Enhancing Biology Laboratories for Students in the Southwest

With support from the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI Program), this Educational Instrumentation project at University of the Southwest will strengthen undergraduate learning in the biological sciences. Specifically, this project will secure a spectrophotometer, PCR workstation, gel imaging system and a human physiology teaching kit. The project will also secure essential laboratory equipment including a laminar air flow system, biological safety cabinets, an autoclave, a cryobox, a water filtration system, an analytical balance, and microscopes. These items will allow students to safely, sterilely, and accurately perform laboratory procedures in courses including Microbiology, Cell Biology, Human Anatomy and Physiology, Genetics, Biochemistry, and Organic Chemistry. In addition to providing improved experiences in biology and kinesiology courses, the new equipment will also allow students to participate in faculty-led research projects. The goals of this project are to enrich the learning and experiences of undergraduate students by providing critical equipment and instruments that will enrich laboratory course at University of the Southwest. Students will gain experience with procedures such as DNA measurement, nucleic acid amplification, and working with pathogenic microbes. These hands-on learning experiences will better prepare undergraduate students for careers in biotechnology, the biomedical sector, forensics, agriculture, and more. The project will assess the impact of the project funded equipment through user logs and student performance on applicable learning outcomes in impacted courses. This project is funded by the HSI Program, which aims to enhance undergraduate STEM education and increase capacity to engage in the development and implementation of innovations to improve STEM teaching and learning at HSIs. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.