Dear Researchers

Dear Researchers:

Four years ago, mcbUSA, a UC Berkeley Molecular and Cell Biology student organization, started a program called the "Summer Undergraduate Research Program" (SURP). Last summer, with over 500 student applications and the participation of over 40 faculty researchers throughout the Bay Area, the program has been incredibly successful. The program's objective is to provide undergraduates with the opportunity to begin work in a research laboratory during the summer term with the possibility to continue through the following academic year. These efforts are designed to enrich the academic experience through allowing eager students to explore laboratory research under the tutelage of willing professors/research professionals. To achieve this, the program once again requires the participation of UCB faculty and other life science researchers in the Bay Area.

Procedure

Faculty mentors/Researchers submit to us descriptions of available summer research opportunities in their lab.
We distribute the descriptions and applications to the student population.
We collect these applications and return them to the appropriate faculty.
Decisions and interviews will be at the faculty member's discretion.

This program is very similar to the Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program (URAP). It differs in that students begin their lab work in the summer, giving them more initial time to dedicate their attention to their lab experience. The program will not provide academic credit or stipends. However, faculty participants may do so through the usual means (MCB 199, grants, etc).

Timeline

Interested professors will submit their projects by JANUARY 25th.
The projects and applications will be displayed on our web page and distributed in hard copy beginning JANUARY 26th.
Applications are due by MARCH 15th.
Applications will be delivered to faculty by MARCH 22nd.
Faculty arrange interviews and start dates with the student(s) they select. Selected

students should be notified by APRIL 18th.

If you are interested in participating in this program, please complete and submit the enclosed form electronically to our email account at by JANUARY 25th.

If you have any questions, suggestions, or concerns please email us at . Best wishes as we look forward to another successful year of student/professor collaboration.

Summer Undergraduate Research Program 2015

Faculty Project Proposal Submission

Project Submission deadline: January 25th 2015

Faculty Name: Manfred Auer

Email:

Phone Number: 510-457-5233

Department/Organization Affiliation: Life Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley Lab

Preferred Method of Contact: email

Project Name(s): Structural Cell Biology in Neurobiology, Cancer Biology, Plant Biology & Microbiology, Electron Microscopy, Image Analysis

General Topic (Keywords): architectural 3D organization of cells and tissues/microbial communities, imaging technologies and image analysis development

Project Description(s):

As can be seen from our group webpage:

our research is fairly diverse and ranges from the molecular mechanisms of hearing, over breast cancer, plant cell walls and biofuels to microbial communities/biofilms:

We excel in ultrastructural characterization of a variety of biological samples, using ultrarapid freezing samples preparation, scanning and transmission electron microscopic imaging (2D and 3D)at macromolecular resolution, involving state-of-the-art computer graphics-assisted 3D visualization and quantitative analysis of complex cellular 3D volumes.

There are a number of possible projects, depending on the exact need at the time of the internship and preference of the student.

Mission

Our mission is to gain fundamental insight into biology, in part by visualizing molecular machines at molecular resolution, and to identify their protein composition through novel labeling approaches. While 2D electron microscopy and 3D electron tomography continue to be the major tools for the analysis of macromolecular machines in their native cellular environment, our tomographic studies are often complemented by biochemical, cell biological, biophysical and high-end optical and TEM and SEM imaging techniques, as well as computational data analysis including sophisticated visualization, segmentation and quantitative analysis. Although the task of studying supramolecular complexes in their native cellular environment is challenging, we feel rewarded by the discovery of the fascinating complexity of molecular machines. The models derived from our structural studies then often serve as a platform for further neurobiological, cell biological, pharmacological or microbiological testing. Where we do not possess the expertise in our own laboratory, we do collaborate with a variety of experts, both on the biological as well as the technical side.

The Lab's Philosophy

Our efforts are fueled by the excitement of scientific discovery, and we believe that studying important biological problems requires an atmosphere of true team spirit where everybody's contribution is important and welcome. We consider a true passion for science as the most important ingredient for doing good science, but also aim keep a healthy balance between work and life outside the lab.

Desired Skills or Experience: no specific experience needed

Time Commitment:

Must be serious about research, be able to commit full time for first summer, part time during the year and ideally full time for the second summer. This lab is ideal for students who know that they want to do research, are driven and willing to join a diverse dedicated and fun team of young scientists. While we do not expect you to know much (and will thus teach you), you must be self-motivated and serious

Preferred Starting Date:

We will conduct an orientation session where we will tell you more about the lab, as well as two ~30 min interviews (one with the me, the other with members of my lab), after which we will offer internships to a total of ~3-5 candidates. Once you are part of the “Auer lab family”, we decide together what is a good starting date.