Cost of Project: ____________ Contribution from Applicant’s Department/Unit: ____________ Amount Requested for Project: ____________

(Header for STF Committee use only.)

2015 STF Project Summary Sheet

STUDENT TECHNOLOGY FEE PROGRAM 2015 TECH INITIATIVES SUMMARY SHEET

Student Applicants: Complete “Project Title,” “Applicants” information, and “Submission Date” only (top section).

PROJECT TITLE: Enabling Investigative Labs on Gene Function using Tetrahymena and C. elegans  _____________________________________________________ Project # (STF staff enters) Department /Organization: Biology Applicants (first applicant is considered primary contact): Name: Suzanne R Lee Mail Stop: 9160 Email: suzanne.lee@wwu.edu Phone:2152 ext1 Name: Lina Dahlberg Mail Stop: 9160 Email: lina.dahlberg@wwu.edu Phone: 4651 Name: Jackie Rose Mail Stop: 9172 Email: jackie.rose@wwu.edu Phone: 6421

STF Grant Request (from page 1 of 2015 proposal form: line 6) ........................... $ 23277

Authorization for contribution resources (if applicable):_$7000 (BIOLOGY)__________________ Submission Date: 3/26/2015________

SUBMITTAL APPROVALS

AS President Required for all proposals submitted by Associated Students (AS). Signifies that all student

proposals have been prioritized by AS. Department Chair Required for all proposals from a specific department. Signifies that the department can

support the project as submitted. College Dean or Unit Head Signifies that the College or organizational unit can support the program as

described.

**Project’s Strategic Priority by College: ______** For proposals originating from a college, the dean must review, sign, and strategically prioritize that batch of proposals.

Space Administration Required for all proposals that require additional facilities or changes to existing

facilities. Signifies that all space-related issues have been addressed. Vice Provost for Information Technology/CIO Required for all proposals related to all-university services

and all proposals not related to a specific discipline. Signifies that the technology support organizations and technical infrastructure can support the submitted project.

     

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Student Technology Fee – AY 2015 Tech Initiatives Proposal Form  

DUE April 2, 2015    

  Project Title: Enabling Investigative Labs on Gene Function using Tetrahymena and C. elegans     Department/Organization: Biology   Project Applicant(s):   Principal Contact   Name Suzanne R Lee MS 9160 Email: suzanne.lee@wwu.edu Phone x2152 ext 1   Others   Name Lina Dahlberg MS 9160 Email: lina.dahlberg@wwu.edu Phone x4671   Name Jackie Rose MS 9172 Email: jackie.rose@wwu.edu Phone x6421  

Name David Leaf MS 9160 Email: david.leaf@wwu.edu Phone x3632   Amount Requested for Project   Proposed Budget:   1. Equipment total $ 26800   2. Plus site preparation (not STF funded) + $ 0   3. Total Project Cost (spreadsheet total from part IV of this form, Total Project Budget) = $ 30277   4. Less organization’s contribution – $ 7000 (from Biology)   5. Less site preparation – $ 0   6. STF Grant Request = $ 23277      IMPORTANT NOTE    

1. THE STF Committee will accept only complete proposals by the announced deadline. Every section (I–IX) and all items of this proposal format must be addressed.    

I. Executive Summary (800 words max)    Provide a summary of the project and the benefits to be derived. Explain what the students would gain from the project, and how the acquisition would meet the Student Technology Fee mission.    STF Mission:    The Student Technology Fee provides Western students with adequate and innovative technology experiences by:  

     

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● Broadening/enhancing the quality of the academic experience  ● Providing additional student access to technology  ● Increasing integration of technology into the curriculum  

 Information necessary for life is encoded in the form of DNA segments called genes. Most students

learn about the functions of genes in an indirect way, by reading descriptions of historical experiments. However, national initiatives for STEM education reform have called for integration of authentic research into college curricula in order for students to gain greater proficiency in the process of science. Thus, the goal of this STF project is to enable students to investigate gene function through hands-on experience in undergraduate lab courses and research in the Biology and Psychology departments. By doing so, students will learn how specific genes contribute to biological phenomena, and actively participate in scientific discovery. Notably, this project will have a significant impact on Biol 205, a widely-enrolled GUR course.  

Funding of this project will support acquisition of equipment to create new transgenic strains of two organisms that have enabled fundamental and Nobel Prize-winning discoveries: the single-celled protozoan Tetrahymena thermophila and the multi-cellular nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. New strains engineered to carry genes altered in function will be used by students to formulate and test their own hypotheses, allowing students to directly investigate the connection of specific genes to the health and behaviors of cells and organisms. To generate Tetrahymena and C. elegans strains with permanently altered genes, a Bio-Rad PDS-1000 gene gun is required, which shoots gold particles coated with DNA into cells for integration into the genome. To quickly produce Tetrahymena strains with increased or decreased gene activity, a BTX ECM 630 electroporator is advantageous. An electroporator opens temporary holes in cell membranes, allowing the introduction of DNA that will be transiently harbored by cells outside of the genome. These methods will introduce Tetrahymena into teaching and research labs for the first time, and also make the creation of new C. elegans strains much easier, as the alternative method presently used for engineering C. elegans at Western is more technically demanding.

In the Biology Department, new Tetrahymena and C. elegans strains created in the labs of Lee and Dahlberg will be used for student-driven experiments in Biol 205 (Introduction to Cell and Molecular Biology), which enrolls ~600 students each year from Biology, PEHR, Environmental Science and Biochemistry. Currently, 205 labs use a wide-range of technology (much of which was acquired through previous STF projects) including microscopes, computers and software for image analysis, 3D modeling of protein structure, and gene sequence analysis. However, these labs do not yet address authentic research questions and fail to adequately support the inquiry-driven learning movement in STEM education. With a gene gun and electroporator, discovery-based lab modules can be developed that use the existing technologies described above to test the involvement of Tetrahymena and C. elegans genes in behaviors that depend on fundamental processes relevant to a diversity of life, including humans. This summer, Dr. Suzanne Lee will participate in an NSF-sponsored workshop focused on introducing Tetrahymena into undergraduate lab courses, which should further aid our development of new Biol 205 lab modules. In the Psychology Department, led by Dr. Jackie Rose, students design DNA to make transgenic C. elegans in Psyc 428 that are studied further by students in Psyc 328 labs. Here, the gene gun will dramatically increase the number of student-designed strains that can be created in a single quarter, making more individualized projects possible so that students can investigate a greater diversity of genes and biological phenomena.  

This project would fulfill all three objectives of the STF Mission in overlapping ways. First, the use of transgenic Tetrahymena and C. elegans in laboratory courses and research labs will make greater use of on-campus instrumentation and resources, increasing student access. Second, the integration of technology into course curricula will be enhanced, because the power of existing tools for scientific discovery will be made more apparent as students investigate their genes of interest. Third, and most significantly, the quality of student academic experience will be enriched by introducing authentic research using C. elegans and Tetrahymena into lab courses, enabling more students to engage directly in the scientific process of hypotheses generation and testing. Recent sequencing of the Tetrahymena and C. elegans genomes uncovered ~27,000 and ~20,000 genes respectively, many of which are uncharacterized. Student discoveries about gene function will be disseminated through presentations and an online publication forum that has been shown to positively impact undergraduate experiences in lab courses (1). Thus, this project offers exciting opportunities for more than 600 students a year to uncover new information about genes and contribute to a scientific community beyond Western.  

(1) Wiley EA and Stover NA. (2014). Immediate dissemination of student discoveries to model organism database enhances classroom-based research experiences. CBE Life Sci Educ. 13(1): 131-8.

     

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II. Relationship to STF Objectives / Impact on Current Academic Programs    The STF Committee will use as its primary assessment criteria the three objectives—quality, access, and integration—defined in the STF mission (above). Given this criteria, describe your proposed project in detail.    

1. Tell us—focusing on what the students will gain from the project—how the project would provide positive benefits to specific courses or instructional programs. Specifically, answer at least one of a, b, and c below:

a. How would this project provide additional student access to technological resources? b. How would this project broaden or enhance the quality of the student’s academic experience through the

proposed technology? c. How would this project increase integration of technology into coursework?

Immersion in scholarly and creative activity is a key component to the quality of college education.

This STF project will enhance the quality of students’ academic experiences in lab classes in the Biology and Psychology Departments. This project enables development and expansion of student-driven, inquiry-based laboratory modules centered on two organisms that serve as experimental models for studying gene function in research labs worldwide: the unicellular protist Tetrahymena thermophila and the nematode C. elegans (Figure 1). Most importantly, newly developed lab modules will be introduced into Biology 205, a GUR course that serves students majoring in Physical Education, Environmental Sciences, Biology and Chemistry. Through these lab modules, Biol 205 students will be engaged in original and authentic research, rather than simply analyzing data from a recipe-type protocol. This project will also impact students in an existing research-based course, Psychology 328/428, by increasing the number of student-driven projects that can be pursued. Students in labs studying Tetrahymena and C. elegans, in the Biology and Psychology Departments will also benefit from this project through newly enabled research avenues.  

To investigate the functions of genes - DNA segments encoding information necessary for life - scientists use organisms whose genomes are accessible to manipulation. This approach has been essential for developing a better understanding of the biological processes shared by all living creatures and has profoundly impacted a wide-range of fields, including medicine, biotechnology, and biofuels. To understand the function of a gene of interest, strains of an organism are often created in which the gene has been removed (knocked out, or KO), reduced (knocked down, KD), or replaced with an altered version. The impact of these changes on the health, appearance and behavior of the organism can then yield important insights into the normal functions of the gene of interest (Figure 2A).

This STF proposal is for instrumentation to create KO, KD, or altered Tetrahymena and C. elegans, which requires the introduction of modified DNA sequences into the cells of normal strains. However, introducing DNA into cells is not trivial. Indeed, Richard Axel won a Nobel Prize in 2004 for developing a chemical method of introducing DNA into tissue culture cells. In the case of Tetrahymena, instrumentation that bombards cells with DNA-coated particles (a gene gun, Figure 2B) or creates transient holes in the cell membrane for DNA to pass through (an electroporator, Figure 2C) can generate new strains. DNA delivered by the gene gun is stably integrated into the genome, resulting in an organism that harbors a permanent change that can be passed on to the next generation. DNA delivered by an electroporator is harbored temporarily by the cell, and can be maintained through several generations of the organism, but not permanently. The latter is advantageous for analyzing certain types of genes where manipulation may be detrimental to the organism. For C. elegans, DNA can be introduced by microinjection or the gene gun; however, as described below, microinjection is technically difficult and has limited the scope of Psych 328/428.

B"

Figure'1.'Model"organisms"for"which"new"strains"will"be"created"using"a"gene"gun"and"electroporator"(see"also"Figure"2)."A)"Tetrahymena"thermophila""B)"C."elegans."(Note:"Organisms"are"not"shown"to"scale)"

A"

Figure 1. Model organisms for which new strains will be created using a gene gun and electroporator (see also Figure 2). A) Tetrahymena thermophila B) C. elegans. (Note: Organisms are not shown to scale)

     

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 This project fulfills the STF Mission of improving the quality of student educational experiences by

linking classroom learning with authentic investigation in lab modules. New and existing modules will be built around three foci: 1) Students participating in the process of science; 2) Improving the technical competency of students in data collection and analysis; and 3) Facilitating student interactions with existing technologies, many of which have been supported by previous STF projects. In addition, better curricular integration of and greater student access to technology will be achieved by employing existing technologies in more meaningful contexts, as students engage with the practice of science, pursuing answers to their own scientific questions, and increase their use of existing resources. Through research-based lab modules, students will better understand the nature and process of science, and most importantly, they will develop stronger skills in evidence-based reasoning and critical thinking – whether they become future scientific researchers or scientifically-informed citizens (Figure 3).

 

 

Inquiry-driven lab modules in Biology 205  The new lab modules in Biology 205 lab will facilitate students asking their own questions about

genotype, phenotype, and mutations. Genotypes define an organism’s genetic makeup, phenotypes represent how that genetic makeup is manifested in an organism (in its behavior, its shape, or its movement, for example), and mutations are changes in the genotype that might affect the phenotype of an organism. In the lecture portion of Biology 205, students currently learn about different mutations that affect various

Select"and"Grow"

Organisms"bombarded""with"DNA"

C"

A"

Figure'2."A)"SchemaFc"of"normal"Tetrahymena"strain"(leG)"compared"to"mutant"strains"(right)"created"with"a"gene"gun"and"electroporator."B)"PDSI100"Gene"Gun."C)"ECM"630"Electroporator.""

New"Strains"with"altered"gene"or"gene"product"

levels"

Knockout'(KO)"

Knockdown'(KD)"

Altered'Gene""

Strains"with"normal"gene"with"

normal"levels"of"its"gene"product"

B"

Informed"ciFzens"

Independent"research"students"

Gene'gun'and'electroporator'facilitates"making"new"trangenic"animals"for"student"analysis"

Figure'3."Pedogogical"framework"enabled"by"this"STF"project."

Hypothesis"generaFon"

Knowledge"gathering"

Hypothesis"tesFng"

Figure 2. A) Schematic of normal Tetrahymena strain (left) compared to mutant strains (right) created with a gene gun and electroporator. B) PDS-100 Gene Gun. C) ECM 630 Electroporator.

Figure 3. The pedagogical framework that will be enabled by this STF project. Students will participate in the process of science. The dark blue arrow indicates where the equipment funded by this STF will feed into the framework.

     

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phenotypes of an organism. However, presently, students do not investigate these concepts in a manner that authentically mirrors how scientific inquiry is conducted - where the questions and experimental approach are defined by investigators, and the answers are unknown. Using instrumentation requested in this proposal, new Tetrahymena and C. elegans strains will be generated so that students in 205 lab courses can engage in authentic, original research about the function of particular genes (Figure 4). The lab modules that we develop will fit in to the existing lab schedule of Biology 205.

   

Biology 205 is a particularly exciting class because it is a GUR course with large enrollments (560

students in 13-14, of which 70% of the students are non-Biology majors. It is therefore an important forum for discussions about the roles of science in society. The experiments using the gene gun and electroporator will directly lead to conversations concerning genetic modifications and mutations in nature, in the lab, and in our modern lives. For instance, we anticipate discussions that directly relate to the use, usefulness, and concerns surrounding genetically modified organisms. Because we will also be providing students with hands-on experience in studying such organisms, Biology 205 students will be well equipped to discuss these issues in a scientifically rigorous and ethically thoughtful manner.

The focus of new lab modules for Biology 205 will be centered on: 1. Enhancing the quality of the academic experience by engaging students in the process of science. It is

important that students participate in the process of science, so that they are prepared to understand and analyze data in their professional and personal lives. To this end, we shall design modules in which Biology 205 students gather background information, design and carry out an experiment using simple organisms (created with the gene gun and electroporator), and analyze and present data that they gather from that experiment.

2. Enabling student access to technology by increasing technological competency. Students are already taught basic techniques in the laboratory, and we are designing laboratory modules that will require students to use those techniques to answer a scientific question that has not been asked or answered before.

3. Increasing integration of technology in the curriculum by facilitating interactions with existing technology. The gene gun and electroporator will allow students to design experiments with newly created organismal strains that will employ existing technologies in the Department, many of which were funded from previous STF requests.

Laboratory modules (Figures 4 and 5) will first involve a knowledge-gathering stage in which students will use computers to mine databases and apply bioinformatic analysis to their candidate genes to identify features such as when and where the genes are expressed (Figure 4A, Figure 5, Week 7). Knowledge-gathering will also involve learning techniques for phenotypic analyses that employ microscopes, camera use, image analysis software, video tracking and spectrophotometers (Figures 5, Week 8, see also http://faculty.wwu.edu/dahlbec/stf.html ).

Figure'4."Example"of"informaFon"gathering"and"hypothesis"design.""A."InformaFon"from"a"Tetrahymena*genome"database"indicates"that"Gene"A"is"highly"expressed"during"maFng."B."A"predicFon"that"a"Gene"A"KO"will"not"be"able"to"pair"in"a"maFng"assay."C."Predicted"behavior"of"mutant"C."elegans"in"chemotaxis"assay,"where"worms"move"towards"an"aXractant."

Gene"A"

Levels"of"gen

e"prod

uct"

Growth" StarvaFon" MaFng"and"Development"

""""""""Ma;ng'competence'

Gene'A'KO'generated"with"

gene"gun"

Normal'A" B"

generated""with"

gene"gun"I"

Mutant"animals"

Normal"animals"

Control"AXracFve"odor"

I"

GeneFcally"rescued"animals"

C"

Figure 4. Example of information gathering and hypothesis design. A) Information from a Tetrahymena genome database indicates that Gene A is highly expressed during mating. B) A prediction that a Gene A KO will not be able to pair in a mating assay. C) Predicted behavior of mutant C. elegans in a chemotaxis assay, where worms move towards an attractant. Similar to Tetrahymena, there are gene expression databases available for C. elegans, which will be used for hypothesis generation.

     

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Many of these existing technologies were acquired with the support of previous STF projects, and their use will be enhanced through this project. Next, students will use the knowledge that they have gathered to select among the newly created Tetrahymena and C. elegans strains which ones they wish to study further, and design an experimental plan for analysis, forming a testable hypothesis and predicting possible outcomes (Figure 4B and C, Figure 5). Finally, students will implement their experimental plan, gathering and analyzing their data in order to put together a final report on their gene of interest that will be shared through class presentations. Classroom discussion of student findings will be facilitated by use of a high-resolution video projector - particularly helpful for highlighting fine details of Tetrahymena structure. Students will also have the opportunity to share any new research findings with a larger research community beyond Western, through online publication in SUPERDB, a database of student generated experimental data (http://www.suprdb.org/).    Improvement and Expansion in Psychology 328/428  

Dr. Jackie Rose teaches two laboratory courses, Psyc 328 (Introduction to Behavioral Neuroscience Techniques) and Psyc 428 (Advanced Techniques in Behavioral Neuroscience) which will use the gene gun. Psyc 428 focuses on techniques for generating new mutant worm strains. Students design new DNA and presently use microinjection to deliver this DNA to worms one-by-one. This technique has met with limited success (a synopsis of the delicate injection procedures can be found at http://media.wwu.edu/psychology/microscope1.mp4). As can be seen from the video, performing a single microinjection is a finicky process: each student attempts to inject worms for a minimum of 3-4 hours. As the success rate is low, currently every student injects the same DNA to make identical mutant worms. Gene gun technology would dramatically decrease the time required to deliver new DNA to worms (from hours to minutes) while increasing the success rate of student-led DNA delivery. This would allow for individualized projects where each student could design and create their own mutant strain.  

In Psyc 328, students learn about how genes influence the whole organism and result in altered behaviors when manipulated. To this end, students employ fluorescence microscopy to visualize targeted proteins in mutant worm strains generated in the 400-level laboratory class (Figure 6A). The correlation between gene expression and behavior is also examined by identifying and quantifying differences in behaviors between normal and mutant worm strains. Behavioral tests include migration assays such as chemotaxis (Figure 4C) where worms migrate towards a preferred substance (attraction) or that was previously paired with food (memory). Taken together, providing students with access to gene gun technology for DNA delivery would increase the transformation success at the 400-level and have downstream effects in the 300-level laboratory course by greatly increasing the number of testable mutant strains. Having more strains generated successfully at the 400-level would provide opportunities for students to have individualized projects in a course setting and allow for students to investigate a more diverse range of phenotypes, greatly contributing to their understanding of the link between genes and behavior (Figure 6B).  

Figure'5."Biology"205,"3"week"lab"module"to"explore"genes"and"mutaFons"in"Tetrahymena"and"C.*elegans*

Week'7:"DNA"sequence"analysis,"choosing"a"gene"of"interest"

Week'8:"Behavioral"assays"and"data"analysis**"

Week'9:"Data"presentaFon"and"discussion"of"geneFc"mutaFons"and"modificaFons"(including"science"and"society)"

OR"

**Week"8"relies"on"strains"generated"using"a"gene'gun'and"electroporator'

Weeks"3,"5:"Familiarizing"students"with"exisFng"technologies"prepares"them"for"weeks"7I9"

Figure 5. Biology 205, 3 week lab module to explore genes and mutations in Tetrahymena and C. elegans. Weeks 7 through 9 will focus on hypothesis generation and testing, and data presentation.

     

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Future courses (Biology 300/400 levels):  In the future, upper level biology courses will be able to take advantage of the equipment that is

funded by this STF. Students at the 300 and 400 level will participate in the goals set out by the STF mechanism. Upper level students are expected to form and test hypotheses as they develop into mature scientific thinkers. The gene gun and electroporator will allow students to directly test their own hypotheses in a ten-week quarter using advanced, modern techniques. As is the case with Biology 205 students, the gene gun and electroporator will allow upper level students to fully utilize existing technologies in the Department, many of which were previously funded from STF requests. Science is a collaborative process and we plan to explicitly explore scientific collaboration by having 300 level students run experiments on transgenic strains that are engineered by 400 level students; 400 level students will use the findings of their 300 level counterparts as the basis for deciding their next scientific question (see the description of Psyc 328 and 428 as an example of this workflow, above). It is likely that student findings from upper level courses will be published or deposited in public databases, which will inform future biological research.    Summary  

Tetrahymena and C. elegans are ideal models for teaching students about the connections between DNA, genes, and the health and behaviors of organisms. In addition to having stereotyped movements and other behaviors that are highly amenable to student analysis using microscopes, cameras, and video analysis, both organisms have fully sequenced genomes, with many thousands of genes that have yet to be fully understood in their biological functions and activities. By engaging students across the curriculum in authentic research, this STF project will greatly enhance the quality of student experience in laboratory courses, improving integration and access to technologies in both the Biology and Psychology Departments.

       

328"level"course"10"students"

428"level"course"10"students"

Results"from""Psych328"determine"

what"mutaFons"to"study"next""

DNA"from"Psych428"is"studied"by"Psych328"

students"Gene'gun'facilitates"using"DNA"made""by"students"to"make"new"transgenic"animals"

Results"can"be"integrated"into"independent"research"projects"

Figure"6B"

UNCI43[Ex1]::GFP"

Figure"6"A"

Figure 6. A) Images captured using laser confocal microscopy showing mutant worms generated in Psyc 428 that express green fluorescent protein (GFP) fused to a gene of interest. GFP indicates where the unc-43 gene (exon1) is found along the nerve cord (red rectangle). B) The pedagogical framework that links Psychology 328 with Psychology 428. The dark blue arrow indicates where the gene gun would be used to facilitate this framework.

A B

Gene'gun'and'Electroporator'

Computers,*Microscopes,*Camera,""Video,"Spectrophotometers"""

Gather"Knowledge"

Form"Hypotheses,"Make"PredicFons"

Test"Hypothesis,"Communicate""New"Knowledge"

Gene"sequence"analysis"BioinformaFcs"Expression"paXerns"Methods"of"analysis"

Select'new'strains''Design"plan"for"analysis"

Gather"Data"Class"PresentaFon"Online"PublicaFon"

Computers,"High8resolu9on*projector,"Microscopes,*Camera,""Video,"Spectrophotometers"

SCIENTIFIC*PROCESS* TECHNOLOGIES*SKILL*BUILDING*

Figure'7."Outline"of"planned"lab"modules"that"engage"students"in"authenFc"research,"while"building"technological"competences"and"increasing"use"of"exisFng"technologies."CapabiliFes"uniquely"enabled"by"this"STF"project"are"noted"in"bold.""Use"of"instrumentaFon"purchased"by"prior"STF"projects"are"in"italics."

Increasing"quality"of"educaFonal"experience"

Enabling"student"access"to"technology"

Increasing"integra;on"of"technologies"in"curriculum" Figure 7. Outline of

planned lab modules that engage students in authentic research, while building technological competences and increasing use of existing technologies. Capabilities uniquely enabled by this STF project are noted in bold. Use of instrumentation purchased by prior STF projects are in italics.

     

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2. Would other departments be involved with this project?  No � Yes X If yes, describe.    Dr. Jackie Rose (included as a Project Applicant) will extend this project into the Psychology Department labs as described above.    

3. Has any part of this project previously been funded by the Student Technology Fee?  No X Yes � If yes, describe.  

 4. Is the proposed project a pilot project?

 No X Yes �    

III. Utilization    List the anticipated number of times and duration per each use—per quarter or per academic year—that students would use the proposed technology. The committee is looking for total student hours and total number of unique students who would use the technology in that time period. Explain how you arrived at this utilization.    

Course Total Students/year Total Student hours/Class Total Student Hours Biol 205 560 3360 3680

Psych 328 10 160 Psych 428 10 160

In academic year 2013-14, 560 students were enrolled in Biol 205. There are two lab modules in which students are directly engaged with technology, the DNA sequence analysis lab and data analysis lab (see Fig. 5). Each lab is 3 hours in length. Dr. Rose’s Psych 328/428 enrolls 10 students/yr in a 4 hour lab. The gene gun will be used about halfway through the quarter affecting 5 labs.

IV. Total Project Budget  

 This section details the estimated total cost of the project. Include costs that would be covered—by your department or another source—for ongoing costs such as personnel or operating expenses.    1. For assistance in preparing your budget, please consult with relevant campus support departments

(ATUS, Purchasing, Space Administration, etc.).  

2. For more information about these contacts and helpful tools/links: from the STF website home page (http://www.wwu.edu/stf), choose “STF Tech Initiatives” on sidebar, then section "II. Tech Initiatives Forms and Instructions.”

 Attach an Excel spreadsheet if you have additional details.    

     

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Item   Quantity   Item Cost   Total  PDS-1000/He Particle Bombardment Apparatus (Bio-Rad)   1   20700   20700  ECM630 Exponential Decay Electroporator (BTX Harvard Apparatus)   1   6100   6100  

Subtotal       26800  

Allowance for price increases (3% of subtotal)       27604  

Shipping (taxable)       250  

Tax (8.7%)       2423  Total This budget total (or your attached spreadsheet total) should match the projected budget figure on page 1 of this proposal. (See box on page 1, line 3.)  

    30277  

 Important Notes from the STF Committee:    ● We recognize your proposed budget as an estimate. Final funding for successful projects will be

established after thorough technical review; some costs may need adjusting due to price changes.    ● We recommend that you include a 3 percent cushion to allow for price increases.  

 ● We may impose special conditions on a proposal before approval. See STF Proposal Guidelines.  

 ● Funding is not provided directly to departments for purchases. All purchasing is done via the Office of

the VPIT/CIO and savings are retained in the STF fund.    3. What funding or contributions are available from your department or other sources?

 Note: “Contribution“ is defined as a monetary contribution. A vendor discount, for example, is not

considered a contribution.    A contribution of $7000 will be made by the Biology Department.    

4. Could this project be divided into discrete elements that could be funded separately?  Note: A “no” response to this question creates an “all or nothing” proposal. That is, if the STF

Committee decides against funding your entire proposal, it will not consider any elements for partial funding. If elements could be funded separately, the applicant is responsible for prioritizing them before submitting the proposal.  

 No � Yes X If yes, summarize and prioritize project elements with cost estimate for each.    This proposal involves two elements, with the following priority: 1) a gene gun ($20700) and 2) an electroporator ($6100). While the former is absolutely essential for this project, the electroporator is also an important piece of equipment that would enable making certain types of Tetrahymena strains (ex. knockdowns/KDs) that cannot be made with the gene gun.    

5. Are course or lab fees charged for any of the courses that will use this equipment?  

     

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No � Yes X If yes, describe. Please note: The total funding requested from the Student  Technology Fee must reflect the amount collected from course fees for equipment replacement and/or equipment acquisition.  

Lab fees for Psych 328/428 in 2013-2014 totaled $500. Biol 205 lab fees totaled about $20,000 ($6050 of which is used for “repair and replacement” of instrumentation). If this STF proposal is funded, the Biol 205 lab fees will cover purchase of the DNA extraction kits, gold particles, cuvettes, bacteriological media, and antibiotics necessary for prepare DNA for the gene gun or electroporator. However, because the lab fees must be spent out by the end of the fiscal year, it is not feasible to accrue enough surplus funds to purchase a large-ticket item, such as the gene gun.

 V. Impact on Existing Resources  

 Your proposal must address the project’s potential impact on existing resources. Give special attention to the impact on data transmission networks (e.g., sources accessed, networking equipment, etc.), and personnel (e.g., staffing, administrative support, faculty support, etc.).    1. Describe how existing equipment is used. Contrast this to projected use if your project were funded.

The use of the gene gun in Psych 328/428 will significantly lessen faculty and staff workload for one week during the quarter it is taught by Dr. Rose. Technical staff in Biol 205 will be trained to grow Tetrahymena and C. elegans instead of growing other organisms, so the impact is minimal. The impact upon existing equipment is minimal as the lab modules in Biol 205 which already use laptop computers, networking resources, video cameras and microscopes will be modified to focus upon Tetrahymena and C. elegans. The use of instrumentation Psych 328/428 labs will be unchanged except for a different mode of introducing DNA into C. elegans.    

2. Is similar equipment or technology available elsewhere on campus—such as the Student Technology Center, Classroom Services, Video Services, Western Libraries, a college lab?  No X Yes � If yes, describe why the existing equipment does not meet the needs outlined in  

this proposal.    

3. If this project involves the replacement of equipment, including computers:  

a. Describe the “before and after” configuration changes. (A spreadsheet reflecting these changes may be attached.) Or, write “N/A.”  N/A    

b. Describe the costs and benefits of replacing vs. upgrading. Or, write “N/A.”  N/A  

 4. Would this equipment be available to students outside of your department?

 No � Yes X If the proposed technology would be used by students outside of your department,  

describe how they would gain access, how equipment availability would be publicized, the hours/week when equipment would be available, and any costs that would apply.  

If students are engaged in research with faculty which could benefit from the use of a gene gun or electroporator, accommodations will be arranged to create strains of interest under the auspices of Suzanne Lee.

     

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 5. Does this project involve the check-out of equipment to students?

 No X Yes � If yes, discuss whether or not the Student Technology Center/ATUS Loan Pool  

could be assigned this task.    

6. Does the department have adequate operating funds to provide ongoing maintenance and support?  No � Yes X If yes, describe.   The Biology Department has a Repair and Replacement funds for covering instrumentation such as the gene gun and electroporator. Furthermore, Science and Technical Services has been very successful in repairing a wide variety out-of–warranty instrumentation.    

7. Does the department have adequate personnel funds to provide ongoing staff support for the project?  No � Yes X If yes, describe.   As described earlier, this project will involve modifications to existing lab courses and not require additional staff support.  

 VI. Space and Site Information  

 This section addresses any space alteration or site preparation necessary for the proposed project. Site alterations include painting, holes in walls, security systems, carpeting, construction, lighting changes, or conversion of a lab or office.    Special If this project would require any site preparation, or if this project would use any space not  Note: currently under your department’s control:    

a. You must submit a draft proposal to Space Administration by March 13, 2015.    b. Space Administration and Facilities Management will then conduct a site survey and respond

to you by March 20, 2015 about project feasibility, cost, and schedule.    c. You must include the site survey response with your final proposal.  

 1. Location for installation of equipment or technology:

 BI440    

2. Would site modification be required?  No � Yes X If yes, describe the modifications (e.g., electrical, air, painting, lighting, security,  

network access, etc.).   Only a very minor modification is required, which involves attaching a brace to a lab bench to support a small helium tank. This modification is routine for spaces similar to BI440.

 3. Would this project use space not currently assigned to your department or area?

     

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 No X Yes � If yes, describe.    

VII. Project Schedule    Describe your overall implementation schedule. (Remember that project awards are announced during spring quarter, and that projects are to be substantially completed by the end of the calendar year.) If any site preparation is involved (see section VI above), align your project schedule with the schedule provided by Space Administration and Facilities Management.    

- Summer 2015: purchase of gene gun and electroporator  - Fall 2015: design of Biol 205 lab modules, generation of Tetrahymena and C. elegans test strains  - Winter 2016: pilot Biol 205 lab modules implemented in Dahlberg’s lab sections, Employ gene gun in Rose’s Psych 328/428 course  - Spring 2016: modification of lab modules and incorporation into lab manual - Fall 2017: lab modules introduced into all Biol 205 lab sections  

   

VIII. Constraints    List or describe any external or internal factors/constraints that could affect your project schedule, project objectives, or the project budget (e.g., if external approval is required for curricular changes, or if funding must be received by a certain date).          

IX. Submitting the Proposal    1. Make sure your proposal does not exceed 12 pages (not including Tech Initiatives Summary Sheet).

 2. Complete a 2015 Tech Initiatives Summary Sheet for the front of the proposal.

 3. Submit the proposal and summary sheet electronically for prioritizing (PDF preferred, or Word

document):  a. Faculty and staff: Submit by internal due date, which must be before proposal due date of April 2.  b. Students: Submit by March 31 to AS VP for Academic Affairs at

ASVPforAcademicAffairs@wwu.edu.  

4. Submit prioritized proposals:  a. Organization reps and AS VP for Academic Affairs: Submit to Student Technology Fee (STF)

Committee by 12:00 noon on April 2.  b. For each proposal, email one electronic version (PDF preferred, or Word document) of both the

proposal and the summary sheet to diane.bateman@wwu.edu (the STF Committee secretary).  Note: Paper copies of proposals are no longer required; please do not send.