A Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Sites award has been made to Washington State University that will provide research training for 8 students, for 10 weeks during the summers of 2012- 2014. The program focuses on genomics and biotechnology -- the application of gene-guided knowledge in addressing issues in plant and animal biology. Student projects will be based on integrating the principles of genomics and biotechnology with other disciplines such as plant biotechnology, genetics and breeding, plant physiology, calcium signaling, computational biology, food science, plant pathology, and bioinformatics. Faculty members from Departments of Horticulture, Molecular Plant Sciences, Computer Science, Plant Pathology, Crops and Soils Science and Food Science will serve as mentors. There is a wide range of engaging and exciting projects for students. Students are expected to do full-time lab research as well as participate in seminars and various workshops, such as scientific writing, ethics in science and the responsible conduct in research, professional career development and critical thinking. Students are also provided educational visits of the local agricultural industries ranging from wheat to fruit production and processing. REU students have access to a large array of individual mentor's facilities as well as several interdepartmental labs and centers with core facilities such as genomics with the latest sequencing technologies, microarray printing and analysis, electron microscopy etc. The research experience will conclude with a seminar presentation and a campus-wide undergraduate poster presentation event. The program's multi-pronged recruitment efforts comprise of traditional 'hard copy" formats and digital media advertising. Students are selected based on academic record, prior research experience and potential for outstanding research in genetics, genomics, molecular biology and biotechnology. Students are tracked by establishing an online community of undergraduate researchers 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 http://genomics.wsu.edu/pages/team/undergraduate/index.html, or by contacting the PI (Dr. Amit Dhingra, adhingra@wsu.edu).
