COLLEGEVILLE >> U.S. Rep. Ryan Costello, R-6th Dist., visited Ursinus College on July 6 to announce a National Science Foundation grant.

The grant was in the amount of $28,531 for the project, Collaborative Research, which is researching using protein function prediction to promote hypothesis-driven thinking in undergraduate biochemistry education.

Costello, a member of the STEM Caucus, had the opportunity to meet with Rebecca Roberts, an associate professor of biology, and biochemistry and molecular biology at Ursinus College, as well as several students to hear about their research projects.

Im pleased to see students in our community will benefit from a grant that will enable first-hand experiences to encourage them to think like a scientist and, in turn, explore opportunities in STEM education. This grant will also help faculty understand how students learn from these techniques, Costello said in a prepared release.

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I am aiming to provide even greater opportunities for Ursinus students to experience authentic research by bringing research into their courses. As part of a collaboration with faculty from across the country, I have helped develop a project that challenges students to discover functions for proteins of known structure but with currently unknown function. This grant from the National Science Foundation will allow us to continue to engage our students in this project and to evaluate the impact of the experience on their growth as scientists, said Roberts.

Costello recently signed a bipartisan letter to the House Appropriations Committee requesting robust, continued funding for the NSF in the upcoming 2018 Fiscal Year, and has introduced and supported several pieces of legislation to support students who choose STEM fields.

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Ursinus gets biochemistry grant from National Science foundation - The Phoenix