Grants>Bioengineering

Call for Applications: Caltech's Amgen Scholars Program

Application, Recommendations, and Proposal Deadline: February 15, 2012

Caltech's Amgen Scholars program provides students the opportunity to conduct research in biology, chemistry, and bio-technical related fields under the guidance of seasoned research mentors. The program offers students interested in pursuing a Ph.D. or M.D./Ph.D. a great opportunity to experience the research process.

Amgen Scholarships may be offered in the following fields: biochemistry • bioengineering • bioinformatics • chemical and biomolecular engineering • biopsychology • biotechnology • chemistry • immunology • medical pharmacology • microbiology • molecular genetics • molecular medicine • molecular pharmacology • molecular, cell, and developmental biology • neurobiology • neuroscience • pathology • physiological psychology • physiological science • statistics • toxicology

The Amgen Scholars program is modeled on the grant-seeking process:

Students collaborate with potential mentors to define and develop a project
Applicants write research proposals for their projects
A faculty committee reviews the proposals and recommends awards
Students carry out the work over a 10-week period in the summer, mid-June to late August
At the conclusion of the program, they submit a technical paper and give an oral presentation at Seminar Day, a symposium modeled on a professional technical meeting

Eligibility Statement
Amgen Scholars must

Be sophomores (with at least 4 quarters or 3 semesters of college course work), juniors, or non-graduating seniors attending 4-year colleges or universities in the U.S., Puerto Rico, or other U.S. territories
Have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.2
Not be under any disciplinary sanction
Be U.S. citizens or permanent residents
Have an interest in pursuing a Ph.D. or M.D./Ph.D.

Students who have been an Amgen Scholar, at any U.S. site, are not eligible. Please consider applying through the Caltech SURF program.

Requirements
Upon receiving an Amgen Scholarship, students sign an agreement to fulfill the following requirements:

To conduct their research from June 18 - August 24, 2012
To devote full effort to conducting the Amgen Scholars project (Scholars are strongly discouraged from taking courses or holding a job)
To submit two progress reports signed by their mentors
To attend the mid-summer Amgen Scholars conference
To submit an abstract of their project
To submit a written technical report approved by the mentor
To give an oral presentation on one of the scheduled seminar day symposia
To attend weekly Amgen Scholar meetings
To fully participate in Amgen Scholar assessment efforts
To abide by Caltech's Honor Code

Compensation
Students receive a $5,500 stipend for the ten-week period. For information on payroll tax issues, please contact sfp@caltech.edu and we will forward your question to the Amgen Scholars payroll coordinator.

Stipend payments will be distributed in equal installments near the first business day in July and August.

Students will also receive a $1500 room and $1200 board allowance, and non-Caltech students will receive reimbursements for their travel to and from Pasadena.

Funding
Amgen Scholar stipends are funded from a generous grant from the Amgen Foundation. Mentors pay all research-related costs and provide space.

Amgen Scholar Summer Activities
To enrich the research experience, Amgen Scholars may participate in the following activities:

Amgen Scholars weekly lunch meetings to bring participants together for discussions, special programs, and to meet faculty
Weekly seminars by Caltech faculty—lunch is provided
A professional development series on developing a research career, graduate school admissions, and other topics of interest to future researchers
Social and cultural activities
Weekly small student-faculty dinners
Special field trips

Housing
Non-Caltech Amgen Scholars will live in Caltech housing during the ten-week summer period, and they can move into rooms on the first day of the summer program.

General Inquiries
amgenscholars@caltech.edu
626.395.2885

Call for Applications: 2012 National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program in Cellular Engineering at Rice University

May 30 - August 3, 2012

This Institute hosts the NSF REU-funded summer undergraduate internship in Cellular Engineering. This program is open to undergraduates from all disciplines of science and engineering who are interested in cellular engineering. This goal of this program is to expose students to cutting-edge technologies and approaches in metabolic and tissue engineering. The program dates for 2012 are 5/30/12-8/3/12. The deadline for all application materials to be received is February 10th, 2012.

Cellular engineering is a field with enormous potential to make truly significant contributions to mankind in both medical and non-medical fields over the next decades. We believe the next generation of therapeutics (following recombinant proteins and peptides) will utilize cells and tissues. Many new technologies in fields such as environmental engineering and chemical production will also be based on advances in cellular engineering. Interdisciplinary scientists and engineers with skills in molecular and cell biology, biochemistry, and engineering will be necessary for U.S. industrial competitiveness and will be crucial for translating our world leadership in the scientific aspects of biotechnology into cost-effective, environmentally benign, industrial and product applications.

Some examples of ongoing metabolic and tissue engineering research that will be included in the summer program are:

•engineering of hard and soft tissue formation
•cardiovascular tissue engineering
•engineering cell surface interactions
•metabolic engineering
•development and motility.

Symposium & Tissue Engineering
The capstone of the program will be a symposium where students will present posters on their work, and students are eligible to attend a short course in tissue engineering.

Housing, Stipends, & Travel Assistance
Students will receive on-campus housing at Rice. In addition, students will receive a $4,300 stipend and up to $500 in travel support.

Mentoring, Field Trips and More
Each REU student will mentor a high school student and then participate in a round table discussion on their undergraduate experiences.

Contact Us

Mailing Address
Institute of Biosciences and Bioengineering, MS-144
Rice University
P.O. Box 1892
Houston, Texas 77251-1892

Physical Address
Institute of Biosciences and Bioengineering, MS-144
Suite 170 BioScience Research Collaborative (BRC)
Rice University
Houston, Texas 77005-1827

Email: ibb@rice.edu

Call for Applications: 2012 National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program in BioNetworks at Rice University

Application Deadline: February 10, 2012

Actual Program Dates: May 30 – August 3, 2012

NSF REU Summer Research Experience in Multi-Scale Biomolecular Networks (BioNetworks)

This Institute hosts the NSF REU-funded summer undergraduate internship in BioNetworks. The goal of this program is to provide students first hand experience with cutting-edge interdisciplinary research that is needed to predict biological functions sufficiently to reprogram cells to avoid diseases or to perform new tasks. The program dates for 2012 are 5/30/12-8/3/12. The deadline for all required application materials to be received is February 10th, 2012.

This award, made to Rice University by the NSF Directorate for Biological Sciences, will provide research training for 10 weeks for 30 students for summers 2010-2012. The focus of this NSF REU program is biological networks, complex interactions among biomolecules that give rise to the diverse biological phenotypes observed in nature.

In this summer REU, students will work on research projects under faculty mentors that draw from a range of approaches (classical biochemical and genetic to non-trivial theoretical models that require computation) to study naturally-occurring genetic networks, artificial genetic and metabolic networks, and biomolecular structure, function, and evolution.

This program will also provide: a creative opportunity for students to develop innovative biotechnological ideas; leadership, mentorship and social retreats; special seminars and career development workshops; stipend and travel support; on-campus housing; a capstone research poster symposium; and an ethics and responsible conduct of research discussion seminar.

Students will be recruited nationwide, with particular emphasis on recruiting women and under-represented minorities, and selection of students will be done based on the faculty steering committee’s evaluation of each applicant’s transcript and recommendation letters.

Rice’s Institute of Biosciences and Bioengineering (IBB) administers this NSF REU Program and maintains a database of all the alumni for this program with tracking information on their career progression. Each year, IBB publishes a “Class Notes” newsletter of the NSF REU alumni and features news on their current academic or professional status and accomplishments. Assessment of this program is done via pre- and post-questionnaires as well by using the NSF’s common assessment tool. More information on this program can be obtained by contacting Dr. Joff Silberg or Dr. George Bennett (Principal Investigators).

Any student with a science and/or engineering background who will be a university undergraduate during the time of their internship may apply. Applicants must have graduated high school and be enrolled fulltime in a college or university, and must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.

No experience is required. The program is designed to introduce students who are interested in science and engineering to the research lab. Much focus will be given towards learning how to do laboratory research.

Applications are done online. Materials that will need to be sent via email include a resume, and two letters of recommendation (personal statements are NOT required). Official transcripts are required and should be sent directly from your institution to: NSF REU Summer Internship in BioNetworks, Rice University, IBB, MS-144, 6100 Main St., Houston, TX 77005.

Students are housed on campus (2-4 students per suite) and the program covers the cost of housing.

Stipend: $4,300

Students will be allowed up to $500 for travel expenses incurred from a one-time trip to and from the Rice campus.

Call for Applications: Biological Engineering Research Experience for Undergraduates Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The Department of Biological Engineering (BE) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is presently seeking outstanding current junior-year undergraduates to participate in the Research Experience for Undergraduates Program (REU) during the summer term of 2012. The BE REU Program, sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF), provides non-MIT students with the opportunity to participate in the research being conducted in BE. Participants must be either permanent residents or US citizens. Applicants should be currently enrolled in an accredited undergraduate program as a junior with a major in biology, chemistry, or engineering, and have at least some experience with biology. In addition, only applicants with a cumulative GPA of 3.60 or greater will be considered (out of 4.00 scale).

This summer research experience is intended for students who are considering graduate school in biological engineering.

Each successful applicant will work closely with an MIT graduate student, post-doctoral candidate, or faculty member on BE research. Specific projects are not be assigned until after the students' arrival. The projects are developed by BE faculty. These faculty, along with their areas of research focus, are listed on this website: http://web.mit.edu/be/people/index.shtml.

REU students will relocate to Cambridge, Massachusetts for the duration of the program, Monday, June 11 through Friday, August 17, 2012. There are no exceptions to these program dates.

Compensation in the form of a $4800 stipend will be provided to all participants, as well as housing and a $1000 food allowance. Some travel expenses will be allowed for those not from the Cambridge area.

An application form is available online for candidates to complete. Please review the application before filling it out. In addition to the online application, please provide: two letters of recommendation from faculty who have provided instruction to the applicant, an official academic transcript, and a resume/CV. These materials may arrive separately. The postmark deadline for complete application submission is February 15, 2012.

All additional application materials should be sent to:

MIT BE REU Program 2012
16-429
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139

You may have questions about the program. If you have questions about the program's technical requirements only please write to Linda G. Griffith; griff [at] mit.edu.

Non-technical questions, administrative or otherwise, should be directed to Daniel Darling; ddarling [at] mit.edu.

Call for Nominations: 2012 Biochemical Engineering Journal Young Investigator Award

Deadline: March 31, 2012

The Biochemical Engineering Journal Young Investigator Award recognizes outstanding excellence in research and practice contributed to the field of biochemical engineering by a young community member. Candidates will be considered from all world regions, but must not be more than forty years of age as of March 31, 2012.

Previously presented biennially at the Biochemical and Molecular Engineering Conferences, Elsevier is pleased to announce that starting in 2012, the Young Investigator Award will be presented on an annual basis at either the Annual AIChE meeting in conjunction with the Food, Pharmaceutical and Bioengineering (FPBE) Division (even years) or the Biochemical and Molecular Engineering Conferences (odd years).

The 2012 award consists of a cash prize of 2,500 U.S. Dollars and a plaque presented at the 2012 AIChE Annual Meeting held October 28 to November 2, 2012, in Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

The award recipient will be recognized at the FBPE Division plenary/awards session and will present a keynote lecture in the most appropriate FPBE Division session at the annual meeting, based on the content of his or her submitted abstract for an oral or poster presentation. He or she will also be invited to compose a review article for the Biochemical Engineering Journal.

Candidates for the award must be self nominated and must submit an abstract to a session co-sponsored by the Food, Pharmaceutical and Bioengineering Division at the 2012 AIChE Annual Meeting to be considered. The selected candidate must also attend the meeting in order to receive the award. Candidate applications must consist of the following materials:

Nominee’s curriculum vitae
Statement of up to two pages describing the nominee’s accomplishments and impact in the field of biochemical engineering
A copy of the abstract submitted to the 2012 AIChE Annual Meeting for consideration and presentation
Up to two published works by the candidate

The above items should be sent by the nominee as a single pdf file to the award committee chair, Professor William M. Miller, at wmmiller@northwestern.edu.

Up to two letters of support
The letters of support should be sent directly by the letter writers to the award committee chair, preferably as electronic files.

Closing date: Nominations must be received no later than March 31, 2012.

Anticipated award announcement date: May 15, 2012