Biomedical Summer Undergraduate Research Experience

描述(申请人提供)：本申请是针对RFA为来自不同非生物学背景的本科生提供生物医学暑期研究经验而提出的。随着解决生物学问题的跨学科方法的需求日益增加，我们必须改变未来研究人员的培训方式，特别是纳入量化技能，以满足生物信息学、信号网络和生物物理学的新时代的要求。目前的计划旨在干预本科阶段，让目前在物理科学、计算机和工程领域更多的学生接触到生物医学科学提供的丰富机会。一项为期10周的综合暑期计划被提出，每年将为10名学生提供研究经验，需要在他们选择的实验室内进行半独立的项目(从40多名导师中挑选)。研究经验将通过生物医学科学当前主题的一系列短期课程和研讨会(包括将为定量生物学家提供各种职业机会的客座演讲者)、对当地研究机构(大学中心、生物技术和制药公司等)的实地考察以及学生之间的每周社交活动来丰富。导师们代表的研究领域从蛋白质和DNA的结构和功能的高度生物物理方法，到更直接的医学研究方法。在与指导委员会协商选择导师之前，该项目的学生将被给予实验室技术和可用的研究机会的初步指导(每个实验室一名学生)。在项目结束时，学生们将在为项目中的学生和导师举办的座谈会上展示他们的工作。将在国家一级通过广泛的邮件和用户互动网站进行招聘。重点将是在项目期间调查学生的意见，并在他们离开后跟踪他们的职业选择。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This application is in response to an RFA for providing Summer Research Experiences in Biomedical Science for undergraduates from distinct, non-biological backgrounds. With the increasing need for interdisciplinary approaches to solving biological problems, it is imperative that we modify the way in which the researchers of tomorrow are trained, particularly incorporating quantitative skills to meet the demands of the new age of bioinformatics, signaling networks, and biophysics. The current program seeks to intervene during the undergraduate years to expose students, who are currently in more physical science, computer and engineering tracks, to the wealth of opportunities provided in the biomedical sciences. An integrated 10 week summer program is proposed that would provide 10 students each year with a research experience entailing a semi-independent project within the lab of their choice (selected from over 40 mentors). The research experience will be enriched through a series of short courses and seminars in current topics in the biomedical sciences (including guest speakers who will present a variety of career opportunities for quantitative biologists), field trips to local research facilities (University centers, biotech, and pharmaceutical companies, etc.), and weekly social interactions among the students. Research areas represented among the mentors range from highly biophysical approaches to structure and function of proteins and DNA, to much more direct medical approaches to research. Students in the program would be given an initial orientation to lab techniques, and to the research opportunities available prior to selection of a mentor in consultation with the steering committee (one student per lab). At the close of the program, the students will present their work at a symposium for students and mentors in the program. Recruiting will occur at a National level through extensive mailings and a user interactive web site. Emphasis will be given to surveying student opinions during the program and tracking their career choices after they leave.