Summer Undergraduate Alcohol Research Program

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The University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) Department of Internal Medicine has a long history of supporting summer undergraduate research. In addition, the Department also has a critical mass of investigators with research foci on alcohol and its influence in vivo and in vitro. These two features of the Department of Internal Medicine form the backbone of our renewal proposal in support of our highly successful Summer Undergraduate Alcohol Research Program (SUARP). The objectives of this renewal application are to: 1) Provide a ten-week research experience for undergraduate students that continues to create unique enrichment opportunities for students to learn first- hand what is involved in performing research and to stimulate their interest in careers in biomedical research. 2) Introduce undergraduate students involved in a summer research program to the importance and spectrum of research related to alcohol and its consequences on health, organ and cellular function. 3) Continue to recruit qualified undergraduate minority and disadvantaged students to a summer undergraduate research experience to encourage their potential future careers in biomedical research. To achieve our objectives, we will continue to leverage resources from our existing Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP). Comprised of a ten-week research experience similar to SURP, the SUARP is distinct by including a seminar series devoted to topics in alcohol research, a journal club for its undergraduate students, and a newly conceived case-based learning initiative that will capitalize on technology and e-learning approaches. We have several strategies in place that have allowed us to successfully recruit underrepresented minority and disadvantaged students into the SUARP. We will continue to refine our existing short term and long term evaluation processes to enhance outcomes for the students including increasing their interests in careers in biomedical research.