Bioinformatics


News

2/3/2021

Summer fellowship and internship opportunities!

Washington University and The McDonnell Genome Institute​​​​
 
Washington University and The McDonnell Genome Institute’s NHGRI-funded Opportunities in Genomics Research Program (OGR) is accepting applications for its Undergraduate Scholars Summer 2021 Program with an application deadline of February 19th.  The OGR Program focuses on providing students interested in pursuing their PhD with interdisciplinary research in genomic sciences by allowing students to choose from over 30 labs at Washington University. The OGR program is based on three pillars: full-time mentored research, critical training in scientific communication, and community. Opportunities for focused outreach activities to local high school students are also available.  

Additional information on the OGR Summer Program as well as an associated Post-baccalaureate program can be found below and attached.  

We would be excited if students from your school applied to the OGR program and would appreciate it if you forwarded this information to them. Additional information on the programs and an application link can be found at: https://www.genome.wustl.edu/outreach/ogr/ 

Opportunities in Genomics Research (OGR) 

Opportunities in Genomics Research (OGR) invites talented and motivated students to participate in our summer (Undergraduate Scholars) or post-baccalaureate (Extensive Study) research programs. The goal of OGR is to increase the number of underrepresented students who pursue the PhD in genomics and related fields, and both programs are open to students who are members of an underrepresented group as defined by the NIH: https://diversity.nih.gov/about-us/population-underrepresented 

  • Undergraduate Scholars program
    A 10-week summer program focused on engaging students in mentored research, training them in scientific presentation and the basics of computer programming, and preparing them for a career in research-based science. Students receive a competitive stipend of at least $4,500 as well as free housing and travel costs. Planned program dates are May 29 through August 6, 2021. The application for Summer 2021 is now open and will close on February 19, 2021. ***We hope to run the summer program through an in-person format, but if University guidelines dictate, we will run the program in a virtual format.***  
     
  • Extensive Study program
    A 10-month program designed for recent college graduates, the Extensive Study Program offers students the opportunity for a full-time mentored research experience, rigorous training in programming using Python, regular workshops on oral and written scientific communication, and individualized career preparation within a supportive community – ideal preparation for graduate school in genomics or a related field. The program dates for the 2021-2022 program are September 1, 2021 – June 30, 2022. Applications for this program will be open on February 22 through April 15, 2021. 

All students participating in the OGR Undergraduate Scholars or Extensive Study programs will take part in cutting-edge research as part of an independent research team in a lab at the Washington University School of Medicine. All students will give oral presentations on their research findings as part of a Closing Symposium at the end of their respective programs. 

All OGR programs provide competitive summer stipends and post-baccalaureate salaries. For summer students, on-campus housing and travel to the program are provided. 

Requirements 

Undergraduate Scholars must be a sophomore, junior, or senior at a four-year institution at the time of program entry. 

Extensive Study scholars must have completed a BS within two years of the application. 

Requirements for both programs: 

  • GPA: Competitive – highly competitive 
  • Residency: Must be a US citizen or permanent resident 
  • Major/Degree: Science, technology, engineering or mathematics (with some exceptions) 

OGR is supported by the National Human Genome Research Institute’s Diversity Action Plan. 

The 2021 Undergraduate Scholars program application deadline is February 19, 2021. 

Selected labs 
Available projects for OGR participants come from essentially all fields of biology, with a common thread being that all project leverage genomics-based approaches. Below are a small sampling of current OGR mentors and relevant research areas  

  • Luis Batista – stem cells, iPS cells, telomerase, DNA repair, DNA damage, tissue dysfunction, telomeres  
  • Barak Cohen – systems biology, enhancers and gene regulatory networks, non-coding genetic variation, computational biology, genomics  
  • Kerry Kornfeld – genetics, cell biology and developmental biology 
  • Christopher Maher – non-coding RNAs, lncRNAs, cancer genomics, transcriptome, bioinformatics 
  • Rob Mitra – Deciphering the transcriptional regulatory networks that control development, single molecule proteomics. 
  • Christina Guzman-Strong – epigenetics, genetics, genomics, chromatin, enhancer, skin, transcriptional regulation, disease, translational research  
  • Matt Walter – cancer, functional genomics, gene expression profiling, hematopoiesis, stem cells, tumor biology 
  • Ting Wang – Evolutionary characterization of gene regulatory networks, biological function and regulation of transposable elements, computational epigenomics.  

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