PROGRAM ACTIVITIES

Prior to the start of the program, students will be contacted by their faculty mentors and will be sent background reading materials about their research projects.

Initial activities:
On the first morning of the program, the students meet each other as well as the REU program leaders and departmental personnel. An overview of the program objectives and activities will be presented by the directors Amanda Simcox and Venkat Gopalan. After fulfilling formalities associated with the program, an informal luncheon on day 1 will provide the first setting for a social interaction of participating students and faculty. The rest of the first week will involve various sessions that will contribute to both a productive and safe stay at OSU. Students will be given a campus tour to introduce them to OSU, in particular its research facilities and superb educational resources (e.g., extensive network of libraries, computing centers). In addition to Amanda Simcox and Venkat Gopalan, Mr. Steve Lawton, Health and Safety Officer, OSU College of Biological Sciences, will offer a training session on laboratory safety. The REU students will take the online Radiation Safety course offered by the OSU Office of Radiation Safety.  All REU students will receive additional safety instructions in each laboratory regarding proper use of equipment and chemicals.
            Students with limited research experience will be invited to participate in an introductory workshop. Graduate students and postdoctoral fellows (under the supervision of participating faculty) will offer a set of lectures and hands-on training in basic methodologies like pipetting skills, protein/nucleic acid isolation and quantitation, PCR-based amplification, notebook maintenance, preparing visual aids etc.
           

Laboratory research:
Students will conduct nine weeks of laboratory research. They will work closely with a faculty mentor as well as graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and technicians in respective labs. These interactions will be especially important as the student is introduced to the theoretical background of the research problem that is being investigated, learns the basic procedures and experimental strategies, and begins to perform experiments. The REU student will meet frequently with the faculty advisor. During these meetings, the REU student will be provided with and will discuss background material that is relevant to the research problem. The student will be assisted with the planning and performance of the experiment, the analysis of the results and the design of subsequent experiments. As the student gains experience, he/she will be expected to assume greater independence in planning, performing and interpreting the results of each experiment and in reading the scientific literature.
                       
Seminars:
The REU students will participate in the meetings of their individual research group. This will broaden the student's knowledge of the overall scope of the research being conducted in their lab and provide opportunities for the student to present his/her results to a small group and to receive feedback.

            The REU program will also include weekly journal clubs. Each week, two REU students will make a 20-minute presentation that focuses on exciting developments in their area of research. The presentation will be followed by a group discussion of the topic and related issues. The presentation topics will be selected jointly by the student and the advisor, who will also attend the session to provide his/her perspective on the topic, to answer questions and to stimulate discussion.

Discussions and field trips:
At the end of each week, the REU students will spend two hours in an activity (supervised by one or more of the participating faculty) that will help broaden their horizons in different respects. Two sessions will be dedicated to “Ethics” - these discussions will center on topics such as research ethics, human genome, cloning and stem cell research, and animal rights. Other individual sessions will include: 1) presentations regarding graduate school admissions, career opportunities in the biological sciences (academic, industrial or government), medical research; 2) visits to core research facilities; 3) a visit to the transgenic mice facility and the NSF-funded Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center (ABRC) at the Biotechnology Center; 4) a visit to Battelle, an organization that conducts annual research and development to the extent of $2.7 billion; and 5) a visit to the Omeris Business Technology Center which promotes and facilitates the formation of technology-based businesses.

Social events:
There will be bi-weekly social mixers. These will include group meals at faculty homes, local restaurants, and on campus.

Final presentations:
The directors Amanda Simcox and Venkat Gopalan will provide a short lecture to the students on how to prepare a poster highlighting their key findings. At the end of the program, the students will present their results to faculty and students from both departments in a poster session that will be held during the final week of the program.

HOUSING

The REU students will be provided full room and board. They will be housed in an air-conditioned OSU honors dormitory in adjacent rooms. Students will be provided with 1) funds for daily meals, and 2) an OSU ID card.