Biological Discovery in Woods Hole
Summer Opportunity for Undergraduate
Research
The MBL invites undergraduate students who are interested in pursuing
careers in the life sciences to apply to the Biological Discovery in Woods Hole
program. We seek ten highly motivated
rising sophomore and junior students to participate in this National Science
Foundation – Research Experience for Undergraduate (NSF REU) program. Each undergraduate student will be placed in
the laboratory of an MBL research scientist and fully participate in all
laboratory exercises and activities. The
program will provide a stipend of approximately $4000 to each student, and room
and board for 10 weeks. The program will
run from June 13 through August 21. For
priority consideration, applications are due by April 1 and students will begin
to be notified by April 15 by rolling admission.
The program. The Biological
Discovery in Woods Hole (BDWH) Program is designed as an intensive, 10-week
research experience for undergraduates at the Marine Biological Laboratory
(MBL) in Woods Hole, MA. The major
portion of each student's time will be dedicated to an individual research
project under the direction of one of the participating mentors (see list
below). The program will be conducted from June through mid-August each summer,
and will integrate the students with the marine setting and the unique
intellectual blend of year-round and summer investigators at the MBL to provide
a diverse and varied undergraduate research experience. The program will focus on the
molecular, cellular and physiological processes that give rise to and regulate
complex physiological systems, and which ultimately mediate organismal
behavior. The
program’s goal is to recruit highly motivated students, especially from under-represented
groups and/or schools with limited research opportunities, and immerse them in
research programs under the guidance of mentors selected from visiting summer
investigators or year-round investigators at the MBL who are fully committed to
enhancing the undergraduate research experience. To augment the research experience, students
will participate in field trips, and attend weekly course meetings, seminars
and/or luncheons that will explore a wide range of topics (e.g., graduate
school application, ethics, career paths) to encourage the students to prepare
and pursue a career in biological sciences.
There will also be group activities, field trips and barbeques to
provide peer interactions. Finally, the
program will culminate with an undergraduate research symposium.
The Research Environment: The Marine Biological Laboratory is an international center for research, education, and training in biology. It was established in 1888 as an institute where marine organisms were used as model systems in the study of cell biology, neurobiology, and embryology. During the summer, the 270 year-round scientists and support staff of the MBL are joined by an additional 300 visiting scientists in our Whitman Center for visiting research, as well as 1200 graduate / postdoctoral students and faculty in our discovery courses, all from over 200 institutions throughout the world. Scientists are attracted to the MBL as well by the opportunity to collaborate with investigators at the other scientific institutions in Woods Hole. These include the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the National Marine Fisheries Service, the United States Geological Survey, and the Woods Hole Research Center. In the small village of Woods Hole, this concentration of researchers and institutions results in a scientific community unparalleled in the world.
Research Facilities: The MBL houses a number of unique research facilities. These include a state-of-the-art Marine Resources Center, which provides for the latest approaches in husbandry and mariculture of marine organisms; the NIH-supported BioCurrents Research Center; advanced equipment for light microscopy combined with computer imaging; and the MBL/WHOI library, which is one of the most complete science libraries in the world. There are numerous opportunities to attend a variety of seminars and lectures. The MBL hosts many educational courses which run throughout the summer. Those courses draw their instructional faculty from leading researchers in the respective fields and each offers a daily lecture or seminar series which is open to the scientific community at large. The MBL Friday Night Lecture Series brings in speakers of particular note who are of interest to a wider audience. Additionally, a number of courses and groups sponsor informal evening or lunch-time seminars.
Eligibility: Undergraduate student participants will be supported with National Science Foundation funds and must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States or its possessions. An undergraduate student is a student who is enrolled in a degree program (part-time or full-time) leading to a bachelor's degree. Students who are transferring from one institution to another and are enrolled at neither institution during the intervening summer may participate. High school graduates who have not yet enrolled and students who have received their bachelor's degrees and are no longer enrolled as undergraduates generally are not eligible.
To apply: For priority consideration, applications should be received by April 1, 2010. Applications will be evaluated on a rolling admission basis after this date, and successful applicants will be notified beginning April 15, at which time additional registration and housing information will be provided. Applications received after these deadlines will be considered if space is still available. The application form can be downloaded below as a PDF document. Please fill in all the requested information and email the completed form back to amensing@d.umn.edu.
Stipend and Housing: Students will receive a stipend of approximately $4000 for the ten week program. Room and board will be provided in MBL dormitories which are on the MBL campus, and a stone's throw from the ocean. The rooms are shared, and the BDWH students are usually assigned rooms together. Please note the cafeteria is not open on Sundays.
Application. Each student must
submit a CV/resume, short essays (maximum one page each) describing his or her
reasons for wanting to participate in the program, their expectations of the
program and specific research areas or mentors of interest if any. Additionally, a transcript and two letters of
reference should be forwarded. Students from under-represented groups are
especially encouraged to apply. Most competitive applicants are those who have
completed two or three years at an undergraduate institution, with a major in a
science. Students are selected based on their academic credentials and letters,
with the aim of ensuring a diversity of students with respect to race, gender,
geography, and academic background. Students are matched with faculty mentors
based on course work, experience, and/or expressed research interest, as well
as availability of mentors.
All application material, including reference
letters and unofficial transcripts should be sent electronically to Allen
Mensinger at amensing@d.umn.edu.
Acceptance and
Participant mentors and the projects they
pursue:
David
Bodznick Ph.D., Professor & Dean of Natural
Sciences, Wesleyan University, Electroreception
of cartilaginous fishes
Gary
Borisy* Ph.D., Director, MBL and Senior Scientist,
Cellular Dynamics Program, MBL, Mechanisms
of cell division and cell motility
Scott
Brady* Ph.D., Professor & Chair of Anatomy & Cell Biology, University
of Illinois - Chicago, Molecular
specializations of the axonal cytoskeleton in squid and mammals
David
Burgess Ph.D., Professor & Chair of Biology, Boston College, Regulation of cytoskeleton and cytokinesis in echinoderms
Catherine
Carr* Ph.D., Professor, University of Maryland, Mechanisms and comparative evolution of sound localization
Karen
Crawford Ph.D., Professor & Chair of Biology, St. Mary’s College of
Maryland, Squid embryogenesis, axis determination and early
pattern formation during development
Linda
A. Deegan* Ph.D., Senior Scientist, Ecosystems
Center, MBL, Swimming ability, metabolism & ecology of Arctic
grayling
Peggy
Edds-Walton Ph.D., Research Associate, Parmly Hearing Institute, Loyola University, Auditory mechanisms and synthesis in fish
Ann Giblin Ph.D., Senior Scientist, Ecosystems Center, MBL, Effects of anthropogenic
inputs of elements to ecosystems
Maria Gomez*
Ph.D., Associate
Professor, Biology, Universidad Nacional de Colombia;
Adjunct Associate Scientist, MBL,
Regulation and transduction in
invertebrate photoreceptors
Joshua
Hamilton* Ph.D., Chief
Academic and Scientific Officer, MBL and Senior Scientist, Bay Paul Center for
Comparative Molecular Biology & Evolution, MBL, Effects of toxic metals
on biochemical pathways & gene expression
Roger
Hanlon* Ph.D., Senior Scientist, Marine Resources Center, MBL, Cephalopod sensory systems & behavior
Emma Heart* Ph.D., Assistant Research Scientist, Cellular
Dynamics Program, MBL, Cellular &
molecular mechanisms responsible for glucose regulation
Diane Heck
Ph.D., Professor & Chair,
Department of Environmental Health Science,
NY Medical College, Cellular and
molecular biology and toxicology of reactive intermediates
Elizabeth
Jonas* M.D., Associate Professor, Neurobiology & Internal Medicine, Yale
University, Molecular and cellular
mechanisms regulating the function of the squid giant synapse
Alan
Kuzirian Ph.D., Associate Scientist, Marine Resources
Center, MBL, Cellular & molecular
mechanisms of learning in Mollusks
Jeffrey
Laskin Ph.D., Professor,
Environmental & Occupational Medicine, UMDNJ-Robert
Wood Johnson Medical School, Mechanisms of redox cycling and wound healing
Hans
Laufer Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Department of
Molecular & Cell Biology, University of Connecticut, Role of methyl farensoate in crab development
Robert
Paul Malchow* Ph.D., Associate Vice Provost &
Associate Professor, University of Illinois – Chicago, Neuronal and glial cell function in the
skate retina
Allen
Mensinger* Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Biology, University of
Minnesota - Duluth, Physiology and
behavior of toadfish
Shanta Messerli Ph.D., Assistant Research Scientist, Cellular
Dynamics Program, MBL, Signalling pathways regulating cell division and cell
differentiation
Gerardo Morfini Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Anatomy
& Cell Biology, University of Illinois – Chicago, Kinase-dependent signaling in neurons
Enrico Nasi Ph.D., Professor, Department
of Biology,
Universidad Nacional de Colombia, and Adjunct Senior Scientist, MBL, Regulation and signal transduction in invertebrate photoreceptors
Larry Rome
Ph.D., Professor, Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Muscle physiology and behavior in the
toadfish
David
Mark Welch Ph.D., Assistant Scientist, Bay Paul Center for Comparative
Molecular Biology and Evolution, MBL, Biochemical, genetic, and genomiciInvestigation
of
the evolution and
ecology of sexual reproduction
Linda
Amaral Zettler* Ph.D, Assistant Scientist, Bay Paul Center for Comparative
Molecular Biology and Evolution,Ecology and physiology of extremophiles