A Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Sites award has been made to San José State University to provide research training for 10 weeks for 10 students, for the summers of 2013-2016. Our proposed REU program at San José State University called Research by Undergraduates using Molecular Biology Applications (RUMBA) will focus its efforts in increasing the number of underrepresented minority doing biological research in the Silicon Valley. Our REU Program will focus on the theme of molecular biology applications in biological research. Ten faculty members with expertise in the areas of genetics, molecular evolution, molecular environmental microbiology, cell & molecular biology, and forensics will mentor students. Regardless of the research laboratory placement, RUMBA students will comprise a cohort with shared thematic training experiences. The cohort experiences will consist of the following: (1) molecular biology techniques training, (2) a bi-weekly formal group research meeting, (3) an ethics seminar, and (4) a culminating research symposium. Students will be recruited from San José State University and other undergraduate institutions with high enrollment of female and underrepresented minority students. Priority will be given to students of underrepresented groups as defined by NSF (African American, Latino, Native American, and Pacific Islander). We will utilize the following selection criteria for RUMBA participants: a GPA of at least 3.0, completion of the first year university biology and chemistry core course sequence, two letters of recommendation, and the quality of a personal statement. Student applicants will be interviewed by RUMBA faculty before a decision is made. A common web-based assessment instrument available to BIO-funded REU PIs will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of our program. Student participants will also be tracked to determine their continued interest in their academic field of study, their career paths, and the lasting influences of the research experience. San José State University (SJSU), the oldest public university in the state of California, is located in downtown San José and in the heart of Silicon Valley. It is a metropolitan university with an enrollment of approximately 27,000 students. Students interested in participating in the RUMBA should contact Dr. Julio G. Soto, Professor, Biological Sciences Department, julio.soto@sjsu.edu. Application forms and deadlines can be found on our web site: www.sjsu.edu/depts/Biology/RUMBA/RUMBA.html.
