A Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) award has been made to Mississippi State University that will provide research training for 10 students, for 10 weeks during the summers of 2013-2015. Undergraduate students will work on interdisciplinary research projects in computational biology. Students will work closely with their faculty mentors on projects in the areas of genome analysis, functional genomics, artificial intelligence, scientific visualization, and bioinformatics algorithms, among others. Recruitment will be targeted at colleges and universities within Mississippi and the surrounding states with the goal of providing a meaningful research experience to promising undergraduate students who otherwise would not have had the opportunity to engage in research. There is a particular focus on increasing the participation of underrepresented groups in computational biology research. Educational and professional development sessions will be conducted to train students in the basics of computational biology and to provide information on graduate school and pursuing scientific careers. Students will also receive training and mentoring in the responsible conduct of research. The program will culminate with a poster session where the students will present their research findings to the computational biology community at Mississippi State University. Program objectives will be assessed through the use of a common web-based assessment tool available to BIO-funded REU PIs. Students will be tracked to document their educational and professional path through periodic communication with students via email and social media. More information about this program can be obtained by contacting the project PI, Dr. Andy Perkins (perkins@cse.msstate.edu) at (662) 325-0004, or by visiting the project website at www.cse.msstate.edu/~compbio/.
