NIDA Center Summer Research Experience

The NIDA Center for GWAS in Outbred Rats seeks high school and college students for Research Experiences for High School and Undergraduate (REHU) projects. The goal is to encourage research training for future STEM-related careers. The REHU program is located at Center research sites in San Diego, Ann Arbor, Memphis, Buffalo, and Winston-Salem. Stipends are $2,000 for high school students and $4,000 for college students attending the summer quarter: June 12 - August 18, 2017. Offers for participation in the program will be made based on application reviews, interviews, academic excellence, motivation, scientific potential, and career goals aligned with Center projects. Besides stipends, housing and travel support, if needed, will be provided. Participants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents and be enrolled in an accredited high school or undergraduate degree program with a concentration in the biological, physical, quantitative, or computational sciences. Information about the NIDA Center is at www.ratgenes.org.

If selected, high school and college students will be matched with faculty researchers and lab associates who will mentor REHU activities. There will be a mid-summer working lunch and informal journal club to discuss research projects and papers. At the conclusion of the REHU program, students will produce a written report and present research findings at a REHU symposium.

The NIDA Center is led by the Principal Investigator Professor Abraham Palmer at the University of California, San Diego, but the team also includes collaborating investigators at the University of Michigan, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, the University of Buffalo, and the Wake Forest School of Medicine. Expertise is also provided by scientists at the University of Chicago. Center research projects are about genes and behavior. There is a primary focus on the genetics of drug abuse. Investigations include projects about incentive salience, socially-acquired nicotine self-administration, association between behavioral regulation and cocaine cue preference, and integration of genome wide association studies (GWAS) and expression quantitative traits (eQTL) data. Depending on the project, some REHU students may use GWAS applications and core sequencing technologies. Other participants may work with heterogeneous stock rat populations. There will be access to athletic facilities and social and cultural events on campus.

Deadline for receipt of all application materials is February 6, 2017. To request an application, please contact baprison@bsd.uchicago.edu. Confidential letters of recommendation and official school transcripts are required as a part of the application process.