Summer Research Program Research Articles

A Theme‐Based Seminar on Environmental Sustainability Improves Participant Satisfaction in an Undergraduate Summer Research Program

AbstractWe analyzed seven years of pre‐program and post‐program survey data to evaluate the Clarkson University Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Site Program in Environmental Science and Engineering, and evaluated whether our program was successful at meeting the intended outcome of increasing participants' likelihood of attending graduate school and pursuing a career in science or engineering research or education. We also evaluated how participant satisfaction in the program changed with the addition of a weekly seminar on environmental sustainability that was intended to improve participants' understanding of the societal value of their research projects. Participant satisfaction in the Clarkson REU Program was high, and increased after the addition of the sustainability seminar. Participants' intention to attend graduate or professional school increased after participating in the program, but their intention to pursue a career in science or engineering research declined. Over 60 percent of participants eventually attended graduate or professional school.

Do Dogs Know Bifurcations?

(2007). Do Dogs Know Bifurcations? The College Mathematics Journal: Vol. 38, No. 5, pp. 356-361.

Effectiveness of a responsible conduct of research course: a preliminary study

Training in the responsible conduct of research (RCR) is required for many research trainees nationwide, but little is known about its effectiveness. For a preliminary assessment of the effectiveness of a short-term course in RCR, medical students participating in an NIH-funded summer research program at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) were surveyed using an instrument developed through focus group discussions. In the summer of 2003, surveys were administered before and after a short-term RCR course, as well as to alumni of the courses given in the summers of 2002 and 2001. Survey responses were analyzed in the areas of knowledge, ethical decision-making skills, attitudes about responsible conduct of research, and frequency of discussions about RCR outside of class. The only statistically significant improvement associated with the course was an increase in knowledge, while there was a non-significant tendency toward improvements in ethical decision-making skills and attitudes about the importance of RCR training. The nominal impact of a short-term training course should not be surprising, but it does raise the possibility that other options for delivering information only, such as an Internet-based tutorial, might be considered as comparable alternatives when longer courses are not possible.

Partners in Research: Benefits of a Summer Research Program

The Partners in Research program provides first-hand research experiences for medical, pharmacy, and African-American undergraduate students. During ten weeks, students participate in on-going cancer research, weekly educational sessions, two observational clinic sessions, and at least one patient support-community outreach clinic. Over the past six years the program has enrolled 155 students. Surveys indicate that most students give the course high ratings and would recommend the course to their peers. Follow-up shows their continued interest in research. The program will encourage students to pursue careers in cancer research and provide a solid base of knowledge to future health care professionals.

How Teaching Matters

Harold Wenglinsky's paper “How Teaching Matters: Bringing the Classroom Back into Discussions of Teacher Quality” (www.ets.org/research/pic) analyzes how the attributes and classroom practices of teachers affect the performance of eighth-grade students on standardized tests in science. By correlating student performance on the 1996 eighth-grade National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) science test with NAEP surveys of the attributes and classroom practices of the same students' teachers, Wenglinsky identified two teacher attributes and two teacher practices that are highly correlated with superior student achievement. The two teacher attributes are as follows. 1) Academic preparation of teachers. Students taught by teachers who majored or minored in science or science education in college performed 39% of a grade level above students of teachers who did not have this educational background. 2) Teacher professional development in laboratory skills. Students in classes of teachers whose postcollege professional development included laboratory training performed 44% of a grade level above students whose teachers did not have such training. The two teacher practices are as follows: 1) Teacher implementation of subject-appropriate and validated, hands-on classroom and laboratory exercises. Students exposed to such exercises weekly were 40% of a grade level ahead of students who participated in such activities monthly or less. 2) Weekly point-in-time short-answer and multiple-choice tests. Students whose teachers used such assessments were 92% of a grade level ahead of those whose teachers used such tests less frequently. According to Wenglinsky, students in classes of teachers who possess both attributes and use both practices were more than a grade level ahead of students in classes of teachers possessing neither attribute and using neither practice. Regrettably, Wenglinsky did not publish these findings in a peer-reviewed journal, so that these attributes and practices are infrequently cited. Two of the four attributes and practices identified by Wenglinsky (i.e., teacher laboratory skills and implementation of hands-on classroom exercises) are the central focus of Columbia University's Summer Research Program for Science Teachers (www.scienceteacherprogram.org) and of other Science Work Experience Programs for Teachers. Data to be published elsewhere show that teacher participation in Columbia's program has a very positive impact on their students' success in passing a New York State Regents exam in science. If Wenglinsky is correct, science teachers who participate in professional development programs that focus on improving their laboratory skills, and that encourage them to implement more hands-on exercises and weekly point-in-time short-answer and multiple-choice tests in their classes, will be more successful in raising the achievement level of their students than teachers who participate in programs that focus on other aspects of science, education, or both. Confirmation of this postulate could greatly simplify the task of improving middle and high school science education. For this reason alone, it is important to test Wenglinsky's conclusions rigorously and soon. Although they surely reflect an oversimplification of the measures needed to improve U.S. secondary science education, they are so congruent with the focus of Columbia's Summer Research Program, and with the very positive impact it has on interest and achievement in science of students of teachers who participate in it, that I felt it important to bring this article and these ideas to the attention of the readership of CBE—Life Sciences Education.

The Origin of the Compelling State Interest Test and Strict Scrutiny

The Origin of the Compelling State Interest Test and Strict Scrutiny Get access Stephen A. Siegel, B.A., J.D., L.L.M. Stephen A. Siegel, B.A., J.D., L.L.M. Distinguished Research Professor and Associate Dean for Research *Scholarship, and Faculty Development, DePaul University College of Law. 1967, Columbia College; 1971, 1972, Harvard Law School. For their cogent advice on various drafts of this paper, I thank Robert Bennett, Mitchell Berman, Richard Fallon, Stephen Feldman, Catherine Fisk, David Franklin, Michael Klarman, Scot Powe, Spencer Waller, Mark Weber, Adam Winkler, and participants in the American Bar Foundation's Chicago Legal History Seminar Series, DePaul University College of Law Faculty Workshop, and Northwestern University School of Law Legal Theory Colloquium. I also thank the DePaul University College of Law Summer Research Program for its generous support. Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar American Journal of Legal History, Volume 48, Issue 4, October 2006, Pages 355–407, https://doi.org/10.2307/25469981 Published: 01 October 2006

Supportive Programs Increase Medical Students' Research Interest and Productivity

BackgroundAdvances in biomedical research during the last decade have highlighted the necessity of attracting greater numbers of physicians to careers that include a research component. Physician participation in research is...

Medical Student Research Day award winning abstracts

Oral Presentation Nicholas Petropolis; Supervisor: Dr. Benjamin Rusak, Department of Psychiatry Diurnal Variation in Levels of Brain Neurochemicals Poster Presentations Maria Currie; Supervisors: Dr. G.M. Hirsch, Dr. T.D.G. Lee, Department of Surgery Chris Jenkins; Supervisor: Dr. Bjorn Nashan, Department of Surgery, Dalhousie University Characterization of T Regulatory Cells Generated by Oral Transplantation Tolerance The Summer Research Program provides opportunities for first and second year medical students to participate in research projects being conducted by members of the Faculty of Medicine. Each year, the recipients of these studentships present their work at the Medical Student Research Day. This is an opportunity for students to present their own research and to be engaged by the work of their peers. Thirty-one medical students presented research projects in the form of oral or poster presentations this year. For the first time, the DMJ is proud to publish the award winning abstracts.

Strategies to Develop and Promote Undergraduate Student Interest and Participation in Research

Undergraduate students are not always exposed to opportunities to participate in research projects and may not even be thoroughly versed in career options in scientific fields other than medicine. Compounding the problem is that a significant number of colleges with strong academic programs do not have the research infrastructure to support a large number of undergraduate student research projects. In our experiences we found students were knowledgeable about career paths for medical doctors, but not for professors. However, students become very interested in going to graduate school to pursuing a Ph.D. after participation in research projects and attending conferences to present their results. To provide research opportunities we formulated a strategy of seeking out and dissemination information about summer undergraduate research programs, as well as applying for grants focusing on student development and strengthening research infrastructure. Additionally, we bring in seminar speakers to talk to students about research topics as well as travel to research institutions and attend conferences as often as possible. Participation at conferences may be the highlight of their undergraduate activities. Approximately 15 – 20 students apply for and are accepted into summer research programs each year, whereas prior to this only 1 or 2 would be interested. We also established in-house research projects on oyster rehabitation, physiology and biochemistry in which about 10 students participate each year. We have grown from a situation where hardly any student attended national conferences to present research reports to now attending 6 – 7 conferences yearly with about 40 – 50 student presentations.

Potential role of mitochondria in myogenic response of rat middle cerebral arteries

Many organs like the brain and kidney rely upon intrinsic mechanisms to regulate blood flow over a broad blood pressure range. This autoregulation of blood flow, or myogenic response, is important in protection of the organ from barotrauma as well as providing optimal delivery of nutrients and removal of waste products. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that reactive oxygen species are involved in the myogenic response. Pressurized, cannulated rat middle cerebral arteries (MCAs) were used to measure changes in vessel diameter in response to increases in intraluminal pressure. Vessels were treated with the free radical scavenger 4, hydroxyl-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine 1-oxyl (tempol) to assess the role of superoxide anion in the autoregulatory response of rat MCAs. In the presence of 100 μM tempol, pressure-induced vasoconstriction was significantly impaired as compared to MCAs not treated with tempol. This effect of tempol was reversible as determined by washout experiments. We also investigated the hypothesis that the mitochondria are a source of superoxide anion by using a novel mitochondrial targeted form of tempol (Mito-tempol). We found a concentration-related effect of Mito-tempol to significantly impair the autoregulatory response of MCAs. These results suggest that superoxide anion plays an important role in the myogenic response of MCAs and that the mitochondria are a likely source of this free radical. These studies were made possible due to funding provided by NHLBI Grants HL33833-17, HL59996-05, HL68769-02 and VA Merit Review Grants 3440-02P and the MCW Medical Student Summer Research Program (MSSRP).

An Introduction to Simulation and Visualization of Biological Systems at Multiple Scales: A Summer Training Program for Interdisciplinary Research

Advances in biomedical research require a new generation of researchers having a strong background in both the life and physical sciences and a knowledge of computational, mathematical, and engineering tools for tackling biological problems. The NIH-NSF Bioengineering and Bioinformatics Summer Institute at the University of Pittsburgh (BBSI @ Pitt; www.ccbb.pitt.edu/bbsi) is a multi-institutional 10-week summer program hosted by the University of Pittsburgh, Duquesne University, the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center, and Carnegie Mellon University, and is one of nine Institutes throughout the nation currently participating in the NIH-NSF program. Each BBSI focuses on a different area; the BBSI @ Pitt, entitled "Simulation and Computer Visualization of Biological Systems at Multiple Scales", focuses on computational and mathematical approaches to understanding the complex machinery of molecular-to-cellular systems at three levels, namely, molecular, subcellular (microphysiological), and cellular. We present here an overview of the BBSI @ Pitt, the objectives and focus of the program, and a description of the didactic training activities that distinguish it from other traditional summer research programs. Furthermore, we also report several challenges that have been identified in implementing such an interdisciplinary program that brings together students from diverse academic programs for a limited period of time. These challenges notwithstanding, presenting an integrative view of molecular-to-system analytical models has introduced these students to the field of computational biology and has allowed them to make an informed decision regarding their future career prospects.

Reducing Insecticide Use in Home Gardens: Effects of Training and Volunteer Research on Adoption of Biological Control

More than 500 Master Gardeners in Indiana and Illinois were taught alternatives to the use of insecticides in workshops that focused on biological control of insect pests in home gardens. Gardeners also learned to conduct experiments in their backyards and were encouraged to participate in a summer research program that tested specific control methods. Workshop participants were surveyed before the workshop, and in two successive growing seasons to measure changes in their pest management practices. Overall, a significant percentage of gardeners stopped applying insecticides for up to two consecutive growing seasons after attending workshops. In addition, the adoption of biological control by participants appeared to be linked to their insecticide use and willingness to participate in the research process. A significant increase in the adoption of biological control was noted among garden researchers who did not use insecticides before the workshop or had reduced insecticide use following the workshop. No such change was noted for gardeners that did not conduct research. The relative contributions of workshop participation and hands-on research experience in pesticide reduction and biological control adoption are discussed.

CHEMISTRY FETED IN BIG APPLE

ACS MEMBERS AND EXHIBItors gathered in Newark City last week to share their research and products and join in the festivities commemorating milestones in society programs and publications. Altogether, the meeting attracted more than 14,000 attendees and featured nearly 7,000 scientific presentations and an exposition of 528 booths. At the meeting, Project SEED celebrated its 35th anniversary. A presidential event honored the continuing success of the summer research program, which has reached more than 7,100 economically disadvantaged students. ACS President Elsa Reichmanis praised the program, as did mentors and former and current SEED students. A reception followed the symposium. The New York meeting also marked the 10th anniversary of the ACS Committee on Minority Affairs and the centennial of the Nichols Medal of the ACS Newark Section. One of several presidential events highlighted the role of green chemistry in addressing the environmental and economic issues surrounding sustainable development. Top...

Do Dogs Know Calculus?

(2003). Do Dogs Know Calculus? The College Mathematics Journal: Vol. 34, No. 3, pp. 178-182.

Putnam Trivia for the 90s

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Additional informationNotes on contributorsJoseph A. GallianJOE GALLIAN obtained a Ph.D. from Notre Dame in 1971. He has received the MAA's Haimo Award for teaching and its Allendoerfer and Evans awards for exposition. He is co-director of Project NExT and is the MAA Polyá Lecturer for 2000–2001. In the course of directing summer research programs for undergraduate students since 1977 he has worked with many Putnam Fellows. Besides math, he teaches a Humanities course called the “The Lives and Music of the Beatles”. His hobbies are flower gardening and rooting for Notre Dame teams.

Lab program includes deaf scientists

When Gina MacDonald, an assistant professor of chemistry at James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Va., saw a group of deaf teenagers in a local shopping mall, she was startled to realize that she never saw deaf students in her biochemistry classes. Shortly afterward, MacDonald was recruiting high-school science teachers to be part of a summer research program in chemistry at James Madison sponsored by the National Science Foundation. MacDonald decided to contact Virginia School for the Deaf & Blind in nearby Staunton to see if a teacher there would be interested in doing summer research in her lab. It wasn't very carefully thought out in advance, MacDonald admits, but her telephone call is reaping results. In 1998, Michael B. Marzolf, a science teacher at Virginia School for the Deaf & Blind who is deaf, spent five weeks in MacDonald's lab. Last summer, he returned for a second session, this time joined by Dorothy Wynne, who teaches ...

Mentors' efforts earn presidential award

Four educators with ties to chemistry are among the 10 individuals who have won this year's Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics & Engineering Mentoring. The award honors those who have guided a significant number of students over a sustained period of time. In particular, these mentors have encouraged minorities, women, and people with disabilities to take up careers in scientific, engineering, and other technical fields. The winners include Ajay K. Bose, professor of chemistry at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J., honored for more than 40 years of work, including an undergraduate summer research program; George Castro, associate dean of the College of Science at San Jose State University, who, among other contributions, hired and mentored more than 20 minority and female science and engineering students for IBM Research; Ram S. Lamba, professor of chemistry and dean of academic affairs at the University of Puerto Rico, Cayey, whose mentees include nine university ...

Moving from outside to inside: High school students' use of apprenticeships as vehicles for entering the culture and practice of science

The purpose of this study was to investigate how research apprenticeships shaped students' views of the culture and practice of science. Twenty-seven 11th and 12th graders from across the United States and American Samoa participating in a summer research program were interviewed individually three times over 7 weeks. Seven students were selected as a representative focus group, and in addition to interviews, their journals, entrance questionnaires, and exit questionnaires were analyzed for what they revealed about students' ideas of what constituted scientific work, of the research process, of the existence and importance of communities in which they participated, and of the roles they played in these communities. Based on the pattern of student comments and perspectives, we identified four dimensions of scientific practice and culture whose salience and complexity increased and became articulated over the 7-week period. These dimensions included technical language, collaboration, uncertainty, and inquiry. The learning that took place with regard to these dimensions took place within three program-embedded communities, which we identified as laboratory-centered, program-centered, and peer-centered. The roles students played in these communities and the degree to which they could make use of resources within them contributed to students' view of scientific practice and culture, and to the development of the identity kits they began to construct of themselves as scientists. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 36: 677–697, 1999

Summer Pediatric Research Program for College Students † 1914

Each summer from 1992-1996, the Department of Pediatrics has recruited promising college students who are interested in science for a work program in research in the Department of Pediatrics. Each student is assigned a research faculty mentor and has a specific research project to complete during the summer. The purposes of the program are 3 fold: 1) to encourage promising college students to choose medicine as a career, 2) to provide research experience to promising college students, and 3) to provide research assistance to research faculty. We recently asked each previous student participant to indicate their final career choice and each faculty member participant to indicate any abstracts, scientific articles or grants that were a direct result of the student research. Here, we review the results of this summer research program. During the years 1992-1996, 83 students have participated in the program involving 74 pediatric research faculty members. 43 abstracts, 21 scientific articles, and 7 grant applications have resulted from the student research program. 29 of the 73 students during the summers 1992-1995 have already entered graduate school in a health profession, 10 in medical school, others in nursing school, optometry school, basic science graduate school, and graduate school in psychology. This summer research program accomplishes all of the goals of the program, including recruitment of promising students into medicine and interaction of pediatric faculty with students at the college level. We encourage other institutions to consider such summer research programs.

Haemochromatosis: a gene at last?

<h3>ABSTRACT</h3> <h3>Background</h3> Early surgical exposure and research fellowships have been independently shown to influence medical students’ specialty choice, increase academic productivity, and impact residency match. However, to our knowledge there...