Undergraduate Research Opportunties: STEER

STEER is an undergraduate research program funded by the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences of the National Institutes of Health. Its goal is to attract talented science undergraduates to graduate research careers in the environmental health sciences. The program provides a 10-week summer research experience in the collaborating laboratories of Drs. Don Sens, Mary Ann Sens, Scott Garrett, Seema Somji, Jane Dunlevy, Xu Dong Zhou and Lucy Zheng in the University of North Dakota (UND) School of Medicine and Health Sciences. The research theme is to advance the hypothesis that environmental agents which elicit human disease cause cellular alterations in cell structure and function that can be identified as predictive biomarkers of disease development and progression. To advance this theme, the students will be involved in research that studies the role of the environmental pollutants, arsenic and cadmium, in the development and progression of human bladder, breast, prostate and renal disease.

The STEER program has four openings for the Summer of 2012 for rising sophomores, juniors and seniors who will have completed organic chemistry. Participants will receive $4,000 based on a 10-week, 40 hours per week training experience. Interested participants must complete an application, including an autobiographical sketch, and submit their college transcript and two letters of recommendation. Application deadline is Friday, March 23, 2012. The program begins Monday, June 4 and ends Friday, August 10, 2012. Participating students must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States or its possessions.

The STEER program participants will work alongside faculty, graduate and undergraduate students within the research laboratories at the UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Each STEER participant will be assigned a gene that will be characterized for expression at the mRNA level through the use of real time PCR analysis and at the protein level by western and immunohistochemical analysis. In addition, each student will become familiar with the culturing techniques for human cells, processing of human tissue for analysis and statistical analysis of research results. Students will read background material and participate in laboratory meetings. Each student will prepare and present a poster at the end of the summer session. There will also be a weekly seminar series focused on the impact of the environment on North Dakota. Criteria for selection will be based on the student's academic performance and educational and career goals. High School students who have not yet enrolled in college are not eligible.

You can apply on-line or download the application here (Word or PDF).

Have a question? Visit the STEER/REFUNDU F.A.Q.

For more information, please contact:
Dr. Van Doze at van.doze@med.und.edu

  • Students graduating in Spring/Summer 2012 are not eligible.