This award will provide support for a Research Experiences for Undergraduates Site at the University of Virginia. This project will expand the base of support available to undergraduate students working in Psychobiology research laboratories within the Department of Psychology at the University. This award provides summer stipends and modest supply budgets for 9 undergraduate students to serve as undergraduate research assistants during the summer months. Undergraduates will be selected from the University of Virginia as well as predominantly black colleges and universities in the immediate region (i.e. Howard University, Norfolk State University, Virginia Union University, etc). Each student will be assigned to a faculty preceptor who will direct his/her daily activities. In addition to their laboratory assignments, all students will meet every other week in a formal seminar with one of the faculty preceptor to discuss research issues in Psychobiology. Finally, each student will present a research seminar at the end of the summer which summarizes his/her research effort. This program, we hope will provide encouragement to promising undergraduates to consider careers in laboratory research in Psychobiology.
