REU Program

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Fungal Ecology REU Summer Program

Research Experiences for Undergraduates

RISE@WIU

DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES

WESTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY

Summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Fungal Ecology

Description & Criteria

The fungal ecology lab is offering $3,000 summer research scholarships for undergraduate students to participate in the study of fungi and their symbiotic relationships with plants funded by the National Science Foundation. Students will learn basic molecular techniques and preparation of plant-fungal bioassays. Students will develop their own research projects during the summer under the mentoring of Dr. Andrea Porras-Alfaro and collaborators.

This program is intended for students interested on research in the areas of microbiology, fungal ecology and plant biology. Students should not participate on any other job on campus. This includes additional research projects in other laboratories. In addition they must be available to work on their research during regular hours and participate in RISE events. Student should not be registered for regular summer classes with the exception of research credit.

 Scholarship applicant requirements:

1.     Declared major in the Biological Sciences.

2.     Undergraduate students at any stage of their undergraduate program as long as they are interested in gaining research experience in the area of microbiology and plant biology.

3.     A least a 3.0 GPA.

4.     US citizen or permanent resident of the United States.

5.     Participate in RISE program meetings.

6.     Student must register for at least 1 credit hour of Bio477 (8 weeks) session or other alternative approved by advisor.

7.     We welcome first generation college students, non-traditional students, and students from traditionally underrepresented groups.

Student must submit a:

1.     Short statement of interests and career goals.

2.     Curriculum vitae.

3.     Unofficial transcript.

4.     The name and contact information of at least two references.

Application documents (points 1 to 3) must be submitted as a single PDF to a-porras-alfaro@wiu.edu. 

Terms: $3,000 will be awarded in the summer to support living expenses. The stipend will be for  8-weeks of research experience (minimum 20 hrs a week) with a start date of June 1st. At the end of their research experience, the student must present his/her research in a short seminar at the RISE meetings and complete a report with the main results and conclusions from the research experience. Student must participate in the RISE Research Summer Program activities.

Deadline for Application is March 15. Interviews of the candidates will be conducted in the last week of April. Application must be submitted by email as a single PDF file to a-porras-alfaro@wiu.edu. The reference letter must also be submitted electronically.