URM: Undergraduate Research in Computational Biology at UC Merced

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An award has been made to the University of California Merced (UCM) to establish an Undergraduate Research and Mentoring (URM) program starting in Spring 2011 and continuing through Fall 2015. This program will provide a two-year research and mentoring program in which four cohorts (5 students for first 2 cohorts and 6 students for last 2 cohorts) will receive a combined classroom and hands-on training in a broad array of computational and mathematical biology methods and tools during the summer portions of the program, and then join research projects with faculty mentors in the UC Merced Biological Sciences, Applied Mathematics, and Computer Science programs. The goal of the UCM-URM program is to directly prepare a more diverse population of undergraduate students with the skills needed to pursue and complete graduate studies, and ultimately pursue careers in computational biology and related fields. UCM-URM students will study computational and mathematical biology and develop high-quality research skills that apply critical thinking beyond what is typically achieved in an undergraduate classroom. By the end of their term in the program, students will be well positioned for admission into highly competitive graduate programs in computational biology and related fields. The UCM-URM program will include three main components: (1) a summer training program; (2) two years of independent research, mentored directly by faculty, and culminating in a research portfolio; and (3) ongoing enhancement activities to foster cohort-building and networking, peer mentoring, written and oral communication skills building, ethics training, and career development. Recruitment efforts for the program will be particularly targeted towards groups that have been underrepresented in these fields. Selection into the program and matching with a research mentor will be made according to specific criteria to assure student success. Success of this program will have a significant positive impact on the recruitment of talented undergraduates from diverse populations in California's Central Valley, which has been traditionally underserved by higher education, into biology majors and ultimately into biology related careers. Both quantitative and qualitative evaluation strategies will be used to measure student progress during the two stages of the proposed program, with oversight and advice from an external Advisory Committee. More information is available at http://ccb.ucmerced.edu, or by contacting Masa Watanabe (mwatanabe@ucmerced.edu) or Mike Colvin (mcolvin@ucmerced.edu).