Welcome to the University of Michigan Summer Enrichment Program (UM SEP) in Health Management and Policy's online application! UM SEP is an 8-week comprehensive experience for undergraduate students who are committed to eliminating health inequalities. One of the goals of the UM SEP is to motivate its alumni to pursue a masters degree in public health, especially in health management and policy. This program provides students with work experience, GRE courses, graduate level lectures, site visits to health organizations, community outreach projects, and networking opportunities. Previous students have come from large and small colleges and universities throughout the U.S. This program attracts applicants who have strong academic achievement, are committed to eliminating health inequalities, and are passionate about serving underrepresented populations. 

• Be a ​U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident (Note: DACA students are eligible to apply)
• Be entering your junior or senior year of undergraduate study in the Fall of 2019
• Have a 2.8 minimum grade point average on a 4.0 scale
• Be ​interested in pursuing a career in public health/health management and policy
• Demonstrate one or more of the following:
• You, or a member of your family, have been adversely affected by health inequalities related to: a) systemic failures of the social or physical environment; or, b) inequities in the US health care system.
• Live in a community or area that is adversely affected by health inequalities. Such communities would include both urban and rural areas whose residents have low health status or who are underserved by the health care system.
• Have experience working in programs that address health inequalities. Such programs include local health departments, community health centers, inner city/ rural hospitals or organizations that conduct research on or develop policy related to health disparities.

Application Process: Students will complete the application form, upload their transcript(s), and resume. Additionally, ​you will be prompted to enter two reference email addresses for your recommendation letters. An email will be sent directly to your references with further instructions on how to upload their letters of recommendation. You will be notified each time a letter has been uploaded. Applications will not be considered complete until BOTH letters of recommendation are received. Please make sure you emphasize this with your references. Once all the above materials are completed, press submit. 

Title of your research project: The Effect of Sleep Hormones on Cancer Cell Growth and Response to Chemotherapeutics 

Describe your project: Our objectives are to determine if the diurnal addition of sleep hormones has an effect on cancer cell growth and response to chemotherapeutic drugs. We mocked the circadian rhythm of a cancer patient by putting specific physiological dosages of melatonin and cortisol in lung cancer cell lines and then tracking any change in cell growth that had occurred.

My mentor is Dr. Daniel Gioeli in the UVA Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Cancer Biology. I participated in the UVA Summer Research Internship Program (SRIP) this past summer, and I ranked Cancer Biology as my top choice for my lab in the application, which is how I was assigned to Dr. Gioeli’s lab! When I met Dr. Gioeli for the first time, I was so grateful that I was assigned to him as my mentor because he was very kind, hardworking, and understanding, and I could tell he was going to push me to reach my full potential within only ten weeks.  

 I became interested in this project because I learned a lot about cancer in the Cellular Biology course that I took last Spring semester, and it was shocking to learn everything that affects cancer progression. I had never thought that sleep could be a large factor that contributes to one’s cancer therapeutic treatment, but after reading a lot of literature about the background of this project, I was so invested in continuing to learn more about the effect that sleep has on cancer cell growth. 

The hardest part has been failing at an experiment and realizing that the amount of times you fail is generally higher than the amount of times that you succeed. However, I also learned that the amount of times you fail will also lead to the amount of times you succeed based on if you learn from the mistakes you made, which is the most important part of the whole process. 

The most rewarding part was learning more about scientific topics from my mentor and peers in lab and expanding my network with people that I now have long-term connections with. I was able to push myself past my own limits, and I could not have done it without the encouragement of all of the people in my lab and program. 

I will be presenting my research at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) in Indiana this November, and I also plan on presenting my research at Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD) here at UMBC.  

Try to find a research lab that aligns with your interests but do not be afraid to try something new, so keep an open mind. And never give up – no matter how many tries it may take to get your experiment running or to see results!  

I plan to obtain an MD/MPH while continuing to do medical research.

Friday, October 26, 2018

12-12:50pm

ITE 102, LH8

UMBC's LRC offers free tutoring for All 100- and 200-level courses and some 300-level ones (Chemistry 351, 352; Biology 302, 303).

To see if there’s a tutor available for your course and schedule an appointment, download StudyTree from the App Store.

Your class schedule syncs with the app, and you can book an appointment right now.  

All tutoring is done in small group of 3-4 students. Each session is 50-minutes long. During the session, students have an opportunity to practice problems, clarify concepts, prepare for quizzes and tests, and share study strategies.

Yes! Come by the LRC (Sherman Hall, B-Wing, Room 345) and if a tutor is available, you will be able to join a session even if you don’t have an appointment.

Fill out the Tutor Request Form. We will contact you if we identify a tutor.

If you would like to have a recurring appointment with a tutor, email Ira Fabri at fabri@umbc.educontact the ASC.

All LRC tutors are UMBC students who have taken the class(es) they support and succeeded. They have been recommended by faculty and received formal training.

Sage Research Methods : Cases provides access to hundreds of case studies showing how methods are applied in real research studies. Browse or search by method, discipline, or academic level.

Sage Research Methods: Data Sets provides access to over 150 data sets using data from real research, designed to support the teaching and independent learning of data analysis techniques. Select by method, discipline, or data type; data sets include both quantitative and qualitative research.

The trials will run from October 23 - November 30, 2018. 

Students, faculty, and staff are strongly encouraged to explore these databases and provide feedback. Please use the comments section below to tell us what you think.

Friday, October 26, 2018

12-12:50pm

ITE 102, LH8

To be eligible for nomination for a Goldwater Scholarship, a student must:

1. Be a full-time matriculated sophomore or junior pursuing a degree at an accredited 2- or 4-year institution of higher education during the 2018-2019 academic year,
2. Intend to pursue a research career in a natural science, mathematics or engineering,*
3. Have a college grade point average of at least a 3.00 on a 4.00 scale, and
4. Be a U.S. citizen from the 50 states or the District of Columbia; a U.S. national for those students nominated by institutions in Puerto Rico, Guam, Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands; or a permanent resident. 

See: https://goldwater.scholarsapply.org

Spatiotemporal Detection of Diverse Contaminants of Emerging Concern in Chesapeake Bay Water, Sediment, and Oysters

Describe your project: 

My project is on detecting contaminants of emerging concern, which are chemicals that have been recently detected, or are only persistent at virtually insignificant levels. The focus is the Chesapeake Bay, specifically its water, oysters, and sediment.  

 My mentor is Dr. Lee Blaney in the Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering department. I got connected though my advisor Dr. Tara Carpenter when she realized that the research I wanted to focus on was not available through the current chemistry research opportunities at UMBC. Dr. Blaney’s lab focuses on environmental and chemical engineering research, which is what I hope to go to graduate school for.  

I became interested through reading the posters and papers that were previously submitted about this project. The level of detection that could be achieved of these minuet chemicals amazed me, and the direct connection to the environment I lived in made the project feel real. 

The hardest thing about my research is the learning curve I faced when entering a chemical engineering lab. As the first chemistry major to work in Dr. Blaney’s lab, I felt slightly overwhelmed with what I was expected to accomplish. The people in the lab made the transition enjoyable and were always willing to teach me anything I didn’t know. 

The most rewarding part has been becoming an expert in a subject I would have never been able to touch if I stayed within the chemistry field while an undergrad. Researching outside of my field has given me so many skills I would have never had the chance to cultivate otherwise.  

I am presenting my research in poster form at URCAD, the Undergraduate Research Symposium in the Chemical and Biological Sciences, and at the AAAS conference. 

What is your advice to other students about getting involved in research?:  

My advice is to look outside your major for research. There are so many opportunities that are available to you if you are willing to step outside the box and learn a new subject from scratch. 

I plan on entering industry for 1-3 years, and then apply to graduate schools to gain a graduate degree in environmental chemistry, environmental engineering, or a related field.