REU Site: Summer Undergraduate Research Experience in Biological Mechanisms

This REU Site award to the University of North Carolina (UNC), Chapel Hill, NC, will support the training of 10 students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2021-2023. The goals of the program are to inspire, train, and enhance diversity in the next generation of biological researchers by extending the research opportunities of UNC to talented undergraduates who attend other institutions.

It is anticipated that a total of 30 students will be trained in the program, primarily from schools with limited research opportunities or from groups underrepresented in biological research: underrepresented minority groups, first-generation students, community college transfer students and students with disabilities. Students will be selected by the program leadership team who will take into consideration an applicant’s interest in biological research and the potential for the program to enhance a student’s path toward graduate studies.

Students will learn how research is conducted, executed and communicated, and many will present the results of their work at regional or national scientific conferences. Assessment of the program will be done through the online SALG URSSA tool. Students will be tracked after the program in order to determine their career paths.

The theme of this REU program is biological mechanisms, with a focus on the cellular and molecular pathways that underlie biological processes. Research areas include biochemistry, cell biology, developmental biology, genetics, molecular biology, and microbiology and span a variety of experimental systems from bacteria to flies to mice. Students will conduct research on ongoing projects in the laboratories of UNC faculty where students will experience the excitement that comes from making discoveries that advance knowledge.

Students will work alongside bench mentors (postdoctoral fellows and graduate students) and faculty. The research experience will be enhanced by training in responsible conduct of research and by weekly journal clubs, weekly professional development workshops, and a learning community of students. Professional development events will prepare students for entry into and successful completion of graduate programs.

An end-of-program symposium will highlight student research accomplishments. More information about the program is available by visiting https://www.med.unc.edu/oge/stad/sure/ or by contacting the PI, Dr. Miriam Braunstein ([email protected]), or the Program Director, Dr. Debra Ragland ([email protected]).

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.