Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Biological Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University

Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh PA

Investigators

Abstract

ABSTRACT Murphy, Robert F. Proposal # DBI-9912260 Since 1987, the Department of Biological Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University has offered a Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) with support from the REU Program of the National Science Foundation. Since 1989, the SURP has also been supported by a grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. In 1998 and 1999, the program was expanded again to include participants supported by the Beckman Scholars Program and a Computational Biology and Chemistry program underwritten by the Merck Company Foundation. The REU program is run each summer and provides intensive, individualized research experiences in molecular biology and genetics, cell and developmental biology, biochemistry and biophysics. All participants must be United States citizens or permanent residents and must be in their sophomore or junior year at the time of application. The REU program is primarily aimed at students from small colleges and universities that do not have extensive research opportunities. Students from groups underrepresented in the sciences are especially encouraged to apply. Participants in the program receive a stipend of $3,000, free University housing, and reimbursement for reasonable travel costs. The core of the program is an individual research project carried out under the supervision of one of the participating faculty. The scientific progf am includes research presentations by faculty, presentations and discussion by students of articles from the scientific literature, sessions on career options and scientific ethics, and a concluding symposium in which all students present the results of their research. Students receive tf aining in creating sophisticated computerized presentations and receive a video tape of their presentation at the end of the program. In addition to the scientific program, students participate in a variety of other activities, including the annual Department whitewater rafting trip. ABSTRACT Jocelyn Spragg Proposal # DBI - 9912216 The Division of Medical Sciences is the part of Harvard University that supervises Ph.D. training programs of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences for students who are engaged in basic biological research in laboratories on the Medical School campus. The Division submits this proposal for a 10-week summer research program for undergraduate students to participate in research projects in the field of cellular and molecular biology. Funds are requested for 10 students each year for three years. Participants will be recruited from a nation-wide pool, with particular emphasis on recruiting students who are interested in careers in biological research and on recruiting qualified minority students and women. In addition to their research projects, students participate in a weekly studentfaculty research discussion seminar series at which they teach each other about their projects, and in a weekly career development series, which covers such topics as choosing graduate programs, completing successful applications, and interviewing. Three sessions each summer are devoted to discussions of ethical issues in biological sciences. Students also participate in a peer advising/mentoring program with current graduate students and are provided additional opportunities to meet other majority and minority research faculty and graduate students in both academic and social settings. These opportunities are provided by the program, by the individual research groups, and through living in housing on the Medical School campus. Students receive a stipend, housing, travel to and from the program, and emergency illness and accident health insurance. Several mechanisms of formative and summative evaluation are employed. As part of a developing network, program alumni will receive twice-yearly newsletters, contact information about each other, and open access to continued advising and counseling by the program director and their individual research advisors.