REU Site: Summer Research Experience in Investigative Biotechnology

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An award has been made to the Department of Biology at Western Kentucky University (WKU) that will provide research training for 10 weeks for 10 students, for the summers of 2010-2012. The research program focuses on the interdisciplinary field of investigative biotechnology. Students are assigned to a research project based on their interests. The projects, directed by faculty mentors from a wide range of disciplines (Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Computer Science), span broad areas of animal physiology, plant gene expression, microbiology, virology, biochemistry, protein structure and modeling, bioinformatics, neurophysiology, and mathematical biology. Students will work closely with their faculty mentor and interact with graduate students, post-docs, fellow undergrads, and research technicians. WKU faculty mentors will provide instruction in, and facilitate discussions of, the responsible conduct of research and ethical issues in biological research. Additionally, students will benefit from a series of workshops on graduate school applications, grant writing, and professional literature in the field. Through participation in the REU program, students will gain knowledge in a variety of research areas and develop the skills to prepare them for graduate studies. A major goal is to offer opportunities to undergraduates from groups underrepresented in graduate education or from institutions with limited or no research facilities. Partnerships with four Historically Black Colleges and Universities in Georgia and Alabama, two institutions serving the Appalachian region in Kentucky and Tennessee, and a community college in Kentucky will facilitate the recruitment of students to the program. Participants will be selected on the basis of faculty recommendation, GPA, student career plans, academic preparation, and scientific interests. Program evaluation will use several mechanisms, including the NSF-supported common assessment tool, and input from students, faculty mentors, and the REU support staff. Program success will be measured by tracking student publications and presentations, and the number of students who attend graduate school in the sciences. To track the long-term outcomes, social networking sites (like Facebook), as well as direct e-mail communication, will be used. More information is available by visiting http://bioweb.wku.edu/, or by contacting the PI, Dr. Shivendra Sahi at shiv.sahi@wku.edu.