Training Opportunity for Pre-Professionals, Educators, and Researchers
– Summer Undergraduate Research Experience
DEADLINE EXTENDED TO MARCH 3, 2023
Interested in TOPPER-SURE?
The faculty of West Liberty’s Department of Biological Sciences is looking for enthusiastic students ready to participate in a summer experience that aims to be both academically challenging and socially fulfilling, as you learn from and interact with your research group, your mentor, and the other SURE participants.
The SURE program will run for 9 weeks during the months of May through July and is open to ten students from West Liberty University and other institutions throughout the state. Students will receive a $3,000.00 stipend and additional funding is available for housing for those interested.
Four project areas will be available for you to choose from, each supported by a West Liberty faculty mentor. The project areas include:
- Mechanisms of Novel Antibiotics
- Crayfish Biodiversity
- Thyroid-Related Mechanisms in Craniosynostosis
- Bat Biodiversity and Behavior
- Earthworms and Soil Quality
Two to four students will be involved in each project area, where they will be given ownership as the researcher, conducting the research, and having involvement in the decision-making process associated with the research. As the projects are open-ended, the opportunity to extend the research into the academic year is a viable option that SURE faculty mentors have exercised in the past. As a SURE participant, students will present their findings at the WLU SURE Symposium and at other venues throughout the state, country, and internationally.
Students that participate in the SURE program are more likely to enter graduate programs in the STEM fields. WLU’s Department of Biological Sciences has demonstrated an increase in graduating students who continue their education in STEM fields, including 12 of our alumni who are currently enrolled in doctoral-level graduate programs, and dozens currently in medical, pharmacy, or veterinary professional programs.