Developing a Culture of Research in Vermont: Training and Research Support for Faculty and Students Through Outreach.

The Vermont Genetics Network (VGN) Outreach Core works with undergraduate college faculty throughout the state to implement and integrate cutting edge technology into their curricula and research programs. The opportunities afforded to undergraduates exposed to VGN Outreach activities allow them to gain important skills and encourage them to pursue research careers. The VGN Outreach Core, based at the University of Vermont (UVM) and Norwich University, has utilized the technologies and expertise from the three VGN Core Facilities at UVM – Microarray, Proteomics, and Bioinformatics – to support faculty and student research and to create educational modules. Through these modules, our team has worked with over 20 faculty and 560 undergraduate students from eight baccalaureate partner institutions (BPIs). Seven of the eight colleges have integrated one or more modules into their curricula and all eight BPIs have reported other changes to curricula that were influenced by VGN Outreach interactions. Results from outreach surveys suggest that our outreach programs influence the educational and career goals of undergraduates. Students report an increased interest in studying science and pursuing a career in science or medicine after participating in VGN educational modules. Further results from the outreach surveys will be discussed. Additionally, the VGN Outreach Core directly supports faculty and student research. The team works with faculty to enhance their research by bringing research into the classroom, integrating novel experiments into the modules, establishing relationships with the core facilities, offering technical support for project design, and providing extensive bioinformatics support. Core members also work with undergraduate students by serving as technical advisors and/or thesis committee members for independent senior projects and by providing research support. Through all the VGN Programs, a stronger culture of research is being developed at our partner institutes and around the state. This work was sponsored by Grant Number P20 RR16462, from the IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) Program of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).