REU Site: Research Experiences in Physiology, Cell and Molecular Biology of Marine Organisms

College Of Charleston, Charleston SC

Investigators

Abstract

The Fort Johnson Undergraduate Summer Research Program is a ten-week program combining formal classroom work with independent research in areas of crucial concern for marine biologists today. The program is designed to provide undergraduate students with a modern research experience employing physiological, cellular and molecular techniques to address questions in areas such as species diversity, mechanisms of adaptation to environmental change, environmental bioindicators and microbial ecology. The College of Charleston serves as primary host institution for the program, but research mentors and course instructors are drawn from among more than 100 Ph.D. scientists whose primary appointments lie in the Medical University of South Carolina, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the National Ocean Service and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. Working side-by-side with graduate students, technicians, and mentors at Fort Johnson, South Carolina, student participants are exposed to a broad range of career opportunities in science, making them better prepared to enter the workforce in industry and government. In addition to providing students with an opportunity to conduct independent studies guided by a faculty mentor, the objectives of the program are (1) to engage students directly in discussing graduate school and career options in basic and applied sciences, (2) to show students the interdisciplinary nature of science and (3) to teach students to think critically. Undergraduate students are selected to participate in this program based on outstanding academic and personal achievement, evidence of advanced course work in physiology and cell or molecular biology and on the potential benefits of this research experience to the student. Recruitment efforts cast a broad net, with particular emphasis on attracting women and minority students. Participants are required to live on-site in dormitories at the Grice Marine Laboratory. For the first four weeks of the program, students participate in a seminar course entitled "Special Topics in the Physiology, Cell and Molecular Biology of Marine Organisms." NSF covers the costs of registration and tuition, and students who successfully complete the course receive three transferable college credits through the College of Charleston. Also, during the first four weeks, participants begin to work on independent research projects under the guidance of individual faculty mentors. Projects are selected for their interdisciplinary and inter-institutional nature, and their relationship to current biological, biomedical or environmental concerns. During the last six weeks of the summer, participants focus primarily on completing their research projects while learning skills for analyzing data and communicating the results of their work in oral and written presentations. The program also provides a structured format for discussing issues related to graduate school and pursuit of a career in the sciences. The program takes pride in maintaining particularly strong ties with former REU participants in order to evaluate the impact of the research experience on career choices. Up-do-date information regarding the program, participants in prior years and their research projects, as well as an application form are available on the Web at www.cofc.edu/~grice/summer.htm or by contacting the Program Director, Dr. Louis E. Burnett, at (843) 953-9200 or burnettl@cofc.edu. The Fort Johnson Undergraduate Summer Research Program provides a strong and unique undergraduate research experience that is generated from the direct involvement of scientists from five institutions using interdisciplinary approaches to address problems of mutual concern. Student participants are exposed to the most recent and exciting questions and to the latest methodologies in marine biology. Although primarily designed to encourage talented students to pursue careers in science, the program has broader impacts as well. Participants learn to think critically, to take interdisciplinary approaches to problems and to communicate their ideas to others. These are skills that benefit all citizens in a world that is made ever smaller and more complex by science and technology.