REU Site: Physiology, Ecology, and Development in Changing Oceans (PEDCO)

University Of Washington, Seattle WA

Investigators

Abstract

This REU Site Award to the University of Washington’s Friday Harbor Labs, in Friday Harbor, WA, will support the training of 15 students for 8 weeks during the summers of 2022-2024. It is anticipated that a total of 45 students, primarily from schools with limited research opportunities or from an under-represented group, will be trained in the program. Applications are encouraged from a diverse group of motivated young scientists and students from institutions with limited opportunities for research. HBCU, minority serving institutions, and community college students are especially encouraged to apply. Students will learn how research is conducted, and many will present the results of their work at scientific conferences. Assessment of the program will be done through an online assessment tool. Students will be tracked after the program in order to determine their career paths. This REU focuses on the marine environment, with an emphasis on marine ecology, developmental biology, disease ecology, and physiology. Mentors from the Departments of Biology, Oceanography, Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries will be involved. The program includes one on one mentoring as well as group training in cross cutting topics that include ethics in research, statistics, career pathways, bias, and diversity. Students should apply through the web portal (below). Applicants will be selected by the PIs and mentors based on essays, interest in research, and letters of recommendation to recruit a diverse cohort with a range of academic experience. REU participants are selected by mentors and principal investigators Examples of research projects include the ecology of armored shores, evolution of meiofaunal organisms, armor in fishes, seagrass disease ecology, and evolutionary morphology of fishes using micro-CT scanning and phylogenetic comparative methods. More information about the program is available by visiting https://fhl.uw.edu/research/student-financial-aid-for-research/summer- research-internships/, or by contacting the PI (Dr. Adam Summers at fishguy@uw.edu) or the co-PI (Dr. Amy Cook cooka@evergreen.edu). This award is supported by the Division of Biological Infrastructure in the Directorate for Biological Sciences and the Division of Ocean Sciences in the Directorate for Geosciences. 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.