A Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Sites award has been made to The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) that will provide a residential summer research experience for 10 undergraduates and 2 incoming college freshmen per year. The program focus is functional genomics, a rapidly evolving scientific discipline that seeks to understand how the information encoded within a genome determines the development and function of a living organism. Under the guidance of 11 available faculty mentors, the program challenges students with hands-on projects that utilize diverse interdisciplinary approaches linking the biological, physical, and computational sciences to investigations of genome function. A strong emphasis is placed on ethics education and professional development training, and institutional commitment includes student access to on-campus courses and conferences, state-of-the-art instrumentation, dedicated program direction by the Education Office, and housing in a JAX-owned facility overseen by professional staff. The REU program is as an integral part of the 10-week JAX Summer Student Program (SSP), an internationally recognized research opportunity that annually welcomes 30-40 undergraduates and high school students. A weekly stipend, subsistence allotment, and travel assistance provided to each intern enables economically disadvantaged students to forgo summer jobs and participate in this life-changing educational experience. The SSP has well-established administrative procedures for recruitment, program design and management, mentor guidance, and alumni tracking to determine lasting influences of the research experience. REU participants are chosen through a competitive, nationwide application process that targets students with a strong interest in functional genomics. Members of underrepresented groups are encouraged to apply and actively recruited, and at least half are selected from academic institutions where research opportunities in STEM are limited. Professional third-party evaluation is conducted by the University of Maine, and the program is guided by the common assessment tool available to BIO-funded REU PIs. More information is available at http://education.jax.org/summerstudent/index.html, or by contacting PI Robert Braun, Ph.D., or Lisa John, Training Coordinator, at (207) 288-6924 or summerstudents@jax.org.
