URM: A Multi-year Immersion in Interdisciplinary Research in Biological Signaling at IUPUI

Indiana University, Bloomington IN

Investigators

Abstract

An award has been made to Indiana University - Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI) to establish an Undergraduate Research and Mentoring (URM) program. The program will provide two-year research experiences in biological signaling to four cohorts of fellows, starting in the spring of 2011 and continuing through spring 2015. Each cohort consists of 4-5 students who will be trained through a multi-mentoring scheme in research related to the ability of life to respond to the environment and communicate essential information. Student projects will be drawn from research on biological signaling at the molecular, cellular, and organismal levels with emphasis on quantitative biology and computational modeling. Project objectives include positioning the URM fellows to (1) demonstrate an understanding of how to conduct scientific research, apply principles of ethical and responsible conduct of research, and engage in scholarship; (2) be academically prepared for graduate study in the biological sciences and related disciplines; (3) be confident individuals with positive attitudes about themselves and their careers; and (4) be able to think critically and communicate effectively using both oral and written forms. Students can choose from topics such as the role of lipids in signal transduction and development, biological function of intrinsically disordered proteins, signal reception and responses to stresses in plants, modeling of protein structure and interactions or structure-based prediction of transcription-factor binding sites, among other projects. The impact and success of the IUPUI-URM program will be measured using formative evaluation on aspects related to the planning and implementation of the project and a summative evaluation to assess the degree to which the project goals and objectives have been met. More information is available at http://crl.iupui.edu/index.asp, or by contacting Stephen Randall (srandal@iupui.edu ) or Brenda Blacklock (bblacklo@iupui.edu).