Through the Research Experience for Teachers in Biological Sciences (BIORETs) summer program at Converse University, middle school and high school teachers in South Carolina will have the opportunity to work in the research laboratories. Teachers will gain hands-on lab work experiences working side-by-side with scientists, will participate in professional development workshops, and have the opportunity to mentor high school students who are a part of the research program. Over the summer, teachers are will be mentored to develop at least one lesson plan they can implement in their classrooms during the following school year. Converse science and education faculty will serve as a resource for teachers and students throughout the school year.
We will select 8 teachers to participate in the Summer 2023 BIORETs cohort. All accepted teachers must be science teachers who have a contract to teach during the 2024 school year. Priority will be given to teachers serving in the Spartanburg and Greenville County Public Schools. If you have questions about the program, please email Dr. Neval Ertürk at neval.erturk@converse.edu.
Opportunity to conduct cutting-edge research in neuroscience
Opportunity to participate in professional development activities
$10,000 stipend
$5,000 for completing the summer research and developing a classroom research project to implement in the following school year.
$2,500 for the implementation of the classroom project into their teaching.
$2,500 stipend for the presentation of the project and participation in the Converse STAR Teachers of SC Conference.
Allowance for mileage reimbursement available for commuters.
Reduced on-campus rate is available to residential teachers.
$2,000 for materials and supplies to implement the classroom research project.
Continuing Education Credit from Converse University.
Each selected teacher will be placed with a Converse research team.
4 hours per week is dedicated to professional development activities as a cohort.
6 weeks engaging in research and professional development activities (June 12 – July 21, 2023)
1 hour/month follow up meeting with the education faculty and the principle investigator for lesson plan implementation.
Attending at the Converse University Summer Research Symposium on August 4, 2023.
Attend the Star Teachers of South Carolina Symposium at Converse University in January 2024 to share the implementation of content related to your summer experience.
Submit a final, classroom-tested version of any lesson plans and associated content by the end of the 2023-2024 school year.
Priority will be given to teachers from Spartanburg and Greenville Country Public Schools.
Hello! I am Dr. Mark Bohler, a recent PhD graduate from Virginia Tech where I studied neurological and endocrine regulation of appetite in birds. At Converse University, I study the effect that high ambient temperatures (HATs) have on appetite regulation in rats – aka: Rats in HATs. While teaching and conducting research, I emphasize the importance of understanding a response (the what), the mechanisms mediating that response (the how) and the reason that the response occurs given a certain stimulus (the why). In this program, we will explore how HAT affects appetite-related behaviors, and subsequently how a small portion of the brain regulates this response. We will focus on the region of the brain most responsible for feeding and stress behaviors, as well as temperature sensation and thermoregulation; the hypothalamus. You will be working closely with two undergraduate students to explore the neurological basis of appetite regulation in HAT exposed rats. You will also have opportunities to mentor high school students who are actively conducting research of their own at Converse University.
Note: Working in this laboratory environment includes the handling of animals, animal blood, and animal tissues.
Griffin Laboratory – Exploring how specific cellular trafficking mechanisms result in plaque deposition characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease; Examining the effect of dental microbes on neurodegeneration in C. elegans models of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.
I am Dr. Ed Griffin. My research focuses on how distinct parts of the infrastructure in a neuron work together in response to neurodegenerative disease. In my lab, we use an organism called C. elegans, a metazooan that grows to 1mm in length at adulthood, yet has a robust nervous system. While teaching, I focus on the governing principles of phenomena and how they apply in myriad ways. In the research lab, I extend this to include the reasoning behind the process of research – how the hypothesis is the center of any scientific work, how we organize our controls and variables in the best way to test the hypothesis, and how we communicate most effectively to describe it. We will be working closely with 3 undergraduate researchers applying modern tools of bacterial culture, genetic manipulation, and neuronal analysis.
I will have two projects available for the STARS Teachers of South Carolina:
1. Exploring how specific cellular trafficking mechanisms result in plaque deposition characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease.
2. Examining the effect of dental microbes on neurodegeneration in C. elegans models of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.
Keen Laboratory – The Effects of Adenosine on Temporal Perception
My name is Dr. Richard Keen and I am chair of the Psychology Department at Converse University. For the past 25 years, I have worked on various projects focused on factors that affect your ability to perceive the passage of time. Have you ever sat in a one hour meeting that seemed to take three hours? Conversely, have you ever had such a good time that time appeared to just fly by? Various pharmaceuticals can cause similar effects as well. Our lab found that caffeine can speed up temporal perception. Caffeine is an adenosine antagonist, in other words, it prevents your natural adenosine from working. This summer, we are going to try to reverse the effect, to slow down temporal perception, by giving extra adenosine. You will be working closely with two undergraduate students and have opportunities to mentor high school students who are actively conducting research of their own at Converse University.
Note: Working in this laboratory environment includes the handling of rats and injections.
Varnon Lab: The role of dopamine in learning in a new insect model of neuroscience
The focus of my work is to study invertebrates as model organisms of behavioral and biological processes. I am conducting research with flightless tropical cockroaches. There are over 4000 species of cockroach, with less than 1% being the pests we normally think about. Most species, including those I work with, are very calm, non flying, social, omnivorous insects. Students in my laboratory have previously conducted excellent research on habituation learning, classical conditioning, and spatial navigation, all in combination with the effect of alcohol intoxication. This summer, I am interested in expanding from my research to investigate the effect of dopamine in behavior and learning. We will follow existing methods established in my laboratory, and treat the animals with dopamine and dopamine antagonist solutions. Teachers working in my laboratory will learn how to conduct inexpensive, practical research in the areas of animal behavior, behavioral pharmacology, and behavioral neuroscience.
Contact Us
For questions please contact the program director, Dr. Neval Ertürk, Associate Provost of Research and Engagement and Professor of Biology.
