The very timely vision of the iEMBER (inclusive Environments and Metrics in Biology Education and Research) Network is to improve biology education with a particular focus on learners traditionally excluded from the field. Funded by NSF’s RCN-UBE Program, they aim to build a network of researchers, educators, and change-makers from a variety of perspectives to broaden participation through interdisciplinary collaborations in biology education research.
 
This network works to understand the impact of education environments on undergraduate biology students and to mobilize this understanding to dismantle barriers to participation. The goal is to foster welcoming, safe, supportive, and engaging learning environments and structures.

What iEMBER has been up to

Since 2017, iEMBER has been building community through a series of successful in-person and virtual events that spark research collaborations through networking, research project pitch competitions, financial support, and resources. They host virtual conferences and coffee hours, and organize meetings at conferences throughout the year.
 
Their September 2020 virtual conference convened more than 50 STEM faculty, education researchers, social scientists, administrators, and more to discuss institutional racism and white privilege in STEM. As an example of the types of collaborations, one group formed at the event is taking a journal club/group meeting approach to discussing efforts at institutional change; another group is initiating a research project on how faculty talk about race and equity in STEM classrooms.

How QUBES has helped

From Jana Marcette, Director of Graduate Studies at Montana State University:
“The QUBEShub platform and network have been fantastic partners in our work. We use QUBES as a public-facing website, as a platform for our conferences, as an internal project space for working groups, and to keep our steering committee organized. One of my favorite features of our events is the lightning talk-business cards, where members present a slide on their research interests and ways they would like to collaborate. Through QUBES we have posted these for members, and we are currently developing an interactive directory and map.”

How the QUBES community can engage with iEMBER 

Join the network! Check out events to attend and get involved. The next full conference will be in Spring or Summer 2021.

Read about the network. Learn more at the iEMBER group page. Read the group’s publications about building the community in CBE-Life Sciences Education and American Society for Microbiology.

Questions? Contact Jana Marcette at jana”dot” marcette “at” msubillings “dot” edu.