INBRE
Undergraduate Summer Research Program
Poster Presentation Instructions
June Calendar July Calendar Special Activities Agenda Enrichment Session Agenda
Forms:
Direct Deposit Foreign National Information I-9 Form Loyalty Oath W-4 W-9 Substitute Payee Registration
Program Goals Qualifications Salary Research Areas Sample Summer
Group Activities Housing Gallery College Credit Application Program Personnel
Poster Call for Mentors Selection of Students
The Graduate College at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC) hosts a cadre of summer programs aimed at encouraging undergraduate students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math. Four programs are currently housed on the OUHSC campus which are designed to offer outstanding undergraduate students intensive, hands-on research opportunities in the laboratories of a select group of faculty mentors. When these faculty members are located in the Oklahoma City area, the INBRE students they mentor participate with the other three summer programs on the OUHSC campus. In a number of cases, faculty mentors are located on other campuses which geographically prohibit summer students from participating in OUHSC events.
The four programs hosted by OUHSC are: the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience Program (SURE), the IDeA Network for Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) Summer Research Program, the Langston University Undergraduate Biomedical Education Program (UBEP), and the Native American Resea4rch Center for Health (NARCH) Student Development Program.
Oklahoma INBRE has hosted over 83 students since 2001 to participate in summer research programs. Students accepted into the INBRE program are paired with a mentor who shares their same research interests. The mentor could be on the student's home campus, at an Oklahoma research university, or at a biomedical industry. And the best part is, the student is paid for the experience, can possibly receive college credit, and the mentor receives lab supplies.
The INBRE selection committee makes every attempt to pair the student with a mentor that shares a common area of research interest. Mentors, graduate students, and laboratory technicians work very closely with the student, teaching methods and techniques, while allowing the student to assume responsibility for the project. The students will receive training at the home institution tailored to their research project in the spring, and then carry out the project at the mentor institution during the following summer term.
There are two programs available, one for students at primarily undergraduate institutions, and one for students at community colleges. Check out the program descriptions for qualifications.
There are two INBRE summer programs available, one for regional university students, and one for community college students.
Regional University Students
1. Students must have completed two years of undergraduate study and exhibit a record of high academic achievement in science coursework, including laboratories if applicable.
2. Applicants with mathematics and computer science coursework who wish to pursue studies involving bioinformatics are also eligible and encouraged to apply.
3. Students who graduate in the spring semester preceding the summer term for the research experience are eligible to apply.
4. Students must provide documentation of eligibility to be employed in the United States. This will include IRS form I9 and any required supporting documentation, IRS form W4, and an OUHSC vendor form. Additional documentation may be required.
5. Students are required to attend a Saturday orientation session in early April, 2007.
Students attending the following institutions are eligible:
Northeastern State University
Northwestern Oklahoma State University
University of Central Oklahoma
Southeastern Oklahoma State University
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
Cameron University
Langston University
East Central University
Rogers State University
Oklahoma Panhandle State University
University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma
Community College Students
1. Applicants must have completed 30 credit hours of undergraduate study prior to the summer research experience.
2. A minimum enrollment of six credit hours is required during the spring semester prior to the summer research experience.
3. A record of high academic achievement in science coursework is required, including laboratories if applicable.
4. Applicants with mathematics and computer science coursework who wish to pursue studies involving bioinformatics are also eligible and encouraged to apply.
5. Students who graduate in the spring semester prior to the summer research experience are eligible to apply.
6. Previous INBRE summer students are eligible to apply
7. Students must complete documentation of eligibility to be employed in the United States. This will include IRS form I9 and any required supporting documentation, IRS form W4, and an OUHSC vendor form. Additional documentation may be required.
8. Students are required to attend an orientation meeting on a Saturday in early April, 2007.
Students attending the following colleges are eligible:
Oklahoma City Community College
Tulsa Community College
Comanche Nation College
Redlands Community College
$4,000 Summer Employment (paid in three installments). Federal and state taxes will be withheld.
$1,500 Laboratory Supplies (paid to the Mentor's Lab)
The mentor will pay for production of the poster for the poster presentation.
The student is responsible for parking fees and housing costs.
All students are expected to work in the summer mentor's lab full-time, Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 5:00pm. The mentor may adjust this schedule at his/her discretion. Dress attire for most labs is casual. Open-towed shoes are generally not allowed.
Sample Summer in the INBRE Summer Research Program
Summer Prep (Community College students only)
A "biotech boot camp" will be required for community college students accepted into the INBRE Summer Research Program. The boot camp will be held at Oklahoma City Community College and run for one week prior to the summer program (May 21 - 25, 2007). Skills taught include equipment instruction in balances, pipetting devices, volumetrics, autoclaves, electrophoresis apparatus, centrifuges, pH meters, and UV/vis spectrophotometers, plus practice in calculating molarity, percent, dilutions and in making solutions, media and buffers. Program content of the boot camp may change depending on the backgrounds of students accepted into the program. The boot camp may not be required for some students as determined by the selection committee. Students will earn one hour of college credit for boot camp participation.
Summer Prep (Regional University students only)
Once students are matched with research projects, each will be provided with a faculty mentor from the student's undergraduate institution. The mentor chosen will be the faculty member whose expertise is most suited to the selected project. In the spring semester before the summer research activity, the undergraduate institution mentors will work with the students to prepare them for their project at the summer mentor's lab. This preparation will be tailored to the particular needs of each student and the research project.
Orientation
It is absolutely mandatory that all students attend the orientation given by INBRE personnel in early April 2006. In addition, all students assigned to mentors at OUHSC and the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation must attend a mandatory orientation the first day of the program. All required paperwork will be filled out and submitted at this time.
Students in Oklahoma City Area
Those
students who are working in a lab in the Oklahoma City area will participate
with the other three summer programs on the OUHSC campus in a number of
activities. These are required activities. Students working outside
the Oklahoma City area are invited to attend social events, such as the student
BBQ, and the presentation by graduate program representatives.
The required activities for Oklahoma City students are:
Weekly Research-related Enrichment Meetings:
* Understanding scientific literature
* Keeping lab notebooks
* Ethics in science and research
* Presentation of scientific posters
* Graduate admissions and GRE strategy
Journal Club
Weekly Seminar Series
* Lunch time seminars are given by selected OUHSC faculty members on exciting advances in their research.
Students housed outside the Oklahoma City area are invited to attend these events, but may not be able due to geographic constraints. It is not required for these students to attend. All summer students may attend the June 29 lunch panel with graduate program representatives and the Barbeque at Harn Homested in July.
Poster Presentation Instructions 2007
Each student will develop a poster demonstrating the research project and progress made therein. A poster-making tutorial may be provided. The presentation is required and is open to the general public. This presentation is held on the OUHSC campus and is the final event of the summer program. All four summer programs hosted on the OUHSC campus participate in this event. Faculty mentors, parents and friends are invited to attend. A luncheon for program participants is held afterwards.
Application
to the INBRE Summer Research Program should be submitted online at: : http://arapaho.nsuok.edu/~debanzie/INBRESummerApplication.html
Supporting documentation should be mailed to:
Sasha Smith
Oklahoma EPSCoR
655 Research Parkway, Suite 200
Oklahoma City, OK 73104
Paper applications may also be submitted to Sasha Smith.
A complete application consists of:
1. Application form.
2. Statement of Career Goals - a brief discussion of why the student is interested in biomedical research, mathematics or computing sciences and what the student has done to expand his/her knowledge and experience in this area. A primary objective for the program is to encourage a career in research. Applicants should direct their comments to respond to how participation in this program will meet this objective. Limit the discussion to one page.
3. Two letters of recommendation. Required letters from faculty members or instructors should highlight achievements in coursework, laboratory experience and an evaluation of the applicant's desire for a research career.
4. Official transcripts.
Because the INBRE program is funded by the National Institutes of Health, research projects submitted by mentors are biomedical in nature. This includes the following disciplines, among others:
biochemistry
bioinformatics
cell biology
developmental biology
genetics
immunology
microbiology
molecular biology
neuroscience
pathology
pharmacology
physiology
During the nine-week program, there are opportunities to meet with students in the INBRE program, as well as the other three summer programs hosted by the OUHSC campus. Since not all INBRE students are in the Oklahoma City area, this is a good chance to meet with those students and discuss summer experiences.
Ice cream social with graduate students, featuring Ph.D. students from the Graduate Program in Biomedical Sciences offered by OUHSC, as well as students in the M.D./Ph.D. program.
Midsummer barbecue with all summer program participants, mentors and graduate students in the Biomedical Sciences Program.
Other outings with INBRE students as arranged by students.
Housing over the summer is a personal decision of the student. The student can live at home, move to Oklahoma City, or whatever respective city he/she chooses. The INBRE office will happily assist students to acquire housing on the Oklahoma State University campus or at an Oklahoma City apartment complex. Please be aware that OSU has very specific timelines on submitting applications. If the student wishes to be housed with another INBRE student, the INBRE office can help to arrange that. All housing costs are at the expense of the student.
Students with a mentor on the OUHSC campus will have the choice of enrolling for OUHSC credit for the summer research program. All tuition and fees will be paid by the INBRE program. Students who have a mentor on another campus or at a biotech industry possibly can receive college credit, depending on the home institution of the student. Policies vary by college and this benefit may not be available at the student's home college. Please contact the INBRE program for more information on whether a particular college participates in offering college credit for the INBRE summer research program.
Community college students will earn one hour of credit for the mandatory "boot camp" prior to the summer research experience.
At least twenty students will be selected for the summer research program for regional university undergraduates and at least fifteen students will be selected for the community college summer program. These students will be selected on a competitive basis.
A student selection and mentor matching panel will select participants and match them with faculty mentors. Every attempt is made to pair the participant with a mentor that shares a common area of research interest. The student may indicate a lab or faculty member preference on the application form. The faculty mentor can be located at any one of the INBRE institutions listed below. Community college students may also be placed in a biotech industry lab.
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation
University of Oklahoma Norman Campus
Oklahoma State University
University of Tulsa
University of Central Oklahoma
Northeastern Oklahoma State University
Northwestern Oklahoma State University
Southeastern Oklahoma State University
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
Langston University
Cameron University
East Central University
Rogers State University
University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma
Oklahoma Panhandle State University