Kristen Rhinehardt
North Carolina A & T State University, NC·Biology
Synthetic biology applies engineering principles to design and build biological systems. It draws on biology, mathematics, chemistry and computer science.
- Fields
Biology
Education Research
Biomedical Engineering
- Topics
synthetic biology
undergraduate research
research experiences for undergraduates
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Sep 2029
What they work on
- Train 12 undergraduates each summer (2027–2029) across North Carolina A&T and Simmons University in hands-on synthetic biology projects that design, construct and analyze biological systems.
- Build students' skills in experimental design, data analysis and computational thinking through structured workshops, plus training in research ethics and the bioethics of emerging biotechnologies.
- Connect the two sites through shared research teams, virtual seminars and joint mentoring, and assess the program with surveys, reflective activities and tracking of student outcomes.
More about the research
This grant supports training undergraduates in the field rather than a single research question. It funds a two-site summer research program run jointly with Simmons University in Boston.
Why it matters
The program prepares undergraduates, including students from schools with limited research access, for careers in synthetic biology and the bioeconomy. It also tests a model for training students in interdisciplinary research across two institutions that other schools could adopt.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Davida Smyth
Texas A&M University-San Antonio, TX·Education Research
Test whether community-based environmental research helps recruit and retain undergraduate STEM students, using participant surveys and online assessment tools during 10-week summer projects.
Liping Liu
Lawrence Technological University, MI·Education Research
Implement an existing toolkit of training videos, activities, instructor guides and workshops for engineering undergraduate research mentors through a new Undergraduate Research Excellence Network that coaches mentors in making adoption plans.
Anya Goodman
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo, CA·Education Research
Adapt an established organizational-psychology work-design survey to the context of STEM undergraduate research experiences through iterative interviews with subject matter experts, including bilingual participants.
The school
North Carolina A & T State University: 5 labs on PI Pages, $82M a year on research, 72 research doctorates a year.
Reach out
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