Shift to virtual format due to COVID-19 yields unexpected benefits BAR HARBOR — Six undergraduates from throughout the country studied at the MDI Biological Laboratory this summer under a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) whose goal was to engage students “in meaningful ways” in ongoing research projects. Each NSF-REU research fellow (names are listed below) worked closely with an MDI Biological Laboratory faculty member on projects related to elucidating the basic cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying regeneration and aging in various animal model systems, including zebrafish, worms, salamanders and mice. The 10-week program was funded through a three-year, $382,064 grant from the National Science Foundation that is now in its second year. Due to the COVID-19 threat, the program was forced to abruptly pivot from a wet laboratory to a virtual format — a shift that yielded unexpected benefits that organizers plan to incorporate into future summer fellowships, after the threat of illness from in-person exposure is gone. “We were very pleased to welcome our 2020 class of summer fellows, even if we didn’t have the pleasure of meeting them in person,” MDI Biological Laboratory President Hermann Haller, M.D., said.