Collaborative Cross-Disciplinary Research in Ecology, Endocrinology and Molecular Biology

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9605157 Kunz Five research teams, each consisting of two undergraduate students and two faculty members, will work on different collaborative cross-disciplinary projects. The purpose of Boston University's REU program is to promote collaborative research between students and research biologists whose disciplines have traditionally had a single focus. Each research project is directed by an organismal biologist (ecologist or ethologist) and an endocrinologist or molecular biologist, and each project topic stems from field research. Such topics include the role of estrogen in visual processing in fish, the impact of ground-water contaminants on reproduction of freshwater organisms, the role of leptin in the feeding ecology of a temperate-zone hibernating bat, genetic diversity and ecosystem function along gradients in a tropical rain forest, and social-insect foraging ecology and the sensory biology of taste. Faculty mentors have been carefully selected on the basis of their scholarly contributions and their experience and interest in working with undergraduates. Students will be selected from Boston University and from four-year colleges and universities in the eastern United States that provide limited research opportunities. Recruitment efforts will target minority, women, and physically-challenged students. Selection will be based on scholarly aptitude, research potential, and previous experience of the applicants. An ethics component will include weekly seminars and workshops on values and integrity in science, reporting and investigating allegations of misconduct, ethical treatment of animals, record-keeping and data management, and responsible authorship.