REU Site: Research Experiences in Marine Comparative Functional Genomics

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Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory (Salisbury Cove, Maine) REU site provides ten nine-week fellowships for undergraduate students majoring in biology, geology or its allied fields of study. Students prioritize three mentors/projects from a list of about 35 senior scientists exploring timely questions involving marine molecular physiology and functional genomics. Using sharks, skates, flounder, sculpin and other sea fauna including invertebrates, students work at the laboratory bench to explore questions at the molecular level concerning development, reproduction, osmoregulation, ion transport and environmental toxicology. Many student projects utilize interesting techniques including confocal microscopy, quantitative PCR, sequencing, and bioinformatics. To supplement bench work, undergraduates attend three weekly laboratory-wide science seminars on topics related to marine molecular physiology and are invited to a variety of MDIBL Conferences featuring internationally renown researchers. The program concludes with a Student Symposium where students present their work to their colleagues, mentors, and invited guests. Finally, students write a research paper for possible publication in the Bulletin of the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory. REU Fellowships provide room, board, supplies, travel and a stipend. Students are housed on campus in two new residence halls. Students also participate in outdoor activities such as hiking, biking, and climbing in Acadia National Park, sea kayaking, whitewater rafting on the Kennebec River, a hike up Mt. Katahdin (the highest point in Maine), whale watching, and others. Student recruitment point of contact is Michael McKernan (Director of Education), tel. 207 288-3605. More information is available at http://www.mdibl.org/edu/reu/reu2.shtml.