The Interdisciplinary REU Program Celebrates its 6th Year
The Interdisciplinary REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) Program in the Structure and Function of Proteins (IREU) celebrated the end of its 6th year of service at the IREU Closing Symposium on Thursday, August 7, 2014.
The IREU Program is funded through a grant from the National Science Foundation, Division of Biological Infrastructure (NSF-DBI) (Award #DBI-1263079) and is designed to provide summer research experiences to non-U-M undergraduate students, with a focus on students from institutions with limited resources for research and students from underrepresented minority groups. The program has received an average of 392 applications per year (for 10 positions) and has served 72 students since its inception. There are currently 11 IREU alumni on the University of Michigan campus pursuing PhD degrees. The names of these students, along with their IREU Program year and graduate program, are listed below. One IREU alumnus, Dr. Laurence Briski (2009), is a 2014 graduate of the U-M Medical School.
This year the program hosted 16 students with support for 10 positions through the NSF IREU grant. In addition to the 10 NSF IREU positions, an NSF supplement was awarded to the College of Pharmacy to support the return of a 2013 IREU participant, Sashary Ramos, who was invited to continue her research with Dr. Gus Rosania and Dr. Kathleen Stringer. Five additional positions were available to students of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Minority Access to Research Careers-Undergraduate Student Training in Academic Research (MARC-USTAR) and Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (RISE) Programs. These scholars were fully funded (room/board, stipend, and travel) by the NIH to participate in the IREU Program. Funding was received through a U-M Rackham Faculty Allies grant to the Department of Medicinal Chemistry to cover the miscellaneous program expenses for these scholars. Kelly Montgomery, one of the MARC scholars, was a co-participant of the NSF Center for Selective C-H Functionalization (CCHF) - Summer Undergraduate Research Program at Emory University. Ms. Montgomery worked with Dr. David Sherman, who is a member of the CCHF.
The 2014 IREU students represent 12 states, with three from schools in the state of Michigan. Of this group, 10 are from underrepresented minority groups and seven are first-generation college students.
The participants of the 2014 IREU Program discussed the results of their research at the IREU Closing Symposium. Prior to the symposium, the participants received a warm welcome from incoming College of Pharmacy Dean, Dr. James Dalton. The symposium began with a keynote presentation entitled “Bones, Stones, Raphides, and Canines; How SURFing on Membranes Waved a Trail to Biomineralization” by Dr. Aaron Wyman, Assistant Professor of Biology at Spring Arbor University. Dr. Wyman had a unique connection to the 2014 IREU Program as he has an active research collaboration with one of the IREU faculty mentors, Dr. Laura Olsen, Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology. Dr. Wyman is also the faculty advisor and mentor of one of the 2014 IREU participants, Alyssa Castle. Dr. Wyman’s presentation was followed by brief oral presentations by three IREU participants: Alyssa Castle, Katherine Harms and Danielle Widner. The symposium concluded with a poster session where each participant had an opportunity to share their accomplishments with the College of Pharmacy community. The schools/majors, project titles, and faculty mentors of the 2014 IREU participants are listed below.
In addition to the research experience, the IREU students were required to attend a weekly evening seminar & dinner, as well as two journal club sessions facilitated by Dr. Zaneta Nikolovska-Coleska, Department of Pathology. The students also had the benefit of an eight-week Princeton Review GRE preparation course, courtesy of Dean Janet Weiss of the Rackham School of Graduate Studies.
The students were housed off-campus in the Ecumenical Center and International Residence (ECIR) where they had opportunities to participate in a number of ECIR-coordinated social activities. Other social activities were coordinated by the IREU Program Student Assistant, Mariah Gnegy.
The Interdisciplinary REU Program is co-directed by Dr. Ronald Woodard, Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, and Dr. Cherie Dotson, Student Affairs Program Manager for Graduate Student Recruitment and Outreach at the College of Pharmacy. Administrative support for the program is provided by Ms. Rachel Miller, Student Administration Assistant at the College of Pharmacy. The research training activities of the program are supported by 23 faculty mentors representing eight departments at U-M. Of this group of faculty mentors, nine are from the Department of Medicinal Chemistry, four are from the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and seven are associated faculty members of the Interdepartmental Program in Medicinal Chemistry.
Dr. Woodard and Dr. Dotson would like to acknowledge the support and assistance of Dean Frank Ascione, U-M and College of Pharmacy staff members, and the 2014 IREU faculty & laboratory mentors for another successful summer.
