REU Summer Program in Computational Biology

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The Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) will host the Research Experiences for Undergraduates Summer Program in Computational Biology. This yearly eight-week program for eight students, has been funded for a three-year period. Student scholars will have a chance to select a research topic from either bioinformatics or computational neuroscience, both high-demand growth areas. The goal of the program is to provide a meaningful research experience to undergraduate student participants, and to help them strengthen their oral and written skills through required technical presentations and written reports on their projects. They will also experience an intensive core workshop on background biology and relevant mathematical, statistical, and computational methodologies. The Department has a closer than usual relationship with the Biological Sciences Department, and the program will draw on this relationship. The University has considerable experience in summer programs for undergraduates, and this program will take advantage of other organized social and educational activities, including field trips to research facilities in the Washington-Baltimore region, an ethics workshop, an informational workshop on graduate studies, and informal social events with student scholars from other programs. Because the University is considered the third most diversified campus in the country, and has nationally recognized undergraduate programs for historically underrepresented groups (Meyerhoff and MARU*STAR programs), there is a serious interest in recruiting and selecting participants from these groups. The evaluation of the program site will follow the methodology of one of our psychology professors who specializes in evaluating undergraduate research programs, including other REU programs at UMBC.