the creation of similar programs) at the community colleges and minority serving institutions of the United State is a major goal of this program. Examine some of the fascinating research opportunities at our community college partners below:

Finger Lake Community College
Canandaigua, New York
http://www.flcc.edu/


Professor Jim Hewlett
RIMES Community College National Coordinator

The A.S. Biotechnology Program at Finger Lakes Community College is a skills-based degree program that is designed to prepare students to either transfer to a four-year institution as a biotechnology or biology major, or develop marketable skills in preparation to enter the job market. The core feature of the program is a series of intense seven-week technique courses that focus on the development of a specific lab skill. These include bacteriological methods, electrophoresis, PCR, genetic research techniques, cell and tissue culture, spectrophotometric techniques and other skills imbedded within their training. Other skills include technical and scientific writing, documentation and laboratory notebook technique, public speaking skills, preparation of solutions and dilutions, and bioethics.

Proper technique requires repetition and practice. With that philosophy, our program has established an undergraduate research component to the program. In collaboration with members of the Department of Conservation, Braddock Bay Raptor Research (http://www.bbrr.com/), the National Aviary in Pittsburg, PA, The North American Bird Banding Program, and AbGene, we are currently working on a five-year study to explore the post-natal dispersal patterns of Eastern Red-Tail hawks. The project includes both a field and laboratory component, and will help researchers and wildlife managers better understand the migratory patterns of this large raptor. At the very early stages of this program, we began to invite highly motivated undergraduates to take part, and they continue to play a crucial role in the exploration of our study questions.

Our primary objective is to look for sex-biased dispersal patterns in hatch year birds. Differential timing of dispersal has been observed in other raptors, but has never been shown in Red-Tail Hawks. The second objective is to establish a physical correlate for sexing these birds to provide banders and researchers with a rapid method for determining the sex of the birds in the field. Both objectives require a genetic test to determine the sex of a bird. The laboratory component of this research involves a highly sensitive process of purifying DNA from hawk blood, and then preparing and analyzing the results of PCR reactions that are designed to amplify molecular markers of gender. Due to the relative lack of robustness of the primers and reaction conditions, the work requires a tremendous amount of skill in many different areas to ensure high quality results. Our Biotechnology students have the opportunity to work in the field to learn the techniques used to capture and sample these birds. They are then able to apply their training in the laboratory to work a sample through the many steps required to go from whole blood to PCR, electrophoresis and gel analysis to determine sex. We hope to continue to expand the research component of our program so that more students can become involved. Finger Lakes Community College has taken a leadership role in this area and has plans to develop a consortium of regional two-year schools to help them develop undergraduate research experiences for their students.

Community College of Baltimore County
Baltimore, MD
http://www.ccbc.cc.md.us/

Students entering the The Biotechnology Program at The Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) pursue a course of study encompassing basic science courses with a laboratory intensive core. The program has two independent tracks catering to different career interests. Students who are planning on transfering to a four-year college will complete the Associates in Arts and Sciences (A.A.S.) degree. Those students interested in entering the workforce have the option of completing the biotechnology certificate portion of the program. Each tract provides students with the basic science knowledge, laboratory skills, problem solving abilities and communication skills necessary for success in the biotechnology field.

The centerpiece of the CCBC biotechnology program is a series of core laboratory courses that are project driven. In Biotechniques I students focus on the manipulation of nucleic acids, including the construction of recombinant DNA molecules, the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), library construction and screening, DNA sequencing, and DNA /RNA hybridization techniques. After a series of laboratory exercises that develop individual techniques students undertake a guided project to clone a specific protein encoding gene. The project links together the individual techniques and demonstrates how a scientific project is conceived, organized and accomplished.

The second core course, Biotechniques II, focuses on the expression and purification of recombinant proteins. Students begin the course by learning individual techniques for the analysis of proteins including protein assays, chromatographic separation techniques, cell culture, and protein electrophoresis. As in the first course, these techniques are linked together as the students complete a laboratory project. Since multiple projects are conducted during any one semester, the class is kept informed by weekly laboratory meetings where project groups present the results of their experiments and any problems encountered. These laboratory meetings serve to develop the communication skills necessary for a scientific career.

In addition to the required courses in the program, biotechnology students have the option of participating in an independent project supervised by a faculty member in the department of biology. Currently students are engaged in research projects focused on measuring the response of microbes to environmental stress through the activation of stress reporter genes; recovery of mating pheromone cell-cycle arrest in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae; mitosis in the protozoan parasite Perkinsus marinus; fermentation of industrial yeasts Pichia pastoris and Hansenula polymorpha; and the molecular biology of thermophilic bacteria. As students participate in these projects and work closely with participating faculty they gain further experience in the laboratory and learn first hand how scientific research is carried out.

For more information on the CCBC Biotechnology program visit our web site at http://biotech.ccbcmd.edu/.