REU Site: Channeling Bio-Majors into Research Careers in Bio-Molecular Sciences and Informatics

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A Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Sites award has been made to the University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras that will provide training for 10 students for ten weeks, during the summers of 2012-2014. The program focuses on molecular biosciences -- the application of molecular biology and bioinformatics to major areas of biology like molecular genetics, microbiology, neuroscience and evolution. The Department of Biology faculty will serve as mentors, who will offer a wide range of interesting and exciting projects for the students. Parallel to the research work, students will participate in a series of workshops and seminars, such as the responsible conduct in research, professional communication skills, career opportunities, and the graduate school application process. The REU students have access to a rich array of individual mentor's facilities as well as many interdepartmental labs and centers with core facilities such as electron and confocal microscopy, sequencing, microarray analysis, proteomic analysis, etc. In addition, students will write a scientific report on their research project and present their work at an end-of-program symposium. The program's multi-phase recruitment effort consists of both traditional "hard copy" formats as well as digital-based advertising. Students are selected based on academic record, research performance, and potential for outstanding research in biomolecular sciences. Students are tracked to determine their continued interest in their academic field of study, their career paths, and the lasting influences of the research experience. Information about the program will be assessed by various means, including use of an REU common assessment tool. More information is available by visiting http://biology.uprrp.edu/undergraduate/ur_research_oportunities.htm, or by contacting the PI (Dr. Migdalisel Colon at lisycolonberlingeri@yahoo.com) or the co-PI (Dr. Jose E Garcia at jegarcia@hpcf.upr.edu).