Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Program

The SURF Program will not be offered in 2009, but will resume in 2010.

The Department of Molecular Medicine offers a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program. Undergraduate students selected for the program work in a research laboratory for a 10-week period in the summer. During this time, they also attend weekly undergraduate-level lectures by participating faculty. At the end of the internship period, each student presents his or her research to the department. The goal for this training program is to provide an opportunity for talented undergraduate-level scientists to experience “real” research. Most undergraduate students have not had much exposure to hypothesis-driven laboratory science, and it may not come to mind as an obvious career option. It is hoped that a positive research experience will influence students who find that they have an aptitude for research to consider a career in scientific research. Providing a positive experience in a research laboratory may influence undergraduate students to consider research as a career at a time in their life when they are making decisions about future plans. Students will have an opportunity to interact freely with faculty members, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students and technical support personnel.

The IBT SURF program is administrated by Dr. Barbara Christy, but all of the faculty of the Department of Molecular Medicine of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio participate in the program. Six faculty members each year participate most directly as summer research mentors to students. Other faculty participate in a summer undergraduate-level lecture series aimed at educating the students in molecular biology-related topics and current research. Historically, the IBT has offered a SURF program since 1994, with the exception of summer 2002. Until 2001, the program was funded by the department. The program is currently funded through a training grant from the United States Dept. of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program, entitled "Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships in Breast Cancer Research". This grant supports 6 students for a 10-week summer period, and provides money to offset some of their supply use. We are currently applying to extend this program for additional years.

U.S. and International students studying at U.S. colleges and universities are eligible to apply for these fellowships. For international students studying in the U.S., participation will depend on successful transfer from their current institution to the UTHSCSA for the summer.

SURF 2008

The summer 2008 fellowships will tentatively begin on June 9, 2008 and end on August 15, 2008. Students participating in the summer research program will receive a $4,000 ten-week stipend. Interested students may apply by submitting the following information by March 17, 2008. There is no formal application form, just be sure to include all the requested information by the deadline.

1. Name, address, telephone number, and Email address where you can be reached.
2. One page or less describing: a) Why you are interested in a research fellowship; b) What your long-term academic and career goals are; c) How a summer research experience would fit in with your plans and what you hope to accomplish; d) What your previous laboratory experience has been (if any).
3. Copy of your most recent transcript (need not be "official" copies).
4. Two letters of recommendation.
5. A ranked listing of the five laboratories, from the following list, in which you would most like to work. We try to match students with laboratories according to their interests, but students may be placed in other laboratories if their top choices are already full.

Faculty and Their Research:

• Thomas G. Boyer, Ph.D., Associate Professor. Role of oncoproteins and tumor suppressor proteins in transcription regulation and DNA repair.


• Bandana Chatterjee, Ph.D., Professor. Nuclear receptors and metabolic regulation; androgen receptor in prostate cancer and gene regulation.


• Barbara A. Christy, Ph.D., Associate Professor. Genes encoding regulatory proteins involved in growth control and differentiation.


• Maria E. Gaczynska, Ph.D., Associate Professor. Biochemistry and biophysics of macromolecular biological assemblies, with special emphasis on proteolytic systems.


• E. Paul Hasty, D.V.M., Associate Professor. Genetics of chromosomal metabolism with importance towards cancer and aging.


• Yanfen Hu, Ph.D., Assistant Professor. Mechanism of BRCA1 in tumor suppression.


• Sang Eun Lee, Ph.D., Associate Professor. Molecular genetics of DNA damage response.


• Rong Li, Ph.D., Professor. The molecular basis of breast cancer.


• Hai Rao, Ph.D., Associate Professor. Functions of the ubiquitin system.


• Z. Dave Sharp, Ph.D., Associate Professor. Gene regulation in development and aging.


• P. Renee Yew, Ph.D., Associate Professor. Cell cycle regulation and DNA replication in vertebrates; protein degradation and its role in cancer.

A completed application must be postmarked by March 17, 2008 and mailed to the address below. You may also FAX your application to 210-567-7277 but follow with a hard copy by mail.

Barbara A. Christy, Ph.D.
Department of Molecular Medicine
Institute of Biotechnology, MSC 6250
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
15355 Lambda Drive
San Antonio, TX 78245-3207
christy@uthscsa.edu

Decision letters will be sent or Emailed by April 10, 2008. Applicants needing to know their status earlier than this date may contact Dr. Christy by Email at the address above. Some students may be placed on a waiting list until the positions are filled.