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Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) are a proven pedagogical approach to enhance undergraduate science process skills, knowledge, and competency outcomes by implementing a course-based faculty-mentored undergraduate research plan. CUREs are budget-friendly teaching and training practices that address the shortage of apprenticeship-style laboratory opportunities resulting from resource constraints. Effective CUREs implementations enable every science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) major in the course, department, unit, or school to engage in real-world research activities, as CUREs integrate seamlessly into required lecture and laboratory courses within the curriculum. All CUREs encompass opportunities for undergraduates to participate in discovery-based, collaborative, iterative research projects that are important to the scientific community and society. A greater understanding of cancer development and cancer progression remains a significant challenge for society, given the number of cancer-related deaths worldwide each year. Additionally, given the diverse types of cancers that affect men and women, as well as the potential anti-tumor proliferation strategies yet to be discovered, an exploration in cancer biology presents a unique opportunity for undergraduates to produce novel findings that may lead to publications contributing to the field. This article outlines a technique for faculty to facilitate the execution of a cancer biology CUREs project that involves all student classifications. The extent to which participation in CUREs enhances undergraduate career readiness factors warrants further investigation. 

Professional development is a highly organized and valuable process designed to disseminate specialized knowledge and skills, thereby enhancing workforce efficiency and institutional alignment with the organization's strategic goals and mission. Typically, most professional development resources focus on supporting student retention and career readiness. Maintaining student success and providing programs that enable students to acquire job skills is paramount. However, implementing strong science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) faculty professional development systems is equally essential to achieving meaningful student outcomes and departmental operational success. Sustainable professional development strategies and faculty support mechanisms must be continually developed, measured, evaluated, and improved to ensure that faculty can meet the needs of STEM majors, the changing educational landscape, and the challenges facing academic institutions. A focus on increased faculty communication from department and executive administration, as well as continuing education opportunities, travel awards, occupational training, mentoring programs, and scholarship initiatives, offers beneficial opportunities to meet faculty professional development needs. The recommendations in this article are intended for STEM faculty but could be adopted for all faculty and modified for STEM department staff. 

The active learning student-centered teaching approach process-oriented guided inquiry learning (POGIL) is a stimulating peer-based pedagogical method gaining momentum based on reported students’ outcomes that align with STEM undergraduate goals and objectives and job market competencies. Specific advanced topics in biology are intractable to many undergraduate students and require innovative, collaborative methods to produce desired learning outcomes. Chemistry instructors originally designed POGIL, and while biology-based POGILs are present in the literature, there is a limited amount of POGILs available in molecular biology. Thus, the current article illustrates a POGIL exercise that explores the central dogma, a fundamental principle in molecular biology. The central dogma of molecular biology provides a framework for gene expression processes and describes the flow of genetic information in living organisms. The central dogma describes how DNA nucleotides are transcribed into RNA nucleotides and translated into proteins. This seminal concept of molecular biology is critical to student understanding in introductory and advanced biological sciences courses. The POGIL exercise is organized based on the learning cycle model associated with inquiry-focused teaching techniques. The learning cycle model promotes gradual concept comprehension and real-world utilization. An increase in molecular biology POGIL exercises is required to improve student understanding and course grades in molecular biology or related disciplines. Examining the efficacy of using the current molecular biology POGIL exercise is necessary from the perspectives of undergraduate students and biology faculty to fortify POGIL usage at colleges and universities. 

The phytomicrobiome refers to all the symbiotic microorganisms and microbial genes that interact independently or synergistically with plant tissue and genome. Considerable research is devoted to plant abiotic and biotic stress factors. However, very little is known about the phytomicrobiome as it relates to plant stress and tolerance systems. Microbial tolerance mechanisms are synchronized events involving distinct microbial populations that often result in the suppression of microbial species or propagation of key species that possess genomes responsible for protective anti-stress proteins and pro-tolerance mechanisms that mediate plant health. Filling this research gap is essential to elucidating new knowledge about plant growth and development. Insights into phytomicrobiome and plant health may provide an impetus for new technologies and economic opportunities. 

POGIL, or process-oriented guided inquiry learning, is a pedagogical technique created over thirty years ago to enhance student engagement. POGIL is a student-centered approach that improves students’ learning and professional skills. POGIL activities incorporate the classic learning model with recurrent actions of exploration, concept invention, and application to encourage student inquiry. The microbiome represents the total collection of microbes associated with living organisms in distinct locations. The balance of microorganisms at the population level impacts an organism’s health and disease disposition. Enrichment or reduction of specific bacteria, viruses, and fungi in the human population accurately predicts normal or abnormal physiological functions. There is a lack of literature regarding POGIL and microbiome sciences. Thus, this article will elucidate the advantages of developing and integrating microbiome-focused POGIL assignments in institutions of higher learning. The development of additional POGIL activities will improve the understanding of microbiome concepts and experiments designed to explore the composition and functions of the microbiome in various plant and animal ecosystems. Additional educational research on the effects of POGIL activities on student outcomes will boost acceptance of this collaborative learning technique. 

Intrusive advising is a type of student advising characterized as a highly interactive and proactive student-centered process. Intrusive advising, like traditional advising frameworks such as developmental and prescriptive advising, is essential for identifying and designing remediation approaches to ensure student success and retention. Intrusive advising involves deliberately administrating Tinto’s academic and social integration objectives. Data indicates that intrusive advising is an effective strategy for improving student undergraduate success and academic retention rates. Intrusive advising may also advance research training and career development goals. Most of the data on this topic focuses on the first two years of college. More data is needed to explore the impact of intrusive advising on the last two years of college to understand better how intrusive advising mediates persistence, graduation, and entry into graduate school, professional school, or the job market. Further, more targeted information is needed to explore how intrusive advising improves student progression and degree completion for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) majors. The current article has significant implications for student advising policy and practice. Intrusive advising methods may be essential for minority-serving institutions with retention rates well below the national average. 

Democratizing STEM aims to make science education, research, and career pathways more inclusive and accessible. This article examines how democratization strategies like MOOCs, portable research tools, and interdisciplinary collaborations can increase STEM engagement and diversity. By expanding educational resources and career opportunities, democratization can address workforce disparities and advance scientific literacy. The paper calls for substantial support from various sectors to create democratization metrics and strategies, enabling broad and meaningful participation in STEM fields. 

Since the turn of the century, the human microbiome has garnered significant interest from biologists, engineers, mathematicians, computer scientists, medical professionals, clinicians, the food industry, and the pharmaceutical industry. It is now widely understood that the human microbiome is far more diverse than we envisioned in the 17th century when microorganisms were isolated, viewed, and documented with a simple microscope. Recent seminal studies using next-generation molecular technologies and computation strategies have demonstrated a strong association between the human microbiome on human health and disease. This review explores the effects of the human microbiome on human cancers such as breast, colorectal, and liver cancer. Identification of localized microbiomes may serve as an early-warning biological detection system to aid in diagnosing human cancer. Tissue-specific microbiomes synthesize, secrete, and metabolize various host and microbial products that impact the growth or suppression of microorganisms and modify tumor development, cancer progression, immunological profiles, and responses to treatment strategies. Future review articles will survey the contribution of the human microbiome to other human carcinomas. 

Virtual laboratory utilization has been trending in STEM undergraduate curricula for over twenty years. A virtual laboratory is an interactive computer simulation that mimics real-world laboratory experiences in silico. Virtual labs are cost-effective pedagogical options for academic institutions that lack adequate funding for physical infrastructure and instrumentation. Virtual labs are an excellent proxy for lab activities threatening individual safety and public health. Further, during the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual labs were the primary pedagogical strategy for laboratory instruction. STEM faculty have developed numerous techniques for incorporating virtual labs into classroom and laboratory activities. New technology like artificial intelligence will expand virtual lab usability and effectiveness. Educational research demonstrates positive student outcomes and other benefits from virtual lab engagement. Continued effective mixed-methods research and production of essential virtual lab-based evaluation materials, such as discipline-specific rubrics, are needed to advance the application of this vital technology further. Moreover, from a software development perspective, many more virtual laboratories are needed in technology, engineering, mathematics, and specialized scientific fields. 

Three-dimensional (3D) holographic technology, like virtual, augmented, and mixed reality technology, is an emerging technology designed to improve learning outcomes in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines. Holograms provide unique opportunities to enhance students’ understanding of intractable concepts and processes using engaging visualization methods. Portable 3D holographic fans allow for the improved visualization of molecules, structures, pathways, and other STEM-related content that have the potential to elevate information acquisition in novel ways that extend beyond 2-D presentations and textbook figures. While the potentiality of this innovative technology is exciting, adopting 3D holographic materials in the STEM pedagogical and research environment requires producing literary evidence to justify usage in specific contexts and sufficient guidance on safety protocols. A review of 3D hologram technology revealed an inadequate amount of efficacy research. Quantitative and qualitative research studies involving STEM majors, faculty, and researchers constitute the engine that will drive the utilization of 3D hologram visualizations in STEM undergraduate, graduate, and professional school classrooms and laboratories. The current article reviews relevant research findings and discusses the potential impacts of 3D hologram technology in teaching, research, distance learning, and medical contexts.