Opportunities for Undergraduate Students

This section describes all of the opportunities that FUN provides for undergraduate neuroscientists!

FUN Travel Awards

 

 

FUN Travel Award Call For Applications

Since 1992 the Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience has provided travel awards to help our top undergraduate neuroscientists present their original research at the annual Society for Neuroscience meeting.  The winners are enrolled at a variety of academic institutions - from small liberal arts colleges to large research intensive universities.  What ties them together is a dedication to the pursuit of high quality research in the neurosciences.  FUN has kept in contact with our winners and an amazing 68 percent of them have gone on to enter PhD or MD/PhD programs.  These students are truly our next generation of neuroscientists.
 
Our awards are sponsored by FUN member dues and generous contributions from our sponsors: The Grass Foundation, Sinauer Associates, Kinder Scientific, ADInstruments, Noldus, ThorLabs, Campden Instruments, Coulbourn Instruments, Med Associates, Fine Science Tools, Wellesley College, Nu Rho Psi, Leica Microsystems, SimBiotic Software, Brandeis University, Macalester Cognitive Neurosciences, and MicroBrightField
 
Any dues-paying members of the Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience (FUN) can sponsor nominees for a FUN Undergraduate Student Travel Award. 
 
Download the current application by going to the Travel Application link in the For Members section on the Navigation menu on the upper left of the page.  Only dues-paying members who have logged-in to their account have access to the link.
 

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2012 FUN Travel Award Winners - New Orleans, LA

  • Sage Aronson – Oberlin College (Sponsor: Dr. Michael Loose). Making predictions in a stochastic environment: Strategies underlying the probability matching phenomenon and corresponding event-related potentials. Award sponsored by Nu Rho Psi. 

  • Samuel Asinof – Oberlin College (Sponsor: Dr. Tracie Paine). Decreased Cortical GABA Synthesis Impairs Attention and Increases Locomotor Activity. Award sponsored by Nu Rho Psi.

  • Emma Babb – Duke University (Sponsor: Dr. Christina Williams). Moderating effects of high versus low aerobic capacity on adult rat hippocampal neurogenesis following systemic doxorubicin treatment. Award sponsored by Sinauer Associates.

  • Jared Bell – University of Texas at Austin (Sponsor: Dr. Theresa Jones). The effects of training intensity on functional outcome following unilateral ischemic insult of sensorimotor cortex in C57BL/6 mice. Award sponsored by FUN Membership.

  • Ama Berko – William Patterson University (Sponsor: Dr. Jamie Weiss). Developing a PC12 assay to examine calcium signaling in the regulation of nitric oxide: Role of NCS-1? Award sponsored by MicroBrightField Bioscience. 

  • Blaine Caslin – Lafayette College (Sponsor: Dr. Elaine Reynolds). Dietary interventions eliminate seizures in a fly model of epilepsy. Award sponsored by Fine Science Tools.

  • Laurie Delatour – The College of New Jersey (Sponsor: Dr. Jeffrey Erickson). Neonatal breathing deficits in the serotonin-deficient Pet-1 knockout mouse are alleviated by exposure to nicotine during prenatal and early postnatal development. Award sponsored by ADInstruments.

  • Elise Flynn – St. Mary’s College of Maryland (Sponsor: Dr. Anne Marie Brady). Self-administration of cocaine does not alleviate behavioral abnormalities in the neonatal ventral hippocampal lesion model of schizophrenia. Award sponsored by Nu Rho Psi.

  • S. Bradley King – College of Charleston (Sponsor: Dr. Michael Ruscio). Effect of social isolation on cellular proliferation in the California mouse (Peromyscus californicus). Award sponsored by Lafayette Instrument & Campden Instruments.

  • Marcus Lacey – Washington State University (Sponsor: Dr. James Peters). Acute desensitization of responses to cholecystokinin (CCK) at CCK-1 receptors on vagal afferent cell bodies. Award sponsored by Leica Microsystems.

  • Adrienne Murphy-Stout – Ursinus College (Sponsor: Dr. Rebecca Kohn). A dominant suppressor of unc-13 partially rescues paralysis in Caenorhabditis elegans. Award sponsored by Nu Rho Psi.

  • Amelia Parmidge – Mills College (Sponsor: Dr. Jared Young). The nose knows, but the eye does not: Automated image analyst development for calcium images of AWC olfactory neurons in C. elegans. Award sponsored by Med Associates.

  • Tiffany Reinke – Central Michigan University (Sponsor: Dr. Gary Dunbar). Antioxidants from tart cherries and essential fatty acids as treatment for Alzheimer’s disease in 5xFAD mouse model. Award sponsored by Wellesley College.

  • Kristina Scanlan – Westminster College (Sponsor: Dr. Robin McGovern). The role of oxytocin, vasopressin, and d-cycloserine in remediating social behavior in rats with amygdala lesions. Award sponsored by Noldus Information Technology.

  • Lindsey Schuette – Reed College (Sponsor: Dr. Paul Currie). Mesolimbic ghrelinergic signaling in reward and limbic function. Award sponsored by the Grass Foundation.

  • Ryan Williamson – Bringham Young University (Sponsor: Dr. Jeff Edwards). Endocannabinoid biosynthesizing enzyme expression in hippocampal stratum oriens neurons. Award sponsored by the Grass Foundation.

 

2011 FUN Travel Award Winners - Washington, DC

  • Priscilla Barba Escobedo, Texas A&M SA  sponsor-Georgianna Gould  Social preference and social novelty behavior in zebrafish Award sponsored by Microbrightfield Bioscience
  • Victoria Breen, Boston College  sponsor-Joseph Burdo  Protection against glutamate toxicity in HT22 neurons by a novel phosphodiesterase inhibitor Award sponsored by AD instruments
  • Matthew DeNiear, Davidson College  sponsor-Julio Ramirez  Heterosynaptic interaction of the sprouted crossed entorhinal and septal inputs to the hippocampus following unilateral entorhinal cortex lesion in rats Award sponsored by Sinauer Associates and FUN
  • Katherine Gumps, College of Charleston  sponsor-Chris Korey  Mutations in palmitoyl protein-thioesterase 1 alter exocytosis and endocytosis at synapses in Drosophila larvae. Award sponsored by Wellesley College
  • Zoe Hesp, Miami University of Ohio  sponsor-Lori Isaacson  Immunofluorescence restaining of previously processed experimental tissues reveals preservation of antigenicity Award sponsored by Nu Rho Psi
  • Patricia Lee, U Michigan Ann Arbor  sponsor-Shelly Flagel  Selectively bred highresponder and lowresponder rats differ in “affective” responsiveness to a novelty seeking test Award sponsored by Thorlabs
  • Joe Luchsinger, Baldwin Wallace College sponsor-Andy Mickley  Latent inhibition of a conditioned taste aversion (CTA) in fetal rats is age-dependent Award sponsored by Nu Rho Psi
  • Cecila McKee, Vassar  sponsor-Kathleen Raley-Susman  Subcellular localization and protein interactions of PTL-1 in Caenorhabditis elegans Award sponsored by Thorlabs
  • Rabia Nasir, Conneticut College  sponsor-Joseph A. Schroeder  The Effects of Nicotine on Egocentric Spatial Navigation in Zebrafish Sinauer Award sponsored by the Grass Foundation
  • Alexa Orticelli, Georgia Tech  sponsor-Cassie Mitchell  Pathological axonal transport II: binding cooperativity, ATP, and tau Award sponsored by the Grass Foundation
  • Jenna Parrish, Muskingum U  sponsor-Ana Hutton Kehrberg  Neonatal Alcohol Exposure via Intraperitoneal Injections Affects Ultrasonic Vocalizations and Activity Levels in Rats Award sponsored by MedAssociates
  • Katrina Placek, St. Mary's of MD   sponsor-Anne Marie Brady  Relationships between behavioral abnormalities and set-shifting impairments in the neonatal ventral hippocampal lesion model of schizophrenia. Award sponsored by Lafayette Instruments
  • Andrew Ross, Skidmore College  sponsor-Jennifer Bonner  Ethanol induced axon pathfinding defects in the zebrafish, Danio rerio.  Award sponsored by FUN
  • Madhavi Senagolage, Lake Forest College  sponsor-Shubhik DebBurman  Complex Regulation of α-Synuclein Properties in Yeasts by Endocytosis Pathway Genes Award sponsored by FUN
  • Emily Sharpe, Marquette U  sponsor-Michelle Mynlieff  Cav1.3 but not Cav1.2 L-type calcium channels co-localize with GABAB receptors in neonatal rat hippocampus Award sponsored by Lafayette Instruments
  • Caitlin Vander Weele, U of Michigan  sponsor-Brandon Aragona  Rapid dopamine signaling in response to a short-acting opiate, remifentanil Award sponsored by Sinauer Associates, Inc
  • Gabrielle Van Patten, Cornell  sponsor-Ron Harris-Warrick Quantification of serotonergic receptors and calcium channels in the sublesional mouse spinal cord after spinal cord injury Award sponsored by Leica Microsystems
  • Ryan Williamson, Brigham Young U  sponsor-Jeff Edwards  Expression of endocannabinoid biosynthesizing enzymes in hippocampal CA1 neurons Award sponsored by AD instruments
  • Tizita Zeleke, Manhattanville College  sponsor-Annemarie Bettica  The neuroprotective efficacies of various botanical extracts, Rue chalpanesis, Hibiscus sabdariffa, and Panax Ginseng species against neurotoxic-induced Parkinson's disease in neuroblastoma cells in vitro Award sponsored by Noldus Information Technology

2010 FUN Travel Award Winners - San Diego, CA

 2009 FUN Travel Award Winners - Chicago, IL

2008 FUN Travel Award Winners - Washington DC

2007 FUN Travel Award Winners - San Diego, CA


2006 FUN Travel Award Winners - Atlanta, GA


2005 FUN Travel Award Winners - Washington, DC


2004 FUN Travel Award Winners - San Diego, CA


2003 FUN Travel Award Winners - New Orleans, LA

     
2002 FUN Travel Award Winners - Orlando, FL


2001 FUN Travel Award Winners - San Diego, CA


2000 FUN Travel Award Winners - New Orleans, LA

 
1999 FUN Travel Award Winners - Miami Beach, FL

1998 FUN Travel Award Winners - Los Angeles, CA


1997 FUN Travel Award Winners - New Orleans, LA

 
1996 FUN Travel Award Winner - Washington, DC


1995 FUN Travel Award Winners - San Diego, CA


1994 FUN Travel Award Winners - Miami Beach, FL

 
1993 FUN Travel Award Winners - Washington, DC


1992 FUN Travel Award Winner - San Diego, CA

     

 

Internship Opportunties

Albert Einstein College of Medicine: Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP)- Application due February 1st

Amherst College - This link will take you to another list of internship opportunities housed at Amherst College

Baylor College of Medicine - Application due January 10th

Carnegie Mellon University- Application due February 1st 

Case Western Reserve University - Pharmacology- Application due February 17th

Center for Behavioral Neuroscience (Atlanta)- Application due January 13th

Christian Brothers University: Summer Program - Application due December 30

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Undergraduate Summer Internship - Search "internship"

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Summer Undergraduate Research Program- Application due January 15th 

College of Charleston: Neuroscience Seminar in Germany - Application due February 24th 

Colorado State University:Undergraduate Research in Molecular Biosciences- Application due February 1st

Duke University Summer Program for Undergraduate Research in Behavioral Neuroscience - Application due March 9th

Eastern Illinois University

Emory University MD Summer Experience at Emory - Application due March 1

Emory University SURE – Atlanta - February 10th, 2013

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle- Application due January 20th

Frontier Nursing Service Courier Program, Wendover, KY

Georgia State U., Center for Behavioral Neuroscience- Application due January 13th 

Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology- Application due January 31st 

Howard Hughes Medical Institute - Janelia Farm- Application due January 13th 

Hunter College - Application due January 14

Indiana University: REU in Animal Behavior- Application due February 7th

Indiana University School of Medicine Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship

Iowa State University: Undergraduate Internship Program for Women in Science and Engineering

Jackson Labs (Bar Harbor, Maine)- Application due February 2nd

Jefferson Medical College- Application due February 1st 

Joslin Diabetes Center, Harvard- Application due January 25th

Louisiana State U. Biological Sciences- Application due February 9th

Marquette University- Application due February 1st

Max Planck Florida Institute - Application due February 3rd

Mayo Clinic Summer Undergraduate Research Program- Application due February 1st

Medical College of Wisconsin Summer Undergraduate Research Program- Application due February 15th

Medical University of South Carolina- Application due January 31st

MetroHealth Summer Scholars Program- Application due February 17th

National Institutes of Health Summer Internship Program in Biomedical Research- Application due February 1st

New York University Center for Neural Science - Application due April 15th

New York University, Sackler Institute- Application due February 1st

New York University School of Medicine SURP- Application due February 1st

NIH – National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke- Application due March 1st

NIH Research Supplements for Underrepresented Minorities- Application due 3 months before start date

NIH/NINDS: Summer Program in the Neurological Sciences - Application due March 1st

North Carolina State U., Summer Institute in Biostatistics  - Application due March 2nd

Northern Arizona University

Nu Rho Psi National Honor Society in Neuroscience

Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship- Application due February 1st

Oklahoma State University

Oregon Health & Sciences University - Neurological Sciences Institute

Pasteur Foundation- Application due December 16th

Pepperdine University – Summer Undergraduate Research in Biology- Application due February 15th

Research Experience in Neuroscience for Undergraduate from Rural and Tribal Colleges- Application review starts March 25th

Rochester Institute of Technology - This link will take you to another list of internships which includes all areas of biological sciences.

Rockefeller University Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship   - Application due February 1st

Rutgers / UMDNJ Neuroscience Undergraduate Summer Research Program for NJ Students  

Santa Fe Institute REU summer program   - Application due February 6th

Sloan-Kettering Summer Undergraduate Research Program   - Application due February 1st

SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse   - Application due Febraury 15th

SUNY Stony Brook HHMI National Research Scholars Program- Application due March 15th

Tufts Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Studies   - Application due February 15th

Tulane Neuroscience Summer Research Program - Application due March 9, 2012

UCLA  - Application due Fenraury 3rd

University of Alabama at Birmingham   - Application due February 10th

University of California at San Francisco   

University of Cincinnati College of Medicine: several programs including neuroscience - Application due February 1, 2013

University of Colorado  - Application due February 17th

University of Connecticut Health Center   - Application due February 15th

University of Connecticut Study Abroad  - Application due March 1st

University of Georgia, Microbiology dept.   - Application due February 22nd

University of Illinois – Research in Brain, Sensory Systems and Behavior  

University of Iowa   - Application due January 23rd

University of Iowa MSTP summer program   - Application due February 1st

University of Louisville Neuroscience Program- Application due March 1st

University of Minnesota - Application due February 15th

University of Mississippi 

University of Nebraska Medical Center Summer Research Program - Application due March 1st
University of Nevada - Las Vegas  Application due March 11th

University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill    Application due March 1st

University of Notre Dame - Application due February 1st

University of Oregon, Neurological Sciences Institute  

University of Pennsylvania Gene Therapy Program  - Application due Febraury 6th

University of Pennsylvania Summer Computational Neuroscience Program

University of Pittsburgh, Center for Neurosciences   - Application due February 15th

University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Interdisciplinary Biomedical Sciences   - Application due February 1st

University of Rochester: Biomedical and Biological Science  - Application due March 1st

University of Rochester Center for Visual Science   - Application due January 31st

University of Rochester Schmitt Center for Integrative Brain Research   - Application due February 17th

University of Rochester Strong Children’s Research Center Summer-Training Program 

University of Texas Houston Summer Research Program- Application due February 1st

University of Texas Medical Branch - Galveston   - Application due February 10th

Univeristy of Texas Southwestern Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program   - Application due February 9th

University of Toledo Medical College of Ohio  - Application due March 9th

University of Utah - Application due February 1, 2013

University of Vermont Dept. of Anatomy and Neurobiology   - Application due February 15th

University of Virginia Health System   - Application due February 17th

University of Wisconsin-Madison 

Vanderbilt University - Application due February 1, 2013

Wake Forest University   - Application due February 10th

Washington University, St. Louis   - Application due February 1st

Weizmann Institute of Science Summer Work for Foreign Science Students (Israel) 

Wesleyan University - Application due March 1st

West Virgina University Center for Neuroscience Summer Internships - Application due February 1st

Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory REU Applications due March 12th

Wright State University - Application due March 30th

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Labs seeking student researchers

Dr. Chris Reich at Ramapo College of New Jersey is looking for research assistants this summer (2010). Dr. Reich's lab studies the effects of chronic stress and depression on learning and memory and synaptic plasticity. If interested, email him at creich@ramapo.edu.

Brain Awareness Week Travel Award

 

2013 Brain Awareness Travel Award

Sponsored by the Society for Neuroscience

 

We welcome dues-paying members of the Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience (FUN) to sponsor nominees for the Brain Awareness (BA) Travel Award Program. The award offers aid for expenses ($750 + complimentary registration for the meeting) associated with attending the Society for Neuroscience 2013 meeting for an undergraduate student who is presenting a poster in Theme H: History, Teaching, Public Awareness, and Societal Impacts in Neuroscience. All student travel award applications must have a faculty sponsor who is a dues-paying member of FUN. 

The student should be an author on the abstract and present the results from a BA project that was done while an undergraduate. It is not necessary that the student be enrolled as an undergraduate at the time of the SfN fall meeting. Students are eligible if the work was done as a graduating senior the previous year. In order to receive the award, the student will be required to attend the SfN Brain Awareness Event and the FUN Poster Session and Social.

A panel of FUN members and members of SfN’s Public Education and Communication Committee will judge the award applications. The following criteria will be used to evaluate the applications:

The student’s sponsor must submit an email containing a PDF attachment of the award application to Noah Sandstrom, President of FUN (Noah.Sandstrom@williams.edu) by June 10, 2013. Note that abstracts submitted to the Theme H poster session are due to SfN by Thursday, May 9th.

Questions/concerns should be addressed to:

Noah Sandstrom

President, Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience

Williams College

Williamstown, MA 01267

Past Travel Award Winners

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FUN Undergraduate Research Poster Session

 

The FUN Undergraduate Research Poster Session

Every fall at the Society for Neuroscience meeting, the Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience sponsors a poster session and social that showcases top undergraduate neuroscientists from around the country.  At the 2011 meeting we had over 150 posters!  So submit an abstract and join faculty and students at this exciting night of undergraduate research.

2012 FUN Undergraduate Research Poster Session & Social
Monday, October 15, 2012 from 6:45 to 8:45pm

Abstract Submission: September 10, 2012

Abstracts for posters to be presented at the 2012 FUN Undergraduate Poster Session should be submitted as soon as possible but absolutely no later than September 10, 2012. Each poster must be sponsored by a dues-paying individual FUN member or organizational FUN member designee and should represent research conducted by undergraduate scientists. Due to space limitations and the increasing popularity of this event, poster space will be assigned on a first-come, first-serve basis and each dues-paying individual or organizational member may sponsor only one poster board. If desired, more than one "poster-style" presentation may be displayed at each poster board. As in the past, posters must be presented by students who will be attending the SfN meeting. Abstracts accepted for presentation at the SfN poster sessions, as well as those not submitted for presentation as part of the larger SfN program, are welcome and encouraged for presentation at this session.

Application procedure: To apply for poster space, undergraduate students should fill out and submit the Abstract submission form with the approval of their FUN sponsor (faculty or organizational member). Note: Abstracts are limited to 250 words.

Contact the Poster Session Chair, Shelly Dickinson (dickinss@stolaf.edu) if you have questions or trouble with the form.

 

 

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German Graduate Schools of Neuroscience Poster Award

The Annual German Graduate Schools of Neuroscience Poster Award

FUN is excited to partner with the German Graduate Schools of Neuroscience to offer this wonderful opportunity for a lucky undergraduate neuroscientist. The award this year will have two options for the winner to choose from.  The first option will be the week-long visit to German Neuroscience Programs that has been offered with past awards. The second available option will be a travel grant to cover round trip airfare for the student to attend a new FUN supported Neuroscience Summer Course that will be offered through the College of Charleston in Munich and Berlin in 2011.  More information about the summer course will be available at SfN this fall. This year's application is due October 15th, 2010.  The application is attached as a word document at the bottom of the page. 

 

To be eligible for this award, the nominee must currently be an undergraduate student. Each nominee must be sponsored by a FUN Member whose dues are current. Each sponsor may nominate only one student. For a poster to be considered, it must have been accepted for presentation by the nominee at the FUN Social and Poster Session at the Society for Neuroscience Meeting. The posters are judged on methodological approach, degree of difficulty, solidity/verifiability of data, contribution to "new knowledge", design and layout of the poster, and the ability of the student to answer questions regarding the project.

Please send completed nomination forms to Jen Yates (jryates@owu.edu) by October 15th, 2010.

 

 

2009 FUN/German Graduate Schools of Neuroscience Poster Award Winner

 

 

 

The first prize is a one week trip to Germany, visiting selected neuroscience hot spots. This year, yet another undergrad from Bates College, Maine, of Nancy Kleckner’s lab carried away the trophy: Miranda Gallo. She is pictured above , with Lutz Steiner of Medical Neurosciences, Berlin awarding the winning certificate.

Miranda’s complex and thorough research project on the central pattern generator of the pond snail (Helisoma trivolvis) and her professional presentation convinced the jurors unanimously. On the jury sat Prof. Dr. Horst Herbert of Tübingen, Prof. Dr. Josef Priller of Berlin, Dr. Erich Schneider of Munich and Dr. Felipe Opazo of Göttingen.

Runners-up were Adam Bledsoe of the University of South Dakota and Natasha Meyer of Davidson College. The prizes were awarded the same evening. A large and lively audience of undergrads and faculty watched the award ceremony during the FUN Social in Chicago on 19 October, hosted by FUN president Jennifer Yates and past president Christopher Korey.

 

Previous Winners


 

 

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