REU Site: Biomolecular and Biomechanical Interactions

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This three year REU Site program at the University of South Carolina will provide 10 undergraduate participants with a 10 week summer hands-on research experience focused around the theme of "Biomolecular and Biomechanical Interactions" to explore interactions involved in fundamental biological phenomena. Students will be recruited who have an interest in biomedical applications and majoring in either an engineering or basic science discipline. Faculty mentors will come from three departments within the College of Engineering and Computing (CEC) and two departments within the School of Medicine (SOM). In addition to the research projects, students will be engaged in a series of weekly activities that will complement and enrich their research experience. These activities include hands-on workshops that introduce the students to common biomedical research techniques and informative presentations on biomedical research policies, intellectual property, and communication skills. Social activities throughout the summer will help foster a sense of community among the participants, graduate students, and faculty mentors. At the end of the summer the participants will present their research findings in the format of both a poster and an oral presentation. These presentations will be consistent with the format used at technical conferences, such as the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) annual meeting, so that students in the program will be prepared to disseminate their results to the broader research community. What are the broader impacts of the proposed activity? Recruitment efforts will be conducted by a combination of professional networks, internet resources and student conference venues. Emphasis will be placed on recruiting from colleges and universities at which minority students represent a large fraction of the student population or where students would not typically have the opportunity to engage in research. Participants in the program will be encouraged to pursue graduate studies and research careers.