This REU Site award to The Scripps Research Institute, located in Jupiter, Florida, will support the training of 10 students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2017- 2019. Research at the Scripps Florida integrates cutting edge bioscience research with the development of chemical tools to probe basic biological questions. Students can join several departments, Chemistry, Immunology, Molecular Medicine, Structural Biology, and Neuroscience, where they will find themselves working at the interface between chemistry and biology. The REU experience will provide a diverse group of students with mentored training in scientific research at a top graduate program, professional development opportunities focused around graduate school, including ethics training, and guided training in scientific presentation and writing. These efforts will culminate in a campus-wide poster competition. Participants can be rising Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors, and will be selected by participating faculty based on their academic record, letters of reference and a statement of purpose.
It is anticipated that a total of 30 students, primarily from schools with limited research opportunities, will be trained in the program. Scripps Florida, as an REU site focused on the biochemical sciences, provides students from diverse backgrounds access to internationally renowned research programs that will foster their interest in science, and provide them with the tools to be successful in graduate school and beyond. Students will learn how research is conducted, and many will present the results of their work at scientific conferences, or as peer-reviewed publications.
A common web-based assessment tool used by all REU Site programs funded by the Division of Biological Infrastructure will be used to determine the effectiveness of the training program. Students will be tracked after the program in order to determine their career paths. Students will be asked to respond to an automatic email sent via the NSF reporting system. More information about the program is available by visiting http://education.scripps.edu/undergraduate/flreu/, or by contacting the PI (Dr. Katrin Karbstein at kkarbst@scripps.edu) or the program coordinator (Dr. Albarran-Zeckler at rzeckler@scripps.edu). This REU site is co-funded by the Division of Biological Infrastructure (Directorate for Biological Sciences), and the Division of Chemistry (Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences).
