Opportunities for 485 and Undergraduate Fellows Research

If you are looking to do a 485 project with my lab, please read the following:

The lab has had many excellent undergraduate students do research for 485 credit in Biochemistry, Genetics, or Molecular and Cell Biology. The research in my lab is well suited to undergraduate projects and reflects some of the exciting opportunities in Biochemistry and Biotechnology as a future career. I usually have 2-3 students in the lab doing research projects at any given time.

Since the goal of 485 is to give undergraduates a taste for what real research is like, I believe strongly that 485 students should have real projects. This means that they will do experiments on an independent part of one of the major lab projects under my direct supervision, or working with me and a graduate student, postdoc or technician. These are projects that I really want to see progress in, and I do not give these projects out unless I am convinced that the student can commit the time needed to make progress on the work.

It is very hard for me to tell whether or not a student is serious enough or reliable enough to do a 485 project in my lab if I don't already know him or her. For that reason, my policy is that students who want to do 485 work in my lab have to spend at least 1 semester as a student worker. We need to know that you will consistently show up when you say that you will (it is said that 90% of life is showing up), that you are able to work with the people in the lab, and that you have the kind of common sense needed to avoid hurting yourself, someone else, or the equipment while doing research.

The pace of real research projects is also unpredictable and it is difficult to accomplish anything in just one semester. I expect 485 students to be able to fit research into their schedules for more than one semester and I have a strong preference for students who can work in the lab during the summer after their sophmore or junior year.

This means that I never give 485 projects to students who contact me looking for a 485 during their senior year and I only rarely hire students at the end of their junior year.

Mentoring a University Fellow requires even more of a commitment from me and from the lab, so my prerequisites for considering a student for the Fellows program are a superset of those for doing 485 research in the lab. I have had one student in the University Fellows program so far; she was already working in the lab when the deadline came to turn in a research proposal, and was already committed to work in the summer before the first Fellows meeting in the Fall of her senior year.

Students doing research in the lab during the Fall or Spring semesters while taking a normal class load can get either 485 credit or an hourly wage (minimum wage, you won't get rich doing undergraduate research!) but not both. During the summer, students can get both 485 credit and also get paid. In many cases, I have been able to obtain extra funding from the National Science Foundation for undergraduates to work in the lab during the summer.

I am always happy to meet with students to discuss what other labs might also be able to provide them with a place to do their 485. For descriptions of research in the department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, see the electronic version of the departmental research brochure, or get a real one from the departmental office.