A Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Sites award has been made to the City College of New York, which is part of the City University of New York. This grant will provide research training for 36 early-stage students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2013-2015. The Department of Biology has a dynamic group of 22 research-active faculty members who will serve as research mentors. Their research interests span the biological spectrum, ranging from molecular biology to population biology; some representative research projects include host-parasite interactions, modification of genes to modulate behavior, mechanisms underlying bacterial division, and molecular pathways in blood cell formation. In addition, students will attend research seminars, where they will be exposed to the diversity of research projects being conducted in the department, and various workshops, where training in responsible conduct in research, scientific writing, and scientific communication will occur and where panels will inform students about different career opportunities in industry and academia. Students will also take field trips to local industries, such as biotechnology companies, and research institutes, such as the American Museum of Natural History, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories, and the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, with which the City College has a partnership agreement. The program's multi-phase recruitment effort within City College and among City University community colleges will consist of traditional "hard copy" formats, digital-based advertising, and campus recruitments. Students will be selected based on academic record, research performance, motivation, and potential for outstanding research in biology. Students will be tracked to determine their continued interest in their academic field of study, their career paths, and the lasting influences of the research experience. Information about the program will be assessed by various means, including use of an REU common assessment tool. More information is available by visiting www.sci.ccny.cuny.edu/biology/REU or by contacting the PI (Dr. Chris Li at cli@ccny.cuny.edu) or the co-PI (Dr. Jonathan Levitt at jlevitt@ccny.cuny.edu).
