Summer research at Boston University

Research opportunities available in biology, chemistry, psychology, engineering and computer science:

Each summer, 10-20 outstanding students conduct full-time research in a BU lab. Normally, 2-3 positions are reserved for Boston University students, who act as peer mentors to the other participants. All remaining positions are offered to students from other colleges and universities, particularly those without plentiful research opportunities. 

SURF is designed to encourage graduate education in the sciences for talented undergraduate students, especially those from minority groups traditionally underrepresented in the sciences: African-American, Hispanic, Native American/Native Alaskan, Pacific Islander/Native Hawaiian/Polynesian, Asian (excluding Asian Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, and Thai).

See details at http://www.bu.edu/urop/surf-program/about/

Mount Sinai Summer Research

"Mount Sinai School of Medicine, located in New York City, offers summer research internships to outstanding undergraduate students who are planning to pursue an MD/PhD or a PhD and who are interested in doing research at a leading biomedical institution. The Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) at Mount Sinai is a 10-week program that begins in June every year. 

This year SURP will begin on June 10, 2013. SURP fellows receive intensive research training in a cutting-edge biomedical laboratory, thus gaining an insider’s perspective into Mount Sinai graduate programs and academic life. The fellowship includes free housing and a $3,500 stipend."

For details, see http://www.mssm.edu/education/graduate-school/degrees-and-programs/summer-undergraduate-research-program

NASA Internship galore

Multiple programs at multiple locations and all are... stellar!

Check them all out at http://www.waspacegrant.org/for_students/student_internships/nasa_and_national_internships.html

Student Educational Enrichment Program (SEEP) at the GA Health Sciences University

SEEP is a 7-week program that aims to "increase the number of underrepresented physicians in the workforce, train culturally competent physicians and create a diverse academic and medical community".

SEEP has two versions:
- non-residential, for high school students
- residential, for college students and recent graduates (some positions available to non-GA students)

Note that  "High school students who are selected for participation in SEEP will be responsible for their daily transportation to and from the program. College SEEP is a residential program primarily for Georgia residents; however, a limited number of non-Georgia residents will be considered for participation."

For additional information, visit http://www.georgiahealth.edu/careers/specop/apply.html

Summer STAR Program

The Summer STAR Program at the Georgia Health Sciences University (formerly the Medical College of Georgia) offers

9-weeks of biomedical research
exciting, interactive and informative workshops

For additional information and application materials, go to http://www.georgiahealth.edu/gradstudies/star/

Great resources: science writing and mentoring

Last week, Dr. Rick McGee (Associate Dean for Faculty Recruitment & Professional Development, Northwestern University) spend two days at Emorys, sharing his research on mentorship and alerting us to many great online resources for young scientists.

One such resources is the Collaborative Learning and Integrated Mentoring in the Biosciences (CLIMB) website.

In particular, check out the communication section of the CLIMB website. It has several tutorials that do a very nice job of walking you through the basics of clear sentences, the anatomy of a great paragraph, and very specific tips about writing NIH-style proposals. There's also tips for oral presentations.

Posters on the (Capitol) Hill [Nov 1. deadline]

From the Council on Undergraduate Research:

CUR is calling for students to submit an abstract of their research that represents any of CUR's disciplinary divisions (Arts and Humanities, Biology, Chemistry, Geosciences, Health Sciences, Mathematics/Computer Science, Physics/Astronomy, Psychology, and Social Sciences). In order to ensure proper review of applications, the above are the only disciplines that may apply. Should your research be inter-disciplinary, or in a subject not listed above, please select the division that most closely describes your research, if applicable.

Abstract submissions will only be accepted by using our on-line submission form. Prior to submitting the form, students should gather the contact information for all co-authors, advisors and sponsors (if applicable), prepare a short vitae/resume, and poster abstract. A document listing the information required for submission can be found by visiting: http://www.cur.org/conferences_and_events/student_events/posters_on_the_hill_information_for_submission/

For more information, and the link to submit an application, please visit: http://www.cur.org/conferences_and_events/student_events/posters_on_the_hill_call_for_abstracts/. Please note that CUR membership is required to submit an application. Either the student’s home institution must have an institutional membership, or a faculty mentor or undergraduate research coordinator appearing on the submission must have an individual membership. We will not review incomplete applications or applications that do not satisfy the membership requirement.

Please be sure that both portions (the electronic application and the electronic recommendation letter) are submitted by November 1, 2012. Please encourage your students to submit. This is a highly competitive program, which makes for a very exciting experience for the students and their faculty advisors alike.
For more information about the Posters on the Hill program, please visit http://www.cur.org/conferences_and_events/student_events/posters_on_the_hill/ 
Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,

Robin Howard
Senior Director
Membership Services, Operations and Information Technology
Council on Undergraduate Research
734 15th St, NW, Suite 550
Washington, DC 20005
http://www.cur.org/
robin@cur.org
(202)783-4810x203
(202)783-4811 fax

SURE 2012 Research Poster Awards

A Celebration of Undergraduate Research

Distilling ten weeks of hard work, the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) poster session showcased the work of 92 of our summer research fellows. Working full-time in research laboratories across 29 departments, SURE fellows also attended science career-related meetings and completed research ethics training. The session was open to the Emory community, and peers, lab mates, faculty mentors and administrators turned out to support our young scientists. SURE 2012 included 67 Emory students and 32 visiting students; including Emory, 26 colleges and universities (16 out of state) were represented.

SURE Poster Session, Coca Cola Commons, Dobbs University Center,  

Emory University, August 2, 2012. 

Since its inception in 1990, SURE has been primarily supported through consecutive awards from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to Pat Marsteller (Director of the Center for Science Education, Emory College). To date, SURE has trained over 1,400 participants. Augmenting our HHMI support, SURE 2012 added positions through our collaborations with from the Atlanta Center for Translational Research in Endometriosis (ACTRE); the Atlanta Clinical and Translational Science Institute (ACTSI); the Clare Boothe Luce Foundation; The Center for Chemical Evolution; Concerned Parents for AIDS Research (CPAR); Emory's Graduate Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences (GDBBS); the Emory Scholars Program; and NASA, NSF and NIH awards to faculty mentors. SURE is a team effort that relies on the coordinated work of dozens of individuals across the University and ultimately succeeds through the support of our faculty members.

Drs. Wilfried Rossoll and Claudia Fallini (left) joyfully capture team member Ananya Mishra (right). Ananya's successful National Fragile X Foundation summer research fellowship application helped support her work.

Presenters receive written poster feedback from graduate student and postdoctoral fellow judges, per guidelines discussed earlier in the program. In choosing award winners, the judges were instructed to consider the poster's technical score in the context of overall presentation quality. Elevator talk and chalk talk activities served as a warm-up to the poster session, and emphasized the importance of communicating science to varied audiences.

SURE 2012 Poster Awards

We are thrilled to announce SURE 2012's poster awards. Student names appear in bold, while PIs are underlined. Congratulations, all! 

First Place:  Susanna Brantley, Emory College 

JAK/Stat signaling in the D. melanogaster cellular immune response.
Susanna Brantley, Nathan Mortimer and Todd Schlenke

Second Place: Xiya Zhu, Emory University

Selective stabilization of synaptic inputs onto motoneurons

by postsynaptic trkB receptors.

Xiya Zhu and Arthur English

Third Place: Kylee Martens, Emory University  

Characterizing the seizure phenotype of an Scn3a mutant

Kylee Martens, Ligia A Papale and Andrew Escayg

Honorable Mention:  Kelly E. Bennett, Georgia Gwinnett College 

Inorganic phosphate regulated proliferation and transformation
Kelly E. Bennett, Laura M. Garneys and George R. Beck, Jr.

Honorable Mention: Mengshi (Helena) Dai, Emory University

The long-term memory adf-1mutant (nalyot) and its role indendrite regulation in 

activity-dependent plasticity and memory formation

Mengshi (Helena) Dai, Christina K. Timmerman and Subhabrata Sanyal

Honorable Mention: Scott Danielson, Emory University

Targeting excess PI3K signaling to rescue increased protein synthesis 

and audiogenic seizures in a FXS mouse model

Scott W. Danielson, Christina Gross, and Gary Bassell

Honorable Mention: Jessica Elinburg, Emory University

A cure in coordination chemistry? Synthesizing [AuIII(phen)(curc)] 

as a potential chemotherapeutic drug

Jessica Elinburg, Neha Ahuja, and Cora MacBeth

Honorable Mention: Rashad Jabarkheel, Emory University 

PI4KIIα dimerization dependent upon AP-3 sorting motif and kinase domain

Rashad Jabarkheel, Pearl V. Ryder, and Victor Faundez

Honorable Mention: Min Kim, Emory University

Characterization of the HIV-1 antiviral activity of human tetherin isoforms

Min W. Kim, Jason E. Hammonds, Hin Chu and Paul Spearman

Honorable Mention: Phillip Rauscher, Emory University

Effect of adjacent rubbery layers on the physical aging rate of polymer glasses

Phillip Rauscher and Connie B. Roth

Honorable Mention: Abhinav Sharma, Emory University 

Characterization of biomarkers in breast cancer cells using quantum dots and 

detection of brain tumor cells using SpectroPen

Abhinav Sharma, Brad Kairdolf and Shuming Nie
[Abhinav was supported by the Petit Scholars Program]

Honorable Mention: SongJun Son, Emory University (Oxford College)

Microwave-assisted aynthesis of 4 and 4’ substituted 3,5-diphenylisoxazoles

SungJun Son and Nichole Powell

Research Professionals Fair @ Emory [April 20]

Date:   April 20, 2012
Time:  9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Place:  Student Activity and Academic Center (SAAC)

One of our goals at Emory is to create a world community by engaging society through research. This goal is achieved by recruiting and retaining the best research employees possible.The 2012 Research Career Fair is designed to provide professionals within the research community an opportunity to learn more about research careers at Emory. Applicants are able to meet face-to-face with representatives from various Emory research departments.

For additional information, see the Emory 2012 Spring Research Fair Website, which includes a FAQ (pdf).

Collegiate Inventors Competition

OBJECTIVE: Introduced in 1990, the Collegiate Inventors Competition has recognized, rewarded, and encouraged hundreds of students to share their inventive ideas with the world. The Competition promotes exploration in invention, science, engineering, technology, and other creative endeavors and provides a window on the technologies from which society will benefit in the future.

ELIGIBILITY: Students must be enrolled (or have been enrolled) full-time in any U.S. or Canadian college or university at least part of the 12-month period prior to the date the entry is submitted. In the case of a team (maximum of four students), at least one member of the team must meet the full-time eligibility criteria.  The other team members must have been enrolled on a part-time basis (at a minimum) sometime during the 24-month period prior to the date the entry is submitted. 

Finalists receive an all-expenses paid trip to Washington DC to present their project to the judges. Undergraduate awards range from $500-$2,500. Graduate awards range from $1,000-$5,000.

Deadline: June 15, 2012

For details, see http://www.invent.org/collegiate/overview.html

Undergraduate Fellowship in Computational Neuroscience: From Cells to Systems and Applications

Emory and Georgia Tech have partnered to support a two year training Fellowship for top students interested in Computational Neuroscience research, beginning in their junior year. Funded by the National Institutes of Health, Fellows will receive a stipend of ~$11,000/year for research conducted with one of 18 Program Faculty at Emory or Georgia Tech whose labs are modeling or analyzing neural data.

Fellows will also complete a training curriculum designed to enhance quantitative skills and learn about Computational Neuroscience. Joint activities between campuses include courses, a biweekly Methods Clinic, and an Annual Retreat. Details can be found at the program website, which is http://compneurosci.college.emory.edu. For questions please contact Prof. Dieter Jaeger at djaeger@emory.edu

Deadline to apply: 11 PM, Monday, April 16, 2012.

To apply, please email djaeger@emory.edu with

1) statement of interest,

2) resume,

3) copy of in unofficial college transcript (3.5/4.0 GPA required),

4) planned personalized schedule for Computational Neuroscience Curriculum.
Curriculum for Emory students must include Introduction to Neurobiology (NBB 301) and the accompanying Computer Lab (NBB 301L); choice of one of the following research methods courses, Computational Methods for the Life Science OR Mathematics for Neuroscientists; choice of one of the following graduate level courses, Introduction to Computational Neuroscience (Emory IBS534) OR
Introduction to Neural Coding (GT BMED8813); Introduction to Research Careers (taught at Emory); and 2 years of research (including 2 lab rotations). Fellowship research is eligible for the Emory Honors Program and for class credit.

Anthropology @ American Museum of Natural History

The Anthropology Internship Program offers internships for undergraduate and graduate students interested in careers in anthropology, museums or related fields. Anthropology interns work on projects relating to the collections or to the ongoing research interests of the curatorial staff in the museum or in the field. The department's collections and research are focused on North American, Mexican/Central American and South American archaeology and ethnology; Asian, African and Pacific ethnology; and Biological Anthropology. In addition, internships are awarded in collections management, archives and conservation. Applicants should be enrolled in or have recently graduated from an academic institution. Acceptance to the internship program is competitive. The number of interns accepted in any given session varies and is based on staff projects. 

Internship application deadlines:
• April 1 - for summer session (June to September)
• August 27 - for fall session (September to December)
• December 1 - for spring session (February-May)

For details, see http://research.amnh.org/anthropology/about/internship

Veterinary Internship @ FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine

The Windows to Regulatory Research Internship Program offers academically superior undergraduate, graduate, and professional students hands-on experiences conducting basic and applied research as well as performing in-depth technical reviews of data applicable to animal health and food safety.

Application Deadline: March 23, 2012

For details and materials, go to
http://imperialvalleynews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12025&Itemid=2
and scroll down to "Veterinary Medicine Student Internships"

The NIMBioS Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) provides undergrads in math, biology and related fields the opportunity to conduct research in teams with UT professors, NIMBioS researchers, and collaborators on projects at the interface of math and biology.

Deadline: February 17, 2012

http://nimbios.org/education/reu?utm_source=January-February+2012+Newsletter&utm_campaign=Jan-Feb+Newsletter&utm_medium=email

Environmental and Earth Systems Research at Biosphere 2

The Biosphere 2 REU provides 10 undergraduates an opportunity to conduct guided research in environmental and earth systems science at a leading and unique research institution. Students will receive stipends of $5,000 for the 10-week research internship, housing on the Biosphere 2 campus, $500 to cover travel costs to and from Tucson, AZ and a food allowance. The program runs from the beginning of June to mid-August. Students will be selected from across the country to participate in the program. They will conduct research in Biosphere 2, in labs on the University of Arizona Campus, and potentially in the desert and mountain ecosystems in southern Arizona....

For additional details, see http://www.b2science.org/earth/outreach/reu

Application Deadline: February 29, 2012.

Atlanta: Neuroscience opportunity--extended Feb 17 deadline

See their website at www.cbn-atl.org/education/NETwork.shtml

Clare Booth Luce Fellowship at Emory University

Thanks to a generous grant from the Clare Boothe Luce Program, up to eight female Emory students in Computer Science, Chemistry and Physics will be supported as Clare Boothe Luce Research Scholars. The program is designed to help diversify the field of physical science research by encouraging more women to pursue research careers. This award includes stipends for each student's time in research during the academic year, summer research stipends, a research expense account and networking & mentoring opportunities throughout the program.

For eligibility criteria and deadlines, see http://college.emory.edu/home/academic/research/sire/cbl_scholars/index.html

Sensing and Signaling: summer research at U. Tennessee

The BCMB Department at UTK will once again offer a special summer program for undergraduates interested in research. The aim of this Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) is to provide hands-on research opportunities for undergraduate students majoring in the sciences, with an introduction to cutting-edge research in the broad area of “Sensing and Signaling”. The team of REU investigators represents a multidisciplinary ensemble of Cell Biologists, Geneticists, Biochemists, and Biophysicists who are taking modern approaches to the analysis of how signals are perceived and transduced in myriad biological systems....

For additional information, visit the program website at http://www.bio.utk.edu/bcmb/summer/reu.html

Program Dates: June 4 - July 27
Application Deadline: rolling reviews until March 30, 2012

Math summer research opportunities

The Eph Log has a great post that lists a series of programs for math folks, from secondary math education majors to students with a certain number of calculus courses, to biomath... check it out!

Penn State College of Medicine Summer Undergraduate Research Internship Program

The program brings undergraduates to our campus for a “summer-immersion” in biological research and an orientation to a career in biological sciences.  The typical intern will be between their Sophomore and Junior year or between their Junior and Senior year of undergraduate studies.  Students who will have a BA or BS prior to the start of the internship on June 1 should not apply.  SURIP 2012 would be most appropriate for students considering applying to PhD programs in the Biological/Biomedical Sciences and is not intended for students who will apply to Medical School.  There is no clinical shadowing component to the internship.

Our goals are to provide a meaningful educational experience for undergraduates to prepare them for careers in cutting edge fields and to increase the pool of students considering graduate education in the life sciences. Participating faculty have a strong interest in mentoring young scholars as an integral part of their academic experience.  Each student accepted into this program will be matched to one of these faculty mentors for a ten-week laboratory and research experience.

Integral to our program are twice weekly research/career seminars, a capstone presentation experience, and additional introductory experiences related to the professional culture of biological research.  Research interns will have the opportunity to live on our campus, and will receive a stipend of $3,000 each to cover their living expenses during the summer.  The majority of our interns choose to live on campus and those that do so find living on campus a very positive experience.  In light of the fact that the budget for the SURIP program does not permit us to cover the housing costs beyond the first month, we encourage you to make interested students aware of any small grant programs at your institution that might help interns offset the costs of on campus housing.  

For more information and an online application form you may access our website at http://www.pennstatehershey.org/web/summerresearch/home. APPLICATION SUBMISSIONS OPENS ON DECEMBER 1. 

We encourage you to place a link to our program in the appropriate departmental web sites and to forward this information to a career services/internship office at your institution to distribute this announcement as efficiently as possible.  If you are aware of undergraduates who would benefit from this experience, please inform them of this program’s availability.  APPLICATION SUBMISSIONS CLOSES AT 12 PM ON FEBRUARY 6, 2011.