An award has been made to establish a joint Undergraduate Research and Mentoring (URM) program to be conducted by four collaborating institutions, Mississippi State University (MSU), Alcorn State University (ASU), Jackson State University (JSU), and Tougaloo College (TC). Mississippi State University (MSU), serving as lead institution, will train four students, and the collaborating institutions -- ASU, JSU and TC -- will each train two students, for a period of two years. Over the three-year grant period, a cohort of ten students will be recruited and trained in research focused on functional genomics. The goal of the program is to engage African-American undergraduates in functional genomics and computational biology research and to prepare these students for graduate studies in the biological sciences. At least twenty faculty members from the four collaborating institutions, who are dedicated to both teaching and research, will serve as potential research mentors. Each student will work with two mentors, one from their own institution and a second from one of the collaborating institutions. Students will select their own individual project from a number of available projects addressing fundamental biological questions involving plants, animals, and microbes, including basic questions in environmental toxicology, plant and animal genetics and development, genome sequencing and annotation, systems biology, and bioinformatics. Training in computational biology and the use of bioinformatics will be integral components of the program. An eight week summer training program at MSU will provide introductory courses on genomics, and workshops in scientific communication, lab safety, and lab experimentation. Students will enhance their scientific communication skills by attending lectures, writing manuscripts for peer-reviewed journals, and giving presentations at conferences. In addition, students will receive career counseling to enhance their self-confidence, and increase their success in graduate studies. The consortium of four institutions, three of which are designated Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) institution, will use a combination of face-to-face and web-based meetings to provide support and networking opportunities for all participants. Additional information is available by visiting www.urm.msstate.edu, or by contacting the Program Directors at any of the participating institutions: Dr. Erdogan Memili at MSU (em149@ads.msstate.edu), Dr. Ming Gao at Alcorn State University (mgao@alcorn.edu), Dr. Bettye Sue Hennington at Tougaloo College (bshennington@yahoo.com), or Dr. Raphael Isokpehi at Jackson State University (raphael.isokpehi@jsums.edu).
