Student Experiential Learning in Food Animal Infectious Diseases

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: This project is a joint proposal between South Dakota State University (SDSU), a predominately undergraduate institution, and Kansas State University (KSU). The principal objective is to provide the opportunity for undergraduate students in microbiology and pre-veterinary programs at SDSU to intern in food animal infectious disease research laboratories in the KSU College of Veterinary Medicine. In exchange, first year KSU veterinary students will participate in molecular diagnostic research projects in the Animal Disease Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (ADRDL) in the Department of Veterinary Science at SDSU. The immediate benefit will be to increase the exposure of students to opportunities in food animal infectious disease programs, with the ultimate goal of increasing the number of Ph.D.s in food animal health-related careers.

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APPROACH: Academically talented undergraduate students from SDSU and first year veterinary students from KSU are the source of the participants. Under-represented minorities are especially encouraged to apply. The project will run for three years. Each summer as many as three undergraduate students (9 total) will intern in KSU labs. Each year, a veterinary student will be chosen to spend the summer in a molecular diagnostic laboratory at SDSU. The fourteen mentors involved in the program are well-supported by either federal, state, private funding sources, and are actively involved in training undergraduate and graduate students. Undergraduate students will have the opportunity to continue participating in the project as a graduate student in his/her mentor's laboratory and will be supported for research activities conducted during the first year. In the fall, students will present their findings at a national research conference that emphasizes research findings related to infectious diseases of food animals. Evaluation is in two parts. The first is a short-term evaluation of project goals, which will provide feedback prior to the initiation of the next project cycle. The second part assesses longer term outcomes, such as the number of students who return to the same lab the following summer, the number of students who enter an infectious disease graduate program and the number of authorships, co-authorships on presentations and papers.
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PROGRESS: 2003/09 TO 2007/08<br>
The overall goal of this project was to strengthen student recruitment and retention in areas related to food animal medicine, especially in sub-disciplines involving infectious diseases of food animals. The approach was to conduct research internships for undergraduate students from South Dakota State University, with three internships made available each summer. In return, an early career veterinary student at Kansas State was sent to the South Dakota Animal Disease Diagnostics and Research Laboratory. The program was well publicized, including the preparation and distribution of pamphlets, email contacts, university publications and word of mouth. The result was the placement of six South Dakota State Students and one North Dakota State student into research labs within the Veterinary College at Kansas State. The students participated in research projects conducted in the laboratories of Dr. Raymond Rowland, Dr. Carol Wyatt, Dr. Bruce Shultz at K-State and Dr. Christopher Chase at South Dakota State. All students completed the entire internship. The experiences gained by the students included investigations into areas of veterinary virology, immunology and cell biology. The students also participated in other campus-wide undergraduate mentoring activities including a field trip to the space museum in Hutchinson, KS. One student has applied to veterinary college at Kansas State and intends to pursue an emphasis in food animal medicine. One student attended the Conference of Research Workers in Infectious Diseases (CRWAD), which was held in Chicago. The project received evaluations by the Office of Educational Innovation and Evaluation. <br>PRODUCTS: The principal products were the support of summer research internships for undergraduate and veterinary students. Each student participated in a research laboratory, including the application of state-of -the-art scientific techniques, which were performed in the context of a research project. Another product was the dissemination of program activities in the form of press releases for the local and general print media. A program evaluation document was prepared by the Office of Educational Innovation and Evaluation. <br>OUTCOMES: Undergraduate students obtained a research experience in a veterinary college that was not found at their home institution. Students were allowed and encouraged to practice critical thinking skills and take responsibility for contributing to a scientific objective. Interactions with other scientists and participation in scientific meetings created opportunities to develop and practice communication skills. The evaluation of student progress by a mentor formed the basis for written recommendations to support student applications to veterinary school and other programs. <br>DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: The projects activities were performed in conjunction with a larger consortium of undergraduate research summer programs at Kansas State. The project was disseminated to undergraduate students through the College of Agricultural Sciences at South Dakota State University and through the Department of Microbiology at North Dakota State University. Dissemination of information to Kansas State veterinary students was through college-wide emails. Presentations about the project were made to faculty at the College of Veterinary Medicine and to the faculty in the Department of Microbiology at North Dakota. Trips were made to South Dakota State University and North Dakota State University to recruit undergraduate students. Presentations were made to a Department of Homeland Security site visit team who were evaluating a food animal proposal led by the University of Missouri. The activities of the project were publicized in the form of a press release prepared by College of Veterinary Medicine. <br>FUTURE INITIATIVES: This is a termination report. There are no future initiatives planned for this project.
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IMPACT: 2003/09 TO 2007/08 <br>
Support of undergraduate students in the research lab will continue, including the development of other mentoring programs and increased awareness of research opportunities for undergraduates. Refinement of mentoring tools will continue. Working relationships between scientists and teachers at K-State veterinary program with undergraduate programs in South Dakota and North Dakota will be established.