Project Mentor

Dr. Kshitiz
Department of Biomedical Engineering

Undergraduate Research Opportunity Description

Project Description	We are exploring many parallels between cancer malignancies and pregnancy bringing many aspects of biology and medicine together. There are multiple interesting angles from which we approach these questions, involving integration across disciplines, so there is something for you whatever your interest. These include biophysics, animal work, tissue engineering, microscopy, computation, machine learning, bioinformatics, and preclinical projects. Specifically, we look at how cancer cells interact with stromal (non cancerous, non immune) cells, and in a similar vein how fetal cells interact with maternal cells. There are surprising similarities between the two very different phenomena and we will explore these in our various mini projects.
Project Direction	We have identified how cancers differ across animals, and it is to do with the pregnancy they have. This has brought us to study these two phenomena together. You will be involved in one project among many which we are working on, all basically answering the pregnancy-like mechanisms in cancer metastasis. Nearly all our student researchers are able to obtain authorship on a peer-reviewed publication, which is very useful for their careers.
Mentorship and Supervision	Each student researcher is assigned a graduate student or postdoc. Our lab is top heavy, which means there are more postdocs than grad students, and more grad students than junior students. This gives a remarkably higher exposure for junior researchers in terms of techniques and working style. We are a very integrated lab with people coming in with very high-skill backgrounds, ready to tackle difficult questions in science, so you will find mentorship everywhere around you.
Student Qualifications	Dedication, curiosity, interest in nature, and an openness of mind.
Summer Schedule Options	Research Dates: May 22 to July 28, 2023 Schedule: Flexible full-time schedule
Project Continuation	Fall 2023, Spring 2024
Academic Year Time Commitment	9 hours/week
Possible Thesis Project	Yes

Application

Submit an online application for this research opportunity at https://quest.uconn.edu/prog/HRP23-20. The application deadline is Monday, January 30, 2023.

This application requires a resume or CV and GPA.