A Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Sites award has been made to Yale University that will provide research training for 8 students for 10 weeks each summer, during the period 2012-2014. The program focuses on grand challenges in the life sciences using interdisciplinary physical and quantitative approaches. The program includes more than twelve faculty mentors from Yale's Raymond and Beverly Sackler Institute for Biological, Physical, and Engineering Sciences. The Institute spans six departments: Biomedical Engineering, Chemical & Environmental Engineering, Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science, Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry, Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, and Physics. In consultation with the program leadership team, students choose a mentor and research project from three areas: (A) mechanics of cellular processes, (B) protein function and misfolding, and (C) technology and method development for integrated research. Students also participate in workshops and seminars on laboratory methods, scientific presentations, ethics, STEM careers, and graduate school admissions process. Students present their work at a research symposium coordinated with the NSF-funded CEMRI CRISP REU program at Yale. Students also can take advantage of program-wide social activities that provide a forum for networking. Students are selected based on their academic performance, research interests, and their future career plans. Students with limited opportunities for research and those from underrepresented groups are encouraged to apply. The program is particularly suited for students interested in conducting research in interdisciplinary areas. The evaluation and assessment of the program will consist of pre- and post-summer surveys, student interviews, and the REU common assessment tool. Students will be tracked to determine their career paths, using a web-based database. More information is available by visiting www.sackler.yale.edu/summer.htm, or by contacting the PI (Prof. Corey S. O'Hern at corey.ohern@yale.edu) or the co-PI (Prof. Lynne Regan at lynne.regan@yale.edu).
The Yale REU Site: Integrated Research at the Frontiers of the Biological, Physical, and Engineering Sciences provided research training to a total of 34 undergraduates from colleges and universities across the US from 2012-2014. The REU participants conducted summer research for 10 weeks at Yale that focused on using interdisciplinary, physical, and quantitative methods and approaches to explore challenges in the life sciences. A total of 25 Yale faculty members served as mentors, from 12 different departments including Physics, Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science, Biomedical Engineering, Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry, Cell Biology, and Ecology & Evolutionary Biology. Research topics included protein structure, function, engineering, and self-assembly; understanding the forces associated with cellular processes; and biophysical measurement methods development, including single molecule techniques and super resolution imaging. In total, 5 manuscripts were published in peer-reviewed journals with REU participants as authors, and REU participants gave 16 oral and poster presentations based on their research at Yale to audiences at their home institutions and national conferences. The program had broad participation among under-represented groups (URGs) in the sciences, with 35% (12/34) of the participants from URGs. The REU program also provided opportunities for the participants to learn about the graduate school admission process and careers in STEM fields. Of the 34 participants, 53% (18, four from URGs) are in the process of applying to or are currently enrolled in PhD programs, and five (three from URGs) are applying to or are currently enrolled in medical school. Three additional participants are applying to or participating in post-baccalaureate research programs with the intention of pursuing a PhD (two participants, both from URGs) or MD (one participant) afterwards.
