REU Site: Princeton Neuroscience Institute Summer Internship Program

Princeton University, Princeton NJ

Investigators

Abstract

This REU Site award to Princeton University, located in Princeton, NJ, will support the training of 10 students annually for 9 weeks during the summers of 2022 - 2024. It is anticipated that a total of 30 students, primarily from schools with limited research opportunities or from an under-represented group, will be trained in the program. Students will conduct research projects with faculty and trainees at the Princeton Neuroscience Institute (PNI) and will present the results of their work at an end of summer in an internal research conference, as well as at the Leadership Alliance National Symposium. Assessment of the program will be done thru the online SALG URSSA tool. Students will be tracked after the program in order to determine their career paths. Research at PNI spans the breadth of field, from molecular to human cognition to theoretical neuroscience. Summer interns are assigned to one lab for the duration of the program for an independent research project. PNI also offers a 9-week professional development workshop aimed at helping students successfully compete for entry into PhD programs in neuroscience or related fields. The summer program offers coding classes in Matlab and Python. Faculty give weekly lectures on their own research, and REU students willhave an opportunity to meet with former interns who have gone on to graduate programs and other research positions. An NSF GRFP workshop will take place mid-summer. In addition, there are weekly responsible conduct of research discussions. All students will present their research at the end of the program and will be invited to attend the Society for Neuroscience Annual meeting. To apply to the program, students are required to submit a personal statement, transcripts, and two letters of recommendation to be reviewed by the program Director and faculty members. More information about the program is available by visiting http://pni.princeton.edu/education/summer-programs, or by contacting the Director of the program, Dr. Ed Clayton (ec12@princeton.edu) or the PI, Dr. Jonathan Cohen (jdc@princeton.edu). This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.