The Office of Undergraduate Research announces the launch of a new undergraduate research program, the Health Research Program. The Health Research Program offers a new pathway into undergraduate research for students with interests in health and/or the biomedical sciences. This program, sparked by President Herbst’s interest in facilitating connections between UConn Health researchers and UConn undergraduates, aims to involve more students in research at UConn Health. The Health Research Program is supported by the Office of the Vice President for Research and the Office of the Provost, and coordinated by the Office of Undergraduate Research.
For students interested in participating in this program for Spring 2017, here are key details to consider:
Spring 2017 opportunities are now posted on the Health Research Program website. There are 18 opportunities that range from psychiatry to science policy, biomaterials to neuroscience, genetics to molecular medicine. The application deadline for these opportunities is Friday, January 6, 2017.
To be eligible for these spring opportunities, students must plan to graduate no sooner than December 2017. This is because these research placements are not intended to be for spring alone – they will extend into summer and/or next academic year, assuming satisfactory research progress is made in spring and both the student and faculty mentor are interested in continuing the placement.
Further details and answers to frequently asked questions are available on the Health Research Program website. Students are encouraged to peruse the posted opportunities and begin preparing application materials for any placements of interest. We also urge students to take care to consider the time commitment and schedule options involved in a given opportunity to ensure that they can accommodate these demands in their spring schedule.
As we prepare for the SURF 2017 application to go live on December 1st, we would like to take the opportunity to highlight some updates and changes to this year’s SURF program. SURF continues to offer students from across the academic disciplines the opportunity to focus full-time on a research or creative project for 9-10 weeks over the summer.
Updates for 2017
Stabilized funding. Over the past few years, SURF funding has contracted significantly due to university-wide budget cuts. We are very pleased to announce that the program is on firm financial footing for 2017 due to a generous pledge of support from the Office of the Provost, as well as a multi-year funding commitment from the Office of the Vice President for Research. SURF funding will continue to come from a number of sources – including contributions from donors to the university, from the Deans of many Schools and Colleges, and from OUR’s budget – and we anticipate being able to make approximately 60 awards for 2017, consistent with pre-cut funding levels.
Application changes. See the full application outline here.
Data collection and data analysis. Reviewers sought greater specificity from applicants regarding their data collection and data analysis plans. The project proposal prompt now includes the following items:
For projects involving the collection of data, provide details about your data collection strategy and the types of data you will collect.
For projects involving the analysis of data, provide details about your planned analytic procedures and show how your analysis will answer your research question(s).
Upload of data collection tools. Reviewers requested that students using survey or interview methods be required to upload their data collection tool(s) (e.g., survey, assessment instrument, interview protocol) so that reviewers might better assess the proposed research design. A PDF upload field is included in the online application for this purpose; students not using survey or interview methods can skip this upload field. Students, please contact OUR with any questions about the use of this upload field.
Timeline changes. See timeline guidance and samples here.
Literature review. In most cases, literature review and synthesis will have been conducted to inform the development of the SURF proposal. Accordingly, timeline weeks should not be allocated solely to literature review unless the development of a synthesis of the literature is a major component of the proposed summer project. Any student intending to focus his/her SURF project on literature review is especially encouraged to meet with OUR staff (via appointment or SURF office hours) to discuss the project and how to present it most effectively.
Coursework and study abroad. Students are expected to account for summer course enrollment, participation in study abroad programs, or any other substantial summer commitment in their SURF timelines. SURF timelines need not be continuous, and the number of SURF project hours can vary from week to week. It is strongly recommended that students not pursue more than 3 credits of coursework simultaneously with the SURF project.
Budget policies. See the Budget Policies and Samples page for detailed guidance about allowable expenses (now including maximum dollar amounts for expenses like poster printing) and examples of budgets that show the appropriate level of detail. Faculty advisors of students conducting laboratory research: Please work with your advisee to ensure s/he has accurate information about the costs of lab supplies that can be procured through university purchasing channels and contracts.
Submitting letters of recommendation. Letters of recommendation will still be collected electronically, but via online form. In addition to uploading their letters of recommendation, project advisors will be asked about the research compliance status of the proposed project; this change is being made due to delays that negatively impacted SURF awardees in past years.
SURF Mailing List. Students planning to apply for SURF can sign up for the SURF Mailing List to receive helpful application tips via email.
We look forward to another excellent set of SURF applications this year! The application deadline is Monday, January 30, 2017. We encourage all students to make use of SURF Office Hours to get feedback on their draft materials and to ask any questions they might have about the program or the application. SURF Office Hours are scheduled for 12/8, 12/9, 1/17, 1/20, and 1/23. Full detail about times and location can be found in the sidebar on the main SURF webpage.
In recognition of the pivotal role that mentors play in supporting undergraduate research and creative activity, the Office of Undergraduate Research is pleased to announce the recipents of the 2016 Mentorship Excellence Awards. These awards recognize two faculty members – one in a STEM field, and one in a non-STEM field – and one graduate student who exemplify the ways in which outstanding mentors challenge and support their students, enabling them to take intellectual risks and achieve milestones they might not have initially envisioned being able to reach.
The 2016 Mentorship Excellence Awards were presented to Dwight Codr, Etan Markus, and Samantha Yohn during the Frontiers in Undergraduate Research Poster Exhibition on Friday, April 8, 2016.
Dwight Codr, Associate Professor of English
Professor Codr’s award was presented by Giorgina Paiella ’16 (CLAS), who has completed several research grants and projects under his advisement. The following text is excerpted from Giorgina’s nomination and presentation remarks.
Mentorship Excellence Award winner Dwight Codr with Giorgina Paiella.
There are some people with whom you cross paths who end up having a tremendous impact on your life. Professor Dwight Codr is one of those individuals. I met him almost four years ago, when I was a freshman in his Introduction to Literary Studies course. That class was the first English course of my college career, and to this day, it is one of the best classes that I have taken at UConn. The course, more commonly known among English students as “the Frankenstein course,” is renowned in the department for being an engaging, creative approach to literary interpretation. He is unsurprisingly a favorite professor to many students of English.
Professor Codr has guided me through one class seminar, two independent studies to prepare me for my thesis work, a summer research paper, an exhibition that I curated in the Dodd Center, and my University Scholar project. This fall, I applied to graduate school. Professor Codr guided me through writing my personal statement and gathering my application materials. The application process would have been difficult were it not for Professor Codr’s constant support and encouragement of my promise as a student. He is a tireless mentor who responds to student emails late at night far beyond what is required of his duties as an instructor. He encourages office hour visits and calls in order to work through research questions and other inquiries, and he does this all out of a passion for student learning and growth. Professor Codr is an exceptional researcher, an engaging and passionate instructor, and at the same time humble and caring. It is rare to find these qualities combined in a person, and even rarer in a mentor.
I am happy to say that I will be pursuing a graduate degree in the fall. It is my goal to become a university professor, where I hope to pay forward the support that I have received at this university and aim for the exceptional mentorship standard that Professor Codr has set.
Etan Markus, Professor of Psychological Sciences
Professor Markus’ award was presented by Stephanie Vu ’16 (CLAS), one of many undergraduate researchers in the Markus lab. The following text is excerpted from Stephanie’s presentation remarks.
Current and past undergraduate researchers from the Markus Lab surround Professor Etan Markus, 2016 Mentorship Excellence Award winner.
Dr. Markus takes a personal interest in the lives of his undergraduate researchers to ensure that we not only conduct exceptional research but enjoy doing so. He has cultivated a sense of community within the lab by hosting lab dinners, conducting weekly lab meetings, and most importantly, providing a constant supply of snacks and hot chocolate in the lounge so that we never go hungry after running hour-long experiments.
Clearly, this kind of care and commitment to his students also translates into the excellent mentorship he provides within the lab setting. Despite being a mentor for over 15 undergraduate researchers, Dr. Markus has never failed to inspire each and every one of us to pursue our future aspirations and to be confident in our academic and research abilities. He has encouraged us to pursue independent research, attend research conferences such as NEURON and Society for Neuroscience, and apply for research awards and fellowships. There have been countless times when Dr. Markus has come in on weekends to work with his students 1:1. He has even taken me on spontaneous field trips to the Depot Campus or the supply store to test out new experimental designs to improve my research project. His enthusiasm and passion has empowered us to push the limits of our undergraduate education and to engage in quality research.
These past four years I have been fortunate enough to learn from Dr. Markus’s research abilities and to have a mentor who is truly invested in his students’ successes. I can speak for the other students in his lab that working under Dr. Markus’s guidance has been one of the hallmarks of our college careers.
Samantha Yohn, Ph.D. Student, Behavioral Neuroscience, Salamone Laboratory
Dr. Yohn – who successfully defended her dissertation the day prior – was presented with her award by Giuseppe Tripodi ’16 (CLAS), one of many undergraduate researchers who works under her supervision in the Salamone lab. The following text is excerpted from Guiseppe’s presentation remarks.
Award winner Samantha Yohn with Professor John Salamone and undergraduate researchers in the Salamone lab.
Sam is a Psychology Ph.D. student in the Salamone Lab, and I have been privileged to work beside her since the beginning of my junior year. As a student with zero experience in the field of research, I felt nothing short of intimidated and overwhelmed. However, with Sam’s guidance and talent, she made me feel as if I had been a part of the lab for years.
With finesse, she explains difficult, unfamiliar concepts easily, as if it were second nature to her. Every day she teaches us novel concepts and techniques crucial for the lab to function properly, quizzing us out of the blue to make the information stick, and pushing us to practice under a watchful eye until our techniques are perfected.
Over countless hours working with her, my fellow undergraduate students and I began not just to trust one another but also to trust ourselves, to become self-reliant. In her rare absences we are able to act independently whenever the need arises, a skill many are not fortunate enough to be able to practice in the field of research, and for that, we are in her debt.
Lastly, Sam’s involvement has reached us not only on a professional level, but also a personal one. She is never hesitant to donate her time or effort to help her undergrads, whether we need it because of stress from school, family troubles, or fears of the future. Sam has truly established a second family here in the Salamone lab, and she will undoubtedly be missed as she leaves to further her career at Vanderbilt University.
Congratulations to the 2016 award recipients! The Office of Undergraduate Research thanks the undergraduate students who nominated their faculty and graduate student mentors as well as the Peer Research Ambassadors who served on this year’s selection committee.
Assistant Vice Provost Jennifer Lease Butts, Giorgina Paiella, and honoree Dwight Codr.
Stephanie Vu presents Etan Markus with his Mentorship Excellence Award.
Professor John Salamone, honoree Samantha Yohn, and Giuseppe Tripodi.
This year, through the generous support of the International Studies Associations’ Headquarters and UConn’s Office of Global Affairs, a new research award program is being offered for undergraduate students: the ISA Honors Awards for Undergraduate International Studies Research.
This award program provides students with up to $1,000 in support to assist them in conducting social science projects that span across countries, regions, or the globe. Students must be members of the Honors Program in order to be eligible for the program. They need not be majoring in a social science discipline, but the proposed project must make use of the theories and methods of one or more social sciences. Award applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis through March 31, 2016.
Full program details are available on the ISA Awards webpage and we encourage faculty and students to contact us with any questions they might have about the program.
Chemical engineering student Derek Chhiv ’14, right, discusses with Professor Anson Ma his group’s prototype for an artificial kidney.
In recognition of the critically important role that mentors play in supporting undergraduate research and creative activity, the Office of Undergraduate Research is pleased to introduce a new annual award program for outstanding mentorship. This program was developed in collaboration with the OUR Peer Research Ambassadors, undergraduates engaged in research and creative scholarship across the disciplines who help promote undergraduate inquiry at the university.
The Mentorship Excellence Awards will be presented each year to one faculty recipient and one graduate student recipient. A committee of undergraduate students will select the award recipients, who will be formally presented with their awards in April during the Frontiers in Undergraduate Research Poster Exhibition.
Students are encouraged to nominate their outstanding mentors before the close of the nomination period on Wednesday, March 11, 2015. Learn more and access the nomination forms on the Mentorship Excellence Awards webpage.
Due to the campus closure on February 2, the SURF application deadline has been extended to 4:00pm on Tuesday, February 3, 2015. More information on SURF can be found at http://ugradresearch.uconn.edu/surf/.
The UConn IDEA Grant program provides funding of up to $4,000 for self-designed projects including entrepreneurial ventures, community service initiatives, traditional research projects, or other creative endeavors. Proposals for the UConn IDEA Grants represented a variety of disciplines, ranging from history to mechanical engineering.
Congratulations to the nine undergraduates who have been awarded UConn IDEA Grants in the second award cycle of this new program coordinated by the Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR)! Click here to download the list of grant recipients and their projects.
Rosse Gates ’16 (ENGR) – Autonomous Navigation Systems and Algorithms
Rosse will work to develop an autonomous quadcopter that can track its position in relation to the environment and survey disaster areas in GPS-devoid environments.
Dillon Jones ’15 (ENGR) – Gentleman’s Gantry Machine
Dillon will work to build a “Gentleman’s Gantry Machine,” a general purpose, computer controlled positioning system of his own design that will enable multiple forms of manufacturing on one device.
Saher Kazi ’16 (CLAS) – Investigation and Analysis of the Barriers to Mental Health Care in India
Saher plans to investigate the factors influencing access to mental healthcare in India in a study involving mental health clinics in the town of Nashik in Maharashtra, India.
Kiersten Kronschnabel ’16 (CLAS) – POWER: Providing Optimal Strategies for Patient Retention While Transitioning from Pediatric to Adult Care
Kiersten’s project is a community service initiative to address the dearth of resources for facilitating the pediatric-adult care transition for HIV-positive adolescents.
Katelyn McFadden ’15 (CANR) – Effects of Poor Maternal Nutrition on Liver Development in Lambs
Katelyn’s project builds on a collaborative study in the Department of Animal Science evaluating the effects of poor maternal nutrition on the growth of offspring in sheep. Katelyn will analyze liver samples in lambs to understand the mechanisms at work affecting offspring growth and development.
Amoolya Narayanan ’16 (CLAS) – Investigating the Use of Natural Antimicrobials to Control Urinary Tract Infections in a Mouse Model
Amoolya will investigate the potential of trans-cinnamaldehyde, a natural antimicrobial molecule contained in cinnamon, as an antimicrobial coating on urinary catheters to control urinary tract infections.
Zachary is partnering with a larger research project, Virtual Hartford, to acquire and digitize the earliest maps of Hartford, CT. He will apply GIS software to create maps that detail the evolution of the city and show changes to the physical landscape after significant historic events.
Aaron Rosman ’16 (CANR) – Elatine Ambigua and Elatine Triandra
Aaron will conduct research on invasive plant species Elatine Ambigua and Elatine Triandra to clarify the species boundaries and provide insights on their source and vector of introduction in the U.S.
Rachel Winsor ’15 (ENGR) – Project XX
Rachel plans to partner with UConn groups and departments to help bridge the gender gap to success by developing and implementing a series of empowerment workshops for the UConn community.
Thank you to the faculty members who have agreed to supervise the UConn IDEA Grant students in their projects. Thank you as well to the faculty members and program directors who served on the UConn IDEA Grant Proposal Review Committee!
The Roper Award for Research Experience (RARE) supports undergraduate research apprenticeships that make use of the archives of the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research. We are pleased to announce the two student/faculty RARE teams who have received awards for Spring 2014 and thank the Roper Center for its generous support of these student awards.
Project Title: Public Perception and Judicial Legitimacy Student Apprentice and Major: Molly Rockett, Political Science Faculty Mentor and Department: Virginia Hettinger, Political Science
Ms. Rockett and Professor Hettinger will be using the DRI National Poll on the Civil Justice System to explore public perceptions of the judicial decision-making process and poll respondents’ assessments of firsthand experiences (as litigants, jurors, or witnesses) with the legal system.
Project Title: The Right to Bear Arms: The Role of Federalism in Gun Control Policy Student Apprentice and Major: Brian Tiedt, Political Science & Economics Faculty Mentor and Department: Paul Herrnson, Political Science
Mr. Tiedt and Professor Herrnson will use the metadata available on iPOLL and a variety of data sets to consider the evolution of public opinion on gun control, subgroup variation in opinion, and public perceptions of the role of the federal government in regulating firearms.
SHARE awards support undergraduate research apprenticeships in the social sciences, humanities, and arts. Following the most competitive application cycle to date, we are pleased to announce the 20 awardees for the Spring 2014 semester. Congratulations!
Project Title: Deferred Examination Student Apprentice and Major: Patrick Adams, Economics Faculty Mentor and Department: Talia Bar, Economics
Project Title: Evaluation of Gifted Education Using State Accountability Systems Student Apprentice and Major: Daniel Arndt, Education Faculty Mentor and Department: Jonathan Plucker, Educational Leadership
Project Title: Implementing and Evaluating K-3 Literacy Support in CT Schools Student Apprentice and Major: Rachael Cerutti, Elementary Education Faculty Mentor and Department: Michael Coyne, Educational Psychology
Project Title: Exploring Prunus Domestication in the Southern Caucasus Student Apprentice and Major: Joyce Fountain, Anthropology Faculty Mentor and Department: Alexia Smith, Anthropology
Project Title: Assessing Legal Protections Against Rape in the 50 U.S. States Student Apprentice and Major: Celia Guillard, International Relations Faculty Mentor and Department: David Richards, Political Science
Project Title: The New Husky Study: Stress, Coping and Health Behavior Change in First-Year Students Student Apprentice and Major: Megan Iacocca, Psychology Faculty Mentor and Department: Crystal Park, Psychology
Project Title: Damini: Illuminating the Flaws in India’s Legal System and Rape Laws Student Apprentice and Major: Tina Lapsia, Political Science Faculty Mentor and Department: Betty Hanson, Political Science
Project Title: Congressional Responsiveness During the ‘New Gilded Age’ Student Apprentice and Major: Phillip Menard, Political Science Faculty Mentor and Department: Thomas Hayes, Political Science
Project Title: Gifted Students Achievement Patterns Beyond High School Student Apprentice and Major: Jennifer Moore, Secondary Education Faculty Mentor and Department: Del Siegle, Educational Psychology
Project Title: Discourse in Linguistically Diverse Mathematics Classrooms Student Apprentice and Major: Bailey Muchin, Special Education Faculty Mentor and Department: Mary Truxaw, Curriculum and Instruction
Project Title: Neural Mechanisms for Behavioral Differences on Visual Integration in Schizophrenia Student Apprentice and Major: Fariya Naz, Psychology Faculty Mentor and Department: Chi-Ming Chen, Psychology
Project Title: Observations on the Genderization of Security: A University (UConn/Avery Point) Community Perspective Student Apprentice and Major: Kaitlin Pealer, Anthropology Faculty Mentor and Department: Richard Cole, Political Science
Project Title: Beyond Nation States Student Apprentice and Major: Marissa Piccolo, Political Science Faculty Mentor and Department: Prakash Kashwan, Political Science
Project Title: Understanding of Social Relationships in Children with a History of Autism Who Have Achieved Optimal Outcomes Student Apprentice and Major: Kaitlyn Porter, Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences Faculty Mentor and Department: Deborah Fein, Psychology
Project Title: Counting Strategies in Deaf Homesigners in Nicaragua: Can Fingers Help? Student Apprentice and Major: Devika Prasad, Psychology Faculty Project Title: Marie Coppola, Psychology
Project Title: Neonatal Nurses’ Perceptions of Mother-Infant Skin-to-Skin Contact in NICUs: A National Survey Student Apprentice and Major: Kelsey Richardson, Nursing Faculty Project Title: Xiaomei Cong, Nursing
Project Title: Preparation of Engraved Editions of Late Piano Works by American Modernist Composer Dane Rudhyar Student Apprentice and Major: Jonathan Schmieding, Music -Composition and Performance Faculty Project Title: Ronald Squibbs, Music
Project Title: Gap Detection and Frequency Discrimination Abilities in Individuals High in Autism Spectrum Disorder Symptomatology Student Apprentice and Major: Emily Thompson, Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences Faculty Project Title: Inge-Marie Eigsti, Psychology
Project Title: Social Challenges for Correctional Nurses Delivering Healthcare Student Apprentice and Major:Alyssa Zabin, Psychology Faculty Project Title:Denise Panosky, Nursing
The Office of Undergraduate Research is pleased to announce a new research internship program for UConn undergraduates – the Translational Research Internship Program. This summer research internship is designed to provide undergraduate students with greater insight into the physician-scientist career path (combined M.D./Ph.D). Students will conduct research under the direction of a faculty member at UCHC while gaining a better understanding of the clinical side of medicine by shadowing a physician/surgeon. The program will allow students to see firsthand the interplay of biomedical research and clinical medicine: how clinical medicine influences and inspires basic research and how basic research translates into therapies used in the clinic.
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As we prepare for the SURF 2017 application to go live on December 1st, we would like to take the opportunity to highlight some updates and changes to this year’s 
The