SURE (SUMMER UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH EXPERIENCE) PROGRAM

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Over the last decade, many graduate programs in biochemistry have experienced a decline in the number of applicants with backgrounds in which the quantitative aspects of sciences are stressed, which is typical of the physical sciences. In order to address this problem, we propose to create a Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Vermont. The immediate objective is to introduce qualified undergraduates with a physical sciences background to biomedical research questions and techniques under the direction of 11 faculty with a diverse array of research interests, including protein-protein interactions in the blood coagulation cascade, metalloprotein biochemistry, protein crystallography, protein-nucleic acid interactions, and structure and function of protein complexes. The trainees will be selected on the basis of their previous coursework and undergraduate sponsor's recommendations from an ensemble of colleges and universities in the Northeast where we have successfully recruited in the past. The aims of the training program are to 1) recruit, train, and mentor 6-10 promising undergraduates through sponsored independent research in the laboratories of NIH-funded training faculty; 2) augment the independent research experience with lectures, seminars, and workshops to build foundation knowledge and stimulate critical thinking; and 3) evaluate the program through a four step process involving: a) assessment of incoming student qualifications; b) assessment of student progress and reaction in situ; c) summative assessment at the conclusion of the program; and d) follow-up assessment to determine the impact of the experience on the participant's careers. By providing a positive training experience for physical science undergraduates in a highly focused context, we anticipate that the SURE program will both increase the pool of potential applicants to the University of Vermont's biomedical graduate programs, as well as the pool of potential applicants nationwide.