About Fly-CURE

The Fly-CURE is a Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) that utilizes Drosophila melanogaster to map and characterize mutants from a genetic screen. The project was started at the University of Detroit Mercy in 2011, and in 2014 started expanding to other institutions. As of 2026 the Fly-CURE has been implemented in 28 different institutions across the country, bringing authentic course-based research experiences to over 3,000 undergraduate, and mapping over 30 novel mutants. The learning objectives and techniques utilized in the Fly-CURE align well with the learning objectives that are common in undergraduate genetics laboratory courses, though the project has been implemented in a variety of course types including Anatomy and Physiology and Introduction to Biology. As the project has evolved, additional upper-level CURE projects have been developed. These projects were designed to expand our knowledge of the mutants initially characterized in the Fly-CURE project and have been designed for upper-level courses in behavior genetics, bioinformatics, developmental biology, and cellular and molecular biology.

With the support of an NSF IUSE grant we were able to understand the impact this project had on students. Students self-reported substantial gains in sense of belonging, scientific self-efficacy, and intent to pursue additional research experiences. We find these gains to be consistent across institution type, student demographics, or whether this was the student’s first research experience (Merkle et al., 2023). Ongoing efforts are now working to investigate if these self-reported gains correlated with increases in scientific skills and literacy.

Fly-CURE faculty makeup a mixture of institution types, career stage, and previous Drosophila experience. We have found that this project can successfully be implemented in a variety of institution types (CC, PUI, MSI, R1, etc.) and the success of implementation is not dependent on the faculty member having knowledge or previous experience with Drosophila. Faculty participating in the Fly-CURE have reported success in promotion and tenure throughout their career. Additionally, the faculty have established a community of practice that meets frequently to discuss aspects of the project, student learning, and faculty development.

Students in the Fly-CURE have mapped and characterized over 30 novel Drosophila mutants. These characterized mutants were all generated in an EMS genetic screen to look for genetic regulators of cell growth and cell division (Kagey et al., 2012). Many of these mutants have been published as micropublications with undergraduate students serving as the lead authors. In addition to publications, faculty and students in the Fly-CURE have made numerous scientific presentations at local, regional and national meetings.