Orientation to Research
Students spend 13 weeks engaged in biomedical & veterinary
research under the direction of a faculty mentor. Students learn to
work in a laboratory setting with other students, fellows and
technical staff. They work with their mentors before and during the
summer to develop hypotheses, then design and carry out experiments
to test those hypotheses. The mentors help the students prepare a
brief research proposal to organize their summer program, then
follow-up with helping to prepare a poster, slide presentation, and
report on the results of the students' research.
The Orientation to Biomedical Research begins in the spring
semester and continues with the Orientation Worksop and weekly
lunch meetings throughout the summer, including topics such as:
- Preparing Research Proposals
- Laboratory Safety
- Ethical Use of Animals in Research
- Responsible Conduct of Research
- Reading & Writing Scientific Literature
- Poster & Oral/Slide Presentations
- Opportunities to continue exploring research careers
Some of these topics, such as Laboratory Safety &
Responsible Conduct of Research, are covered using on-line
instruction or by short sessions during the Spring Semester to
allow students to begin their research without delay in May. For
students from other colleges of veterinary medicine, appropriate
alternatives will be provided.
Some of the weekly lunch meetings are devoted
to Journal Clubs in which the student fellows
discuss recent literature related to their research projects.