Undergraduate Research

Undergraduate Research (Biochemistry 699):

The faculty of the Department of Biochemistry encourage undergraduates, particularly Biochemistry majors, to conduct at least one quarter of undergraduate research.  This experience will give the student an opportunity to work in a research laboratory alongside graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and faculty members.  

You will learn about the research process, including how to identify and define a specific research problem and the techniques and experimental approaches to the solving  research questions.  

Undergraduate research represents a great way for the student to appreciate the relevancy of his/her course work and usually makes the course work more interesting and exciting.

Students should enroll in Biochemistry 699 to receive credit. "Undergraduate Research" will then appear on your transcript, which may be very attractive to graduate and professional schools as well as future employers. Note also that Biochemistry 699, Undergraduate Research, is now more specifically associated with a laboratory-based research activity. It differs from Biochemistry 693, Independent Studies, which is now reserved for other independent learning experiences which can be arranged with specific faculty members and might include an independent and indepth study of a biochemistry-related subject outside a normal classroom setting.

NOTE: Students who are part of the University's Honors and Scholars Program may also register for Biochemistry H783, "Honors Research", to fulfill requirements associated with the preparation of an Honors Thesis for receiving a Bachelor's degree with Distinction in Biochemistry. See the appropriate section of the "Honors and Scholars" website for further information.

How do I get involved?

Getting involved in research is relatively easy.  Just follow these simple steps.

• Review the Faculty Research Descriptions to find a lab that interests you. To assist you, a list of faculty who have openings for undergraduate research and a list of potential projects will be posted below. However, even if you don't see a faculty member listed below, contact them anyway because they may have new openings not yet listed below!
  
• E-mail the faculty member to set up an appointment to talk about research opportunities in their lab.  (E-mail addresses can be found on the Faculty Listing page.) Please do not feel intimidated in contacting our faculty.  Most faculty are very interested in serving as advisors for undergraduate research and will be pleased to talk with you.
  
• If the faculty member agrees to have you in their lab, you can discuss scheduling your research hours, start date and number of credits taken.
  
• Enroll in Biochemistry 699, "Undergraduate Research" (or Bichemistry H783,"Honors Research", if appropriate). Students usually sign up for 1 to 3 credit hours of research per quarter. Each credit represents approximately 4 hours per week in a lab.  The number of credit hours will be arranged along with your faculty research advisor.

Points to remember:

• A research experience represents a serious commitment in time and effort.  Because of this, it is recommended that only students who are doing well in the classroom (GPA > 3.0) should consider this opportunity.
  
• In order to maximize the outcome of a research experience, students should seriously consider commiting to at least two quarters of research.
  
• Research takes time.  Meaningful progress can usually only be made if you can commit to blocks of time of at least 2-3 hours per session.  Trying to accomplish an experimental protocol in one hour between classes usually doesn't work well.  Scheduling us usually flexible so your research can be fit into your class schedule.  It typically isn't necessary to work every day of the week.
  
• You need to set up your research project a quarter ahead of time. For example, if you want to start research in winter quarter, you need to get everything arranged in the fall quarter.