REU site: Undergraduate Research in Biological Sciences: From Genomes to Phenomes--exploring function across scales

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This REU Site award to Clemson University, located in Clemson, SC, will support the training of 10 students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2016-2018. The program aims to inspire and empower REU students to pursue research careers by providing them the opportunity to do the things that scientists like to do best: Ask questions, design and carry out experiments, interpret results, and communicate findings. The program offers a collegial, multi-disciplinary environment with a focus on questions concerning an emerging challenge in biology -- the need to construct organismal phenotypes by linking genetic information and the environment. Meeting this challenge requires expertise across cellular, organismal, and ecological scales. Students will be paired with faculty members and lab groups from a range of disciplines in the Departments of Biological Sciences and Genetics & Biochemistry.It is anticipated that a total of 30 students, primarily from schools with limited research opportunities, will be trained in the program. Students will learn how research is conducted, and many will present the results of their work at scientific conferences. The program includes professional development activities designed to build the students' research skills, written and oral communication skills, self-confidence, and appreciation of the scientific endeavor. Students who have completed one or two years of college will be recruited through the program's website, through visits to their colleges, and faculty-to-faculty communication. Students will be selected based on their research interests, academic record, and potential to carry out outstanding research in ecological genetics and related fields. A selection committee together with program faculty will select applicants for the program. The success of the training program will be measured in various ways, including the REU common assessment tool. Students are required to be tracked after the program and must respond to an automatic email sent via the NSF reporting system. More information is available by visiting www.clemson.edu/culsoc/reu or by contacting the PI (Dr. Victoria Corbin at vcorbin@clemson.edu) or the co-PI (Dr. Mike Sears at sears3@g.clemson.edu).