REU Site: How Robustness and Resilience in Response to Biotic and Abiotic Stressors Shape Biological Processes

University Of California-Berkeley, Berkeley CA

Investigators

Abstract

This REU Site award to the University of California, Berkeley, located in Berkeley, CA, will support the training of 12 students, primarily from schools with limited research opportunities or from an under-represented group, for 10 weeks during the summer of 2023. The program will benefit faculty mentors by providing them with dedicated students interested in research. The students, who will work in the labs of outstanding scientists, will learn how to think like a scientist, understand how to submit a successful application to graduate school, and succeed in a scientific career. Many of the students will present the results of their work at scientific conferences. Assessment of the program will be done through the online SALG URSSA tool. Students will be required to register in the NSF ETAP system and will be tracked after the program in order to determine their career paths. Student research will focus on the role of organismal resilience and robustness in response to biotic and abiotic stress, emphasizing how these responses shape biological processes. Research projects range from how organisms respond to the environmental stress of climate change to how plants and animals respond to the biotic stress of pathogens The sponsoring scientists are faculty in the departments of Integrative Biology, Molecular and Cell Biology, and Plant and Microbial Biology. The students also receive training in scientific ethics and the responsible conduct of research and effective scientific communication. The program is assessed using the online SALG URSSA tool and by entry and exit surveys. Students apply to the REU using a UC Berkeley portal and provide demographic information, an unofficial transcript, two letters of reference, and a statement of purpose. Students are selected based on their enthusiasm for science and their ability to express themselves scientifically. Students from groups underrepresented in science, from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, and from schools with limited research resources are encouraged to apply. More information about the program is available by visiting https://mcb.berkeley.edu/nsfreu/, or by contacting the PI (Dr. Gian Garriga at garriga@berkeley.edu) or the co-PI (Dr. Tyrone Hayes at tyrone@berkeley.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.