Mark Barsoum, Laurie Heyer and Malcolm Campbell – National Science Foundation

The National Science Foundation (NSF) approved $55,000 to fund rising sophomores at Davidson College who are interested in careers in science or medicine through the Research in Science Experience (RISE) program, headed by RISE program director and Assistant Professor of Biology, Mark Barsoum. The reallocation award was issued as a “Diversity for STEM Education” broader impact of “Collaborative Research: RUI: Broadening the Application of Programmed Evolution for Metabolic Engineering” award (1613203), held by Kimbrough Professor of Mathematics and Chair of Genomics, Laurie Heyer, and Herman Brown Professor of Biology, A. Malcolm Campbell.

The RISE program focuses on students from groups historically underrepresented in science, including minority, first-generation, and low-wealth students. To prepare the rising sophomores for more extensive academic-year and future summer research experiences, students engage in a four-week, closely mentored research internship program which will culminate in the students’ presenting the results of their research at the Davidson College Summer Research Symposium in October. Funding from NSF enabled RISE to meet the demand of 49 qualified first year student applicants this summer, a 100% increase from previous years.