During the summers of 2009-2011, the Department of Biological Sciences at Marquette University will sponsor a 10-week summer NSF-REU site for eight undergraduates who have completed their sophomore or junior years. This program enables students to carry out independent research projects under the direct supervision of a faculty mentor. Students will choose from a variety of projects using cellular and molecular techniques to address biological questions in a range of organisms. With "hands- on" experience the students will develop a realistic view of scientific research, its pace, its demands, and the thrill of discovery. Essential written and verbal communication skills will be developed through weekly journal clubs, laboratory group meetings, and brown-bag research lunches. Students will present their findings at a poster session and at an undergraduate research symposium during weeks nine and ten, respectively. Workshops on research ethics, graduate school admission, and career options will also be offered. Social activities will be interwoven throughout the program to promote camaraderie amongst faculty, Marquette students, visiting scientists, and the REU participants. Housing, a stipend, and meal and travel allowances are provided. Travel funds will also be available for REU students to present their work at national meetings during the academic year. This program is intended to encourage students to pursue careers in science and research and to foster the participation of members of underrepresented minority groups and students from colleges with limited research opportunities. More information is available at http://biology.marquette.edu/biosummer or by contacting the Program Director, Dr. Gail Waring at gail.waring@marquette.edu.
The Marquette University Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program in Cell and Molecular Biology provided an opportunity for twenty-seven students to engage in faculty mentored research for 10 weeks during the summers of 2009-2012. Designed to target students from underrepresented ethnic minorities and colleges with limited research opportunities, applications were solicited nationwide. Students were selected based on phone interviews, stated interests in basic research, and considerations of ethnic and geographic diversity. With a low student to faculty ratio and the value Marquette places on teaching, our goal was to provide a nurturing and stimulating environment for rising juniors and seniors that would allow them to obtain information, tools, and research experience that would encourage their enrollment in graduate programs in the sciences. Averaging 80-100 applications per year, 85% of our participants were female, 41% were self-reported underrepresented minorities, and 70% were from non-PhD granting institutions. Seventeen faculty members served as a mentor for at least one student during the course of this program. Representing diverse arrays of research interests, students could choose from faculty studying a variety of biological questions in a range of experimental organisms. Although faculty-mentored research in individual laboratories was the centerpiece of the program, students participated in a number of ancillary activities. Early in the program the students attended training sessions on laboratory safety, animal care, use of radioisotopes, and ethical and responsible conduct of research. Weekly journal clubs by the students and informal bi-weekly research presentations by faculty members added intellectual breadth to the program. During the course of the program several benchmark activities were added to help monitor each student’s research progress and enhance their communication skills. At the end of weeks 3 or 4 each student gave a brief oral overview of their project to the group (REU students, program Director, two graduate student assistants); in weeks 7 or 8 each student presented one data slide from their project. These sessions proved invaluable in preparing students for their poster and symposium presentations at the end of the program and also were instrumental in familiarizing students with each other’s projects. The poster session in week nine featured the summer research projects of our REU students as well as undergraduates from Marquette’s Department of Biomedical Sciences and the Departments of Biology and Chemistry at Lakeland College. At the culminating symposium the REU students gave fifteen-minute powerpoint presentations to the entire Department and invited guests. In terms of impact of the students’ research on the larger scientific community, five students presented their work at either national or regional meetings. To date one student has co-authored a peer-reviewed paper; four additional students will become co-authors on papers that either have been, or will be, submitted to professional journals. In terms of encouraging enrollment in graduate programs, of the 19 students we have been able to track over the three-year period, 80% are either currently enrolled (8) or are currently applying (7) to graduate programs in the sciences.
