Program Description

This National Science Foundation funded BIORETS program at WMU provides middle and high school science teachers in Southwest Michigan with authentic research experience and transformative curricular improvement and professional development opportunities. The center piece of the program is a seven-week summer experience for 8 teachers per year in June to August, in the laboratories of WMU faculty mentors. These research projects revolve around a unifying theme: how biological organisms interact with other organisms and their environments. Here is the 2026 program poster.

The summer research experience will be complemented with faculty research seminars, professional development workshops, demonstrations of hands-on laboratory teaching modules, lunch-time discussions on research and curricular development, written curricular materials, poster presentations on research and curricular development, and classroom visits. 

Each teacher accepted by the program receives a stipend of $7,840 (half disbursed in the middle of the program and the other half at the conclusion of the program). We will also reimburse for teachers' daily commuting mileage during the seven-week summer program. We are looking for highly motivated teachers who plan to translate what they learn from the BIORETS program into curricular changes. Such changes are expected to help teachers to: (a) enrich classroom teaching practices; (b) deepen students' research literacy and engagement in STEM classes; and (c) inspire a larger population of students to pursue higher education and careers in STEM, especially biology and biology-related fields.

For more information, please contact the program director Dr. Yan Lu (yan.1.lu@wmich.edu) or co-director Dr. John Spitsbergen (@email).

• Todd Barkman, Ph.D. — plant systematics, genetics
• Wendy Beane, Ph.D. — stem cells, regeneration
• Steve Bertman, Ph.D. — biosphere-atmosphere interactions
• Kathryn Docherty, Ph.D. — microbiology, ecology
• Pam Hoppe, Ph.D. — C. elegans developmental biology (not accepting BIORETS teachers in Summer 2026)
• Benjamin Koestler, Ph.D. — microbiology, infectious diseases
• Cindy Linn, Ph.D. — neurophysiology
• Yan Lu, Ph.D. — plant physiology
• Silvia Rossbach, Ph.D. — microbiology
• Tiffany Schriever, Ph.D. — freshwater ecology
• John Spitsbergen, Ph.D. — neurobiology, physiology
• Frederick Stull, Ph.D. — biochemistry
• Andrew Thompson, Ph.D. — fish biology, evolution, genetics

Ms. Aiesha Lockett 

is a science teacher at Portage Central High School in Portage, MI. She studied “How AMF (arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi) Association Impacts Crop Success” in Dr. Kathryn Docherty’s laboratory.

Abstract of Ms. Lockett’s Research Project: Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) form a symbiotic relationship that is mutually beneficial to up to 80% of terrestrial plants. They can help enhance crop success, even under environmental stressors. This study focuses on how AMF associations impact crop success by biomass measurements. Plant biomass includes mass, water content, nodules, and hyphae presence. AMF plants developed more root nodules, and hyphal presence was seen more often in inoculated plants. These results indicate that AMF inoculation does generally improve plant health. Authors: Aiesha Lockett, Angela Solis-Sarat, and Kathryn Docherty.

Ms. Lockett developed a lesson plan titled “Symbiosis in Action”, which will be implemented in a 10^th-grade Biology class of the coming school year.

Ms. Ashley Vosburgh 

was a science teacher at Portage Central Middle School in Portage, MI. She conducted a research project titled “Introducing get3b mutations into a dja quadruple mutant with CRISPR-Cas9" in Dr. Yan Lu’s laboratory. Ms. Vosburgh will join Paw Paw Middle School in Paw Paw, MI in fall 2026.

Abstract of Ms. Vosburgh’s Research Project: Tail-anchored (TA) proteins destined for chloroplast membranes face a sorting problem once they arrive in the stroma: do they belong in the inner envelope or the thylakoid membrane? GET3B, a chloroplast homolog of the cytosolic protein-targeting factor Get3, is a key player in solving this problem. In addition to GET3B, four DnaJ-type (DJA) co-chaperone proteins exist in the chloroplast stroma – DJA4/5/6/7. In this study, we introduced get3b mutations into dja4-2 dja5-1 dja6-2 dja7-2 quadruple mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana with CRISPR-Cas9 and identified multiple Cas9-free homozygous/ heterozygous get3b mutants in the dja4-2 dja5-1 dja6-2 dja7-2 background. The get3b-5 dja4-2 dja5-1 dja6-2 dja7-2 quintuple mutant appeared smaller and had lower photosynthetic efficiency than the dja4-2 dja5-1 dja6-2 dja7-2 quadruple mutant. This suggests that both GET3B and DJAs are important for targeting TA proteins in the chloroplast. Authors: Ashley Vosburgh, Briana Howard, Glory O. James, and Yan Lu.

Ms. Vosburgh developed a lesson plan titled "Aquatic Ecology Lab: Observing Biotic and Abiotic Factors", which will be implemented in a 6^th-grade Science class during the fourth marking period of the coming school year.

Ms. Briana Howard 

is a science teacher at Byron Center High School in Byron Center, MI. She introduced get3b mutations into wild-type and dja triple mutant Arabidopsis thaliana with CRISPR-Cas9 in Dr. Yan Lu’s laboratory.

Abstract of Ms. Howard’s Research Project: Our aim was to produce and analyze single and quadruple mutants in Arabidopsis thaliana by using CRISPR-Cas9 to intentionally target and disrupt the GET3B protein in the wild type and an existing dja4-2 dja5-1 dja7-2 triple mutant. We used PCR and gel electrophoresis to identify plants that were homozygous/heterozygous/ wild-type for get3b and absent of the Cas9 transgene in both wild-type and dja4-2 dja5-1 dja7-2 backgrounds for comparison and analysis. The homozygous get3b-1 mutant appeared to be smaller and have lower photosynthetic efficiency than the heterozygous get3b-1 mutant. The get3b-2 dja4-2 dja5-1 dja7-2 quadruple mutant appeared to be smaller and have lower photosynthetic efficiency than the dja4-2 dja5-1 dja7-2 triple mutant and the homozygous get3b-1 single mutant. These observations indicate GET3B and DJAs together are key factors in chloroplast thylakoid targeting of tail-anchored proteins. Authors: Briana E. Howard, Ashley R. Vosburgh, Glory O. James and Yan Lu.

Ms. Howard developed a lesson plan titled “Who’s the Daddy?” Gel Electrophoresis and DNA Fingerprinting, which will be implemented in a 10^th-grade Biology class during the third marking period of the coming school year.

Ms. Dawn Nesbitt 

is a science teacher at LE White Middle School. She discovered that “Caffeine in Low Concentrations Does Not Reduce Herbivory More Than Its Precursors” in Dr. Todd Barkman’s laboratory.

Abstract of Ms. Nesbitt’s Research Project: In this study, we tested whether xanthine-derived alkaloids reduce herbivory risk in Arabidopsis thaliana by applying eight xanthine derivative solutions and sodium hydroxide solution with a pH of 9 (control) to 6-weeks-old plants, then exposed each plant to Pieris rapae larvae for 48 hours. Treatments were randomized across individuals and herbivory was quantified.  The range of herbivory was between 35-60 percent, but no significant difference was found between caffeine and its precursors. Among different xanthine alkaloid treatments, 7-methylxanthine tended to be most effective at reducing herbivory. Future studies should use higher concentrations of metabolites to see if more pronounced effects result. Authors: Dawn Nesbitt and Todd Barkman.

Ms. Nesbitt developed a lesson plan on the “Coevolution of Plants & Animals”, which will be implemented in a 7^th/8^th-grade Science class during the coming school year.

Mr. Gregory Brooks 

is a science teacher at Sturgis Middle School in Sturgis, MI. He investigated “GDNF expression in Heart following Moderate Intensity Continuous Training Compared to Sedentary Rats” in Dr. John Spitsbergen’s laboratory.

Abstract of Mr. Brooks’s Research Project: For this project, three groups of rats were tested after six weeks of training exercise. One group of rats were subjected to moderate intensity continuous training (MICT); one group of rats were subjected to high intensity interval training (HIIT); and one group of rats served as sedentary controls.  The study aimed to determine how exercise affected specific muscle fiber types. Hind-limb muscles including gastrocnemius, soleus and plantaris and cardiac ventricle were all tested for muscle fiber type and GDNF content. For my research, I compared GDNF expression in the cardiac ventricle between the MICT group and the control group. The hypothesis was that rats that exercised would have more GDNF in their muscles than the control rats. Authors: Gregory L. Brooks, Allexia B. Galentine, Maya Abdulhak, Ethan McMahon, Jeff Offringa, Keith Whitt, and John Spitsbergen.

Mr. Brooks developed a lesson plan on “How to use a pipette and make dilution standards”, which will be implemented in a 6^th-grade Science class during the first semester of the coming school year.

Mr. Jeff Offringa 

is a science teacher at Kalamazoo Christian High School in Kalamazoo, MI. He conducted a research project titled “Comparing HIIT and MICT: Run Training for Rats and Applications for Humans” in Dr. John Spitsbergen’s laboratory.

Abstract of Mr. Offringa’s Research Project: High intensity interval training (HIIT) became a mainstream fitness trend in the early 2000’s. Compared to moderate intensity continuous training (MICT), this type of training reduces time commitment and is widely regarded as more effective. I collected data on training and body weight changes in rats to analyze max aerobic speed (MAS) and weight gain from sedentary rats and exercised rats (divided into HIIT or MICT training groups). This study compares the effectiveness of HITT rats, MICT rats, and sedentary rats on overall health. After 6 weeks of training, data showed that HIIT training was as effective as MICT training in terms of the health of rats. Also, the HIIT and MICT training groups were significantly healthier than the sedentary group. Authors: Jeff Offringa, Allexia Galentine, Maya Abdulhak, Greg Brooks, Ethan McMahon, Keith Whitt, and John Spitsbergen.

Mr. Offringa developed a lesson plan titled “Anatomy and Physiology of the Neuromuscular Junction”, which will be implemented in an 11^th/12^th-grade Anatomy and Physiology class during the first semester of the coming school year.

Mr. Keith Whitt 

is an ELD science teacher at Milwood Magnet Middle School in Kalamazoo, MI. He conducted a research project titled “The Impact of Exercise: GDNF Properties in HIIT and Sedentary Rats” in Dr. John Spitsbergen’s laboratory.

Abstract of Mr. Whitt’s Research Project: GDNF stands for glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor. It is a protein that helps with motor neuron and muscle retention. Our hypothesis is that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) leads to an increase in GDNF production in comparison to sedentary rats. In this study, there were 6 rats in the HIIT group and 6 rats in the sedentary group. After 6 weeks of training, we examined the left ventricular muscle of the heart from both groups of rats. After analyzing the data, we concluded that there is not a link between HIIT exercise and an increase in GDNF production. Authors: Keith Whitt, Allexia Galentine, Maya Abdulhak, Greg Brooks, Ethan McMahon, Jeff Offringa, and John Spitsbergen.

Mr. Whitt developed a lesson plan about “Muscles in the Body”, which will be implemented in an 8^th-grade Science class during the first semester of the coming school year.

Mr. Matthew Frayer 

is a science teacher at Linden Grove Middle School in Kalamazoo, MI. He studied the “Impact of Land Use on Soil Quality at a Sheep Farm in SW Michigan” in Dr. Steve Bertman’s laboratory.

Abstract of Mr. Frayer’s Research Project: Conventional agricultural practices compromise soil quality through tillage-induced carbon loss necessitating unsustainable fertilizer inputs and contributing to carbon emissions. This study investigated how land use impacts soil carbon sequestration and quality at a sheep farm in southwestern Michigan. Soil samples were collected from six fields representing different management practices (conventional corn, rotational grazing, unseeded pasture, seeded pasture, alfalfa, and forest) at depths of 0–10 cm and 10–20 cm. Analyses included soil organic matter quantification, pH measurement, water infiltration rates, permanganate oxidizable carbon measurement, and phospholipid fatty acid profiling, to assess microbial biomass, fungi-to-bacteria ratios, and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi biomass. Results demonstrated that planned grazing systems significantly enhanced soil quality compared to conventionally tilled fields. Topsoil organic matter in the heavily grazed field exceeded the conventional corn field by 84%, with the grazed field sequestering approximately seven times more carbon over three years—equivalent to offsetting annual emissions from two gasoline-powered vehicles per acre of land grazed. Authors: Matthew Frayer and Steve Bertman.

Mr. Frayer developed a lesson plan titled “Soil Quality & Composting: How does the composting method impact soil quality?”, which will be implemented in an 8^th-grade Science class during the first semester of the coming school year.