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Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) provide a way for students to gain research experience in a classroom setting. Few examples of cell culture CUREs or online CUREs exist in the literature. The Cell Biology Education Consortium (CBEC) provides a network and resources for instructors working to incorporate cell-culture based research into the classroom. In this article, we provide examples from six instructors from the CBEC network on how they structure their cell-culture CUREs and how they transitioned the labs to online in the spring semester of 2020. We intend for these examples to provide instructors with ideas for strategies to set up cell culture CUREs, how to change that design mid-term, and for creating online CUREs in the future.

Undergraduate introductory biology students struggle when communicating quantitative data. This activity provides students with a real-world research experience to improve their quantitative literacy in science communication. Students were provided with a national sports media report that described a professional football athlete requiring 9,000 calories daily. Students were then asked to determine whether, based on their own research and calculations, the reporter had correctly calculated the total calories coming from the reported foods. Students discovered that their different sources of caloric information provided very different (albeit accurate) calculated totals, ranging from 6,000 to 11,000 calories. Importantly, the students generated professional letters outlining their calculated differences and sent them to the sports reporter. The professional letters to the reporter were assessed via rubric for accuracy of calculations, appropriate research evidence, professionalism, and readability for a nonexpert. A majority of the students provided accurate calculations; however, students scored lower on their professional writing skills, ability to cite appropriate research evidence, and readability for a nonexpert. Additionally, summative quantitative problems were individually completed and assessed, and activity cohorts achieved significantly higher on these problems compared with the non-activity cohort. Finally, surveyed students indicated that the activity helped prepare them for quantitative problems on the summative exam and helped them identify major course learning objectives. In conclusion, given an authentic research activity, students can take ownership of their learning and practice their communication to the general public about quantitative scientific information.

American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Curriculum Guidelines highlight the importance of instruction about informational flow in organisms, including regulation of gene expression. However, foundational central dogma concepts and more advanced gene regulatory mechanisms are challenging for undergraduate biology students. To increase student comprehension of these principles, we designed an activity for upper-level biology students centered on construction and analysis of physical models of bacterial riboswitches. Students manipulate an inexpensive bag of supplies (beads, pipe cleaners) to model two conformations of a riboswitch in a bacterial transcript. After initial pilot testing, we implemented the activity in three upper-level classes at one research-intensive and two primarily undergraduate institutions. To assess student perceptions of learning gains, we utilized a pre/post-activity 5-point Likert-type survey instrument to characterize student perceptions of confidence in both their understanding of riboswitches and their ability to apply the central dogma to riboswitches. Median post-test ranks were significantly higher than median pre-test ranks ( p < 0.0001) when compared by the Wilcoxon signed-rank test ( n = 31). Next, we assessed post-activity knowledge via use of a rubric to score student responses on exam questions. More than 80% of students could correctly describe and diagram examples of riboswitches; data from initial iterations were used to enhance curriculum materials for subsequent implementations. We conclude that this riboswitch activity leads to both student-reported increases in confidence in the ASM curriculum dimension of gene regulation, including central dogma concepts, and demonstrated student ability to diagram riboswitches, predict outcomes of riboswitches, and connect riboswitches to evolutionary roles.

We developed an interactive laboratory that allows students to identify and grade tissue samples from human breast biopsies, using techniques similar to those used by actual pathologists. This unique lab develops a practical and intellectual understanding of basic tissue structures that make up living systems, utilizing technology to bring together pathology, cancer biology, genetics, and bioethics in a relevant and engaging way that leaves a lasting impression on students. The activities described are appropriate for students at all levels of high school and college, especially those with an interest in health care careers.

The adaptor protein Amot130 scaffolds components of the Hippo pathway to promote the inhibition of cell growth. This study describes how Amot130 through binding and activating the ubiquitin ligase AIP4/Itch achieves these effects. AIP4 is found to bind and ubiquitinate Amot130 at residue Lys-481. This both stabilizes Amot130 and promotes its residence at the plasma membrane. Furthermore, Amot130 is shown to scaffold a complex containing overexpressed AIP4 and the transcriptional co-activator Yes-associated protein (YAP). Consequently, Amot130 promotes the ubiquitination of YAP by AIP4 and prevents AIP4 from binding to large tumor suppressor 1. Amot130 is found to reduce YAP stability. Importantly, Amot130 inhibition of YAP dependent transcription is reversed by AIP4 silencing, whereas Amot130 and AIP4 expression interdependently suppress cell growth. Thus, Amot130 repurposes AIP4 from its previously described role in degrading large tumor suppressor 1 to the inhibition of YAP and cell growth.