Funding initially from the BSU Provost’s Immersive Learning Grant Program.

1. Fine Focus: A New International Journal for Undergraduate Microbiology Research John L. McKillipBall State University, Department of Biology, Muncie, IN 47306 ABSTRACT / OVERVIEW Assessment of student success Call for Papers The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) recently disseminated a call to action that underscores the need for a re-evaluation of how undergraduate biology education is implemented. Development of creative student-centered research components into existing curricula is a major theme of this announcement, as well as ‘community-based participatory research.’ BSU is well positioned to take advantage of many of these rapidly evolving objectives in undergraduate science education, largely due to an established track record of excellence through our Biotechnology Certificate Program, an active Chapter of Sigma Xi (the Scientific Research Society), and the only local Chapter of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) in Indiana. This proposed immersive learning course will utilize the skill sets of 15-18 undergraduates in four departments to develop a peer-reviewed journal that will publish findings of undergraduate microbiology research internationally. This journal, to be entitled Fine Focus, will be the first of its kind, and will be produced in print form and electronically. Participating students will gain a multitude of experiences through collaborations with professionals from ASM National as well as our regional Indiana Branch of ASM and the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR). Such experiences will include acquisition of a working knowledge on scientific writing, editing, peer review, graphic design, and marketing, as they relate to dissemination of microbiological research data through an academic journal with international scope. Students will leave the course having also established permanent professional contacts in varied subdisciplines of microbiology worldwide. In order to be successfully implemented, contemporary undergraduate research in the biosciences must incorporate not only the bench skills, and experimental design principles, but the other vital aspects of doing original research, including professional dissemination. It is this unique niche that Fine Focus will fill (Fig. 1). Other undergraduate journals exist, even those in the sciences. Perhaps the best known example is the Journal of Young Investigators, an online journal for students in science, engineering, and mathematics. However, our proposed work here is the first undergraduate journal specifically in microbiology to be in both print form and online. In a time when limited research budgets prevent undergraduates from attending national conferences to present their data, a venue such as Fine Focus allows interested students the opportunity to see their research efforts to fruition and learn about the entire research process at the same time. Students involved in development of Fine Focus will come away with a working knowledge of three fundamental concepts: a) organization of people and resources essential for academic and fiscal success of a start-up research journal; b) how to effectively critique scientific writing and communicate their assessments to the corresponding authors of all submissions, a vital skill in the hard sciences, and; c) how to blend their creativity (in overall design and marketing of the journal) with the objective guidelines that govern proper scientific experimental design and strict manuscript format. Through weekly roundtable sessions, I will lead discussions with the students to identify problems encountered or questions, in order to arrive at solutions and decisions voted on by the student group. This approach will reinforce the idea that the students’ voices are the guiding principle upon which the journal’s success is based. Weekly one-on-one meetings with each student will be necessary to obtain information not practical to bring out in a group setting. In terms of assessment, student grades for this course will come through each student grading all others, including themselves (mid-term, and at the end of the semester). These grades will be submitted directly to me without any of the other students seeing others’ grades. As the instructor, I will assimilate these scores and compare them generally with my overall subjective rank on each student’s performance. Journals will be kept by each student, as a daily log of responsibilities, objectives, and outcomes. I will use these student journals, and their self-assessments, to determine an overall final course grade for each of them. Fine Focus will consider high quality manuscripts in all areas of applied, environmental, clinical, and industrial microbiology, as well as microbiology education and areas of biotechnology and molecular biology which utilize microorganisms. Fine Focus anticipates that new submissions will be accepted beginning 10 October, 2013. All manuscripts must have at least one undergraduate student as coauthor(s), along with their mentor(s). Original research articles and mini-reviews will be considered for publication in Fine Focus using the format of Applied & Environmental Microbiology. Electronic submission is required, with text in a single file (Word) with all figures and tables in a second file attachment (.pdf or Word). The first issue will be published and available in early July 2014. Two issues per year will be produced – online and in print form – each January and July. Website and Facebook will be available mid-autumn 2013. Timeline • Semesterly goalsFine Focus will commence in Fall Semester 2013 and will also be offered in Spring 2014; course release is requested only for Fall semester. For Fall 2013, the goals will include the following: • Develop mission and scope of journal, along with guidelines for submitted manuscripts • Develop list of contacts for advertising journal (call for papers & potential sponsors) • Determine frequency of publication and deadlines for submitted papers • Design graphic art for journal trifold pamphlets and cover art/website • Establish and begin maintaining iwebsite (BSU sponsored) containing all of the above info • Become familiar with how to comprehensively critique and review scientific literature. • Maintain contact with proposed members of the external Editorial Board • Begin recruiting effort for Spring semester student participants • Begin active call for manuscript submissions • For Spring 2014, the goals will include the following: • Establish data management platform for incoming and • pending manuscript submissions • Continue ongoing training on scientific literature • review • Decide on final numbers and recipients for printed • journals upon completion of first issue • Begin sending out first batch of incoming • manuscripts to external reviewers (and starting • internal reviews on these) • Complete necessary graphics for cover art on print • journal, pamphlets, and website • Attend conferences (IBASM, CUR, and ASM • National meetings) to solicit sponsorship/advertisers, • and to call for papers • Make final decisions on initial group of manuscripts to • appear in first issue of Fine Focus Fig. 2. Undergraduate student Mark Kindler locates a Caenorhabditiselegansnematode using low power on a microscope as part of a recent project on these nematodes as a bioassay tool. I Professional Development Student participants will come away with at least several key professional contacts in the fields of microbiology or industry, considering the degree to which each team will need to foster off-campus relationships with practitioners in various disciplines. For example, through regular communication with members of the external editorial board/review panel, as well as visits to conferences to arrange sponsorship with prospective advertisers or ASM National, students will gain invaluable professional development experience not possible to obtain in traditional content courses. This level of communication will necessitate each of them to rise to a multitude of varied challenges. For others in the class, contacts will be made in the fields of publishing or the creative arts, as locating a printer/binder and arranging cover graphics will be vital for early success of Fine Focus. Through the weekly roundtable sessions, each team will bring the others up to speed on their progress on these various fronts. Lastly, each team will be asked to mentor members in other teams such that by the end of the term, all students each semester will be well-versed in theory and practice of activities outside of their immediate disciplines. Undergraduate research alone Added experience of undergraduate conferences New opportunity provided by Fine Focus Fig. 3 Fig. 1. The cycle of learning and disseminating information gathered from undergraduate research. (adapted from http://www.jyi.org/about/mission.php) Fig.5 ASM Letter of Support for Fine Focus Fine Focus Fine Focus will be student-driven Acknowledgements Students will be empowered to develop ownership on the products of their labor. This professional and personal investment of time and interest will come from direct engagement of the students at all levels of the journal’s development and dissemination. Three teams of students will be involved in this immersive learning course. Firstly, a review panel comprised of 4-5 students in the BSU Department of Biology will coordinate a two-tiered review process. These students will secure and manage incoming manuscript submissions to two or more outside reviewers (faculty or industry contacts at other institutions), but will also themselves participate in a simultaneous in-house review of these same papers. Secondly, a production team comprised of 4-5 students from the BSU Department of Technology will spearhead the effort of assembling the final papers into bound print journals for dissemination to those who subscribe. These students will also manage the electronic version of Fine Focus each issue, including the ancillary aspects of the associated website. Thirdly, an advertising team will be needed to explore avenues for perpetuating the journal beyond the BSU-supported funding period. For example, this team of 4-5 students from the BSU Department of Marketing and Management will need to secure sponsorship from vendors, and arrange advertising that will facilitate a self-sustaining journal in the coming years. Amanda Smith and Rachel Heckler assemble real-time PCR reactions (Fig. 4) while Sarah Hummel prepares a sample of bacterial DNA for the spectrophotometer Fig. 5) as part of their undergraduate research projects recently. Funding initially from the BSU Provost’s Immersive Learning Grant Program. Active participation from the following collaborators is gratefully acknowledged: American Society for Microbiology (ASM), Education Board (Fig. 5); Srinivas Gampala, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, Dow AgroSciences, Indianapolis, IN; Kiev S. Gracias, Ed.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Life Sciences, Oakland City University, Oakland City, IN; Borwonsak Leenanon, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Food Technology, Faculty of Technology, Khonkaen University, Khonkaen, 40002, Thailand; Hope M. Taylor, DDS, Hammond, LA; Oddur Vilhelmsson, Ph.D., Senior Lecturer & Associate Professor, Department of Science, University of Akureyri, Iceland. Fig. 4