Program includes
- Hands-on mentored research
- Potential travel to the National Research Council of Italy for 2-week research experience
- Social activities, networking events, and professional development opportunities
- Program dates: June 3, 2024 – July 26, 2024 (8 weeks, approx. 30 hours/week)
- Stipends – approximately $700/student/week
- Housing at Daniels Hall (double room)
- Travel & Conference Registration Fees
- Laboratory Use Fees
Eligibility Requirements
- highly motivated undergraduates with a GPA of 3.0 or higher
- Preference is given to students from underrepresented groups in science and engineering—including women, minorities, and persons with disabilities—as well as first-generation college students.
- U.S. citizens or permanent residents
- applicants must have completed their sophomore (second) year by the start of the program
- applicants must be 18 years of age or older
- Provide current transcript
- Complete the application
Location and duration of the program
- Location: Natural Resources Building - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- 8 weeks, approx. 30 hours/week
Application Timeline
- November 6, 2023 – Student Application Open
- February 5, 2024 – Student Application Closes
- March 22, 2024 – Offer letters sent to students
- April 1, 2024 – Students accept or decline the offer (Faculty/Mentor will be informed immediately)
- April 15, 2024 – Student stipends and appointments established.
- June 3, 2024 – REU program at INHS starts
- July 26, 2024 – REU program ends (flexible upon Faculty/Mentor approval)
To Apply
The application materials consist of:
- A 5000-character Personal Statement: Please describe your academic and career goals and how the REU program will help you to achieve these goals
- A copy of your unofficial transcript
- A short CV
The REU student will work on one of the following subprojects:
- SubProject 1: Tracking the elusive: discovery of plant pathogens related strains in natural areas (candidate will learn about new molecular approaches to uncover phytoplasma diversity)
- SubProject 2: Characterizing landscape interfaces for new phytoplasma strains and analysis of potential of spillover (candidate will learn about spillover risk assessment using geographically referenced information)
- SubProject 3: Biodiversity dimensions of host-parasite networks (candidate will learn about how to measure the main components of biodiversity in host-pathogen association networks)
- SubProject 4: Phylogenetic analysis of comparing tree (candidate will learn about algorithms for constructing and comparing phylogenetic trees)
- SubProject 5: Vouchering host-parasite associations: tracking names and associated attributes for proper analytical evaluation (candidate will learn about how to prepare and preserve high-quality museum specimens, digitize and track host-parasite data)
