REU Site: Research Experiences in Physiology and Neurobiology at UCONN

University Of Connecticut, Storrs CT

Investigators

Abstract

This REU Site award to the University of Connecticut, located in Storrs, CT, will support the training of 10 students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2016-2018. The Department of Physiology and Neurobiology (PNB) will offer research opportunities to undergraduate sophomores and juniors from non-Ph.D. granting institutions. The students will participate in graduate level research projects on physiological and neural systems in animals. The goal is to expose students to a career in scientific research, and to increase student applications to graduate programs in basic science. Students are selected on the basis of their academic record, personal and professional goals described in a required essay, and letters of recommendation. Interested students, especially underrepresented minorities, veterans, first-generation college students, and students with disabilities from institutions with limited research opportunities are encouraged to apply. REU students will be part of a campus multidisciplinary REU community consisting of several programs in the physical sciences and engineering as well as physiology and neurobiology. Students are housed together, and work with faculty mentors on their own research project. Professional development and cohort-building activities are planned. Seminars introduce students to topics such as safe practices in the laboratories, ethical issues in science, how to apply to graduate school, and how to present research results effectively. An end-of-program symposium features student platform talks and poster presentations. It is anticipated that a total of 30 students, primarily from schools with limited research opportunities, will be trained in the program. Students will learn how research is conducted, and many will present the results of their work at scientific conferences. A common web-based assessment tool used by all REU programs funded by the Division of Biological Infrastructure (Directorate for Biological Sciences) will be used to determine the effectiveness of the training program. Students will be tracked after the program in order to determine student career paths. Students will be asked to respond to an automatic email sent via the NSF reporting system. More information about the program is available by visiting http://www.pnb.uconn.edu/research-experience-for-undergraduates-reu-program/, or by contacting the PI (Dr. Xinnian Chen at xinnian.chen@uconn.edu) or the co-PI (Dr. Larry Renfro at larry.renfro@uconn.edu)