New computational methods, tools, and models are urgently needed both to improve human health and to understand the molecular, biochemical, and biophysical principles of life. Such advances are needed to provide early detection of disease, design new drugs and medical devices, and recommend better therapeutic strategies. These efforts are most likely to succeed when a collaborative team with diverse backgrounds and experiences converges on a problem. To address these technical challenges and to aid in the development of a diverse, globally competitive STEM workforce, the University of Iowa will host a 10-week Research Experience for Undergraduates Site on the theme of “Computational Bioengineering.†Faculty from the College of Engineering and the Carver College of Medicine will mentor and train 10 students every summer from 2021 to 2023. The goal of this REU is to: (1) encourage participation of students from underrepresented backgrounds and from institutions with limited research opportunities, (2) provide an inclusive and immersive research experience for trainees to learn fundamental concepts of computational bioengineering and how to apply them to solve biomedical problems, (3) enhance oral and written scientific communication skills to facilitate collaboration across discipline boundaries, (4) instruct students how to conduct research ethically and responsibly, (5) and prepare participants to pursue graduate studies and careers in a STEM field. Students participating in this REU will conduct mentored research in participating faculty laboratories. Additional program activities include weekly workshops, seminars, and a journal club on topics in computing, communicating science, the scientific method, hypothesis testing, rigor and reproducibility, ethics, career development, etc., and community building social activities that will be coordinated with other undergraduate programs on campus. The experience will culminate with submission of an abstract and poster presentation on the REU student’s research at the university-wide Summer Undergraduate Research Conference.
The University of Iowa will establish a 10-week Research Experience for Undergraduates Site on the theme of “Computational Bioengineering.†Faculty from the College of Engineering and the Carver College of Medicine will mentor and train 10 students every summer from 2021 to 2023. The goal of this REU is to attract a diverse pool of students from underrepresented backgrounds and from institutions with limited research opportunities into an inclusive research environment. REU students will use computation to conduct research that contributes to advancing knowledge and understanding on a variety of medical problems spanning topics that include orthopedic and cardiovascular biomechanics, medical imaging, neuroscience, computational genomics, mechanobiology, and tissue engineering. Students will gain expertise and skills in computation with medical applications and scientific communication by conducting mentored research in participating faculty laboratories. Additional program activities include weekly workshops, seminars, and journal club on topics in computing, communicating science, the scientific method, hypothesis testing, rigor and reproducibility, ethics, career development, etc., and community building social activities that will be coordinated with other undergraduate programs on campus. The experience will culminate with submission of an abstract and poster presentation on the REU student’s research at the university-wide Summer Undergraduate Research Conference.
This project is jointly funded by the Division of Engineering Education and Centers (Directorate for Engineering), and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
