This REU Site program in Prokaryotic Biology will introduce undergraduates to exciting areas of microbial research and increase their awareness about careers in microbiology. The program is an intensive, 9-week long, hands-on summer laboratory research program in the Microbiology Department of the University of Georgia in Athens. Ten participants will be recruited from undergraduate institutions with limited research opportunities in Microbiology. Students from groups that are underrepresented in the scientific community, including deaf and hard-of-hearing students, are encouraged to participate in the program. REU participants will conduct independent projects under the supervision of faculty mentors in a variety of research topics addressing the functions of prokaryotic organisms (bacteria and archaea). State-of-the-art techniques will be used in interdisciplinary approaches that combine knowledge from the fields of Genetics, Biochemistry, Physiology, Molecular Biology, Cellular Biology and Ecology. Research projects will address broad questions ranging from the role of prokaryotes in environmental and geochemical processes to their role in human health. Research experiences will help the participants understand more about graduate education and careers in microbiology. REU participants will have informal meetings with faculty, attend scientific seminars and join the weekly research meetings of their lab groups. Students will present their research results at the end of the summer in a poster session. To learn more about the REU program and find out how to apply, students are encouraged to visit www.uga.edu/mib/reu/index.htm or contact Dr. Tim Hoover at trhoover@uga.edu or 706-542-2675.
