Interdisciplinary science at Lewis & Clark

Midway through the first year of funding from a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Undergraduate Science Education Program grant, Lewis & Clark has already made significant progress toward the objectives outlined in our grant proposal. The following early accomplishments demonstrate the additional momentum this grant has given to our science program:

Laddered-research teams: An integral part of our HHMI grant proposal is the development of laddered research teams, which include a high-school student, an experienced undergraduate researcher, and a less experienced undergraduate. Since receiving our HHMI grant, this hierarchical training-model has also been funded by a National Science Foundation Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement Program grant to psychology faculty members Drs. Brian and Jerusha Detweiler-Bedell.

Five Lewis & Clark students have been named to our Student Outreach Leadership Team (SOLT) and are already visiting local high schools to mentor and recruit students for spots on the laddered-research teams. Three of the ten laddered-research teams will conduct research on the Oregon Health & Science University—Oregon National Primate Resource Center near Beaverton High School. SOLT recruiting at Beaverton High has already realized initial success; a diverse group of Beaverton students have displayed interest in joining research teams.

Science Without Limits Symposium: The faculty planning group for the 2009 Lewis & Clark Science Without Limits Symposium has received a verbal commitment to present from Dr. Vilayanur Ramachandran, an internationally recognized Neuroscientist from the University of California San Diego. The mission of this series is to make innovative scientific research accessible and relevant to a wide audience, and increase participation in the physical and natural sciences among all groups, particularly those that have been historically underrepresented.
Science course for non-science majors: Four senior faculty members from the departments of biology, chemistry, and physics are working together to develop the curriculum for a team-taught science course for non-science majors entitled “Origin of Life and the Universe.” The College Curriculum Committee will review plans for the course this spring, and then further development of the course will occur over the summer. We expect the class to be offered beginning in the spring semester of 2010.

Neuroscience curriculum development: An interdisciplinary group of faculty members have assembled to develop our planned neuroscience program. This group has expanded the aims of the curriculum development to include an introductory class followed by a one-semester laboratory course. Additionally, a new neurochemistry class is being developed by Professor Janis Lochner. We have already advertised for the hire of a Neuroscience Scholar-in-residence to assist in further curriculum development during 2009-2010.

In the areas of neuroscience and outreach, Lewis & Clark’s HHMI grant builds on the relationships developed through a generous grant from the Fischer Family Foundation, which provides funding for the development of a neuroscience program at Lewis & Clark with the assistance of faculty members from the Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU). The Fischer Family Foundation grant also will encourage a number of students to pursue careers in science and medicine.

As a direct result of funding from the Fischer Family Foundation, Drs. De-Ann Pillers (OHSU) and Gary Reiness (Lewis & Clark) have completed a strong collaborative research project, and their student researcher, Andrew Thomas, is pursuing medical studies at the University of Washington. Drs. Todd Watson and Yueping Zhang from Lewis & Clark and Dr. Alexander Stevens (OHSU) are developing and starting a promising collaborative project.