Design and Implementation of a Six-Session CURE Module Using Biofilms to Explore the Chemistry–Biology Interface

Abstract

A six-laboratory session biofilm-focused biochemistry laboratory module is described. Through just six four-hour laboratory sessions over three weeks, students first master background knowledge and fundamental experimental techniques to explore questions involving bacterial biofilms at the interface of microbiology and biochemistry and then execute self-designed experiments to make novel discoveries. Foundational biofilm experiments in the course-based undergraduate research experiences (CURE) module yield visually striking data with distinct phenotypes that are easy to differentiate and present numerous avenues for experimental exploration and discovery. The module was designed to incorporate the five components of a CURE course: broadly relevant or important work, use of scientific processes, collaboration, discovery, and iteration. The six-session CURE module is attractive to incorporate into a Chemistry or Biochemistry curriculum that may not have flexibility to incorporate a full quarter or semester long CURE.