A Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Sites award has been made to Cornell University that will provide research training for 10 students, for 10 weeks during the summers of 2014-2016. The program focuses on host-microbe interactions. It will train undergraduate students in the concepts, research questions, and experimental approaches central to understanding microbial interactions with eukaryotic hosts. The Department of Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology (PPPMB) has about 40 faculty who will serve as mentors. A common theme among research programs in PPPMB is species interactions, both mutualistic and antagonistic. REU participants will learn about broad diversity of microbe-eukaryote interactions through full-time research, lab meetings, weekly seminars, and group discussions. Strong emphasis will be placed on teaching scientific method and strategies for conducting research, and on the synthesis of concepts of interspecific interactions across diverse systems. Students will also participate in workshops devoted to research ethics, electronic database literacy, science citation software, science communication, planning for graduate study, including attention to personal statements and resumes, and GRE preparation. REU students will have access to a rich array of individual mentor's facilities as well as the Cornell University Life Sciences Core Laboratories focused on genomics, proteomics and mass spectrometry, microscopy and imaging as well as bioinformatics and computational biology. The program's multi-phase recruitment effort consists of both traditional "hard copy" formats as well as digital-based advertising. Undergraduates from groups underrepresented in science are encouraged to apply. Participants are selected based on academic record, research performance, and potential for outstanding research in biology. Students are 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 available to BIO-funded REU PIs. More information is available by visiting reu.pppmb.cornell.edu, or by contacting the PI (Dr. Teresa Pawlowska at tep8@cornell.edu) or the co-PI (Dr. Michael Milgroom at mgm5@cornell.edu).
