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 UNDERGRADUATE SUMMER RESEARCH PROGRAM

 

    Program dates: May 22 - July 19, 2013

 

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Presentation from April 13, 2013 Orientation                    Information Sheet for Regional University Students            Program Goals            Housing

 

June Calendar for off-campus students                            Information Sheet for Community College students            Salary                      College Credit

 

June Calendar for OUHSC and OMRF students                Qualifications                                                                Research Areas

 

July Calendar for off-campus students                             Selection of Students                                                     Sample Summer        Final Poster Presentation

 

July Calendar for OUHSC and OMRF students                After you are selected                                                    Group Activities         Program Personnel

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Employment Application

INBRE students must complete an online employment application with OU Health Sciences Center.  This is required regardless of where your lab is located.  If you were in the program last year, please do not complete an online application; however, you will need to complete all other employment forms. The online application is part of the employment process. We will not be able to process your employment paperwork until you have done this.   

 

Please follow these steps:

 

1. Paste the following link into your web browser. Make sure there is NOT www at the beginning of the link:

jobs.ou.edu/applicants/Central?quickFind=74002

2. Select "Apply For This Listing" below Listing Details. You will notice that the job type indicates Temporary

3. Choose a user name and password

4. Make sure you complete the entire application and save it. This must be done prior to the April 13 orientation meeting.  Completing the application in full will eliminate errors at a later date.

5. You will receive a confirmation number after completion of the application.

6.  Please contact Vernita Woolfolk with questions regarding the online application process at 405-271-2190, Ext. 44701.  She is charge of the online application process. 

 

B.  Forms to Complete - NOTE - THERE IS A NEW I-9 FORM EFFECTIVE 3.22.13.  PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE CORRECT FORM.

 

         US Citizens and Permanent Resident Aliens: go here

 

          International students:  go here

 

For questions and further information, please contact Sasha Groeneveld at sasha-groeneveld@ouhsc.edu.  For questions about the employment application, please contact Vernita Woolfolk at vernita-woolfolk@ouhsc.edu

 

 

Program Goals

 

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 Integrated Network College Program (LINC), and the Native American Research Center for Health (NARCH) Student Development Program.

 

Oklahoma INBRE has hosted over 210 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.  

 

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.   

 

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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 on April 13, 2013.

 

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

 

 

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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 April 13, 2013.

 

Students attending the following colleges are eligible:

 

Oklahoma City Community College

Tulsa Community College

Comanche Nation College 

Redlands Community College

 

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Salary

 

$5,000 Summer Employment (paid in three installments).  Federal and state taxes will be withheld. 

 

$2,200 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-toed shoes are generally not allowed. 

 

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Sample Summer in the INBRE Summer Research Program

 

Summer Prep (Community College students only) - 5 days in May 2013

 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.  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.

 

Orientation

It is absolutely mandatory that all students attend the one-day orientation given by INBRE personnel on April 13, 2013.  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 covering topics such as:

     *  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 lunch panel with graduate program representatives and the barbeque at the Oklahoma History Museum in June.  

 

Poster Presentation

 

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.

 

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Research Areas

 

Because the OK-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

 

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Group Activities

 

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.

 

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Housing

 

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 at an Oklahoma City apartment complex utilized by the OUHSC summer programs.  Housing at Oklahoma State University may also be arranged upon request.  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.

 

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College Credit

 

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 two hour of credit for the mandatory "boot camp" prior to the summer research experience.

 

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Selection of Students

 

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

 

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