Systems Biology and Bioengineering Undergraduate Research Experience

A generous gift from a Vanderbilt alumnus has made available a distinctive opportunity to explore science at one of its most promising and exciting frontiers - the intersection of systems biology and bioengineering!

The gift was made to support research in the Vanderbilt Institute for Integrative Biosystems Research and Education (VIIBRE), directed by Professor John Wikswo, with the aim of providing undergraduate students with mentored experiences in advanced scientific investigation with some of the University's leading research and teaching faculty.

The program's major aim is to enable Vanderbilt's exceptional undergraduate students to participate actively and purposefully in ongoing research projects. The donor's objective of increasing the number of undergraduates involved in scientific research dovetails with the educational mission of VIIBRE: to enhance the role of biophysics, biochemistry, and bioengineering in the educational programs of biology and medicine at the undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate levels.

SyBBURE, in its broadest sense, gives students a larger view of the needs and consequences of interdisciplinary science. The program focuses on systems biology and bioengineering and provides students with training in specific research skills and participation in scientific research as early as possible in their academic careers. Students participate in interdisciplinary research, and gain experience working in teams and mentoring each other. The immediacy and relevance of interdisciplinary science rapidly engages the students. They learn to formulate problem-driven questions and participate in the development of new technology, much of which is based upon Biological MicroElectroMechanical Systems (BioMEMS) and nanodevices.

Components of the program include:

Research

Four main research teams of five undergraduates will work with graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, research staff, and faculty in Arts and Science, Engineering, and Medicine. Each team will focus on a project involving quantitative measurements on living cells.

Workshops

Workshop topics evolve as necessary, but generally include basic systems biology research tools: BioMEMS photolithography and microfabrication, electronic instrumentation, machining, microscopy, data analysis and presentation skills, and analytical and computational software programs, including LabVIEW, MATLAB, AutoCAD, Metamorph, ImageJ, SolidWorks, and Slidebook. Upon completion of the appropriate workshops, undergraduates are prepared to function as self-motivated partners in research on real problems. As students progress they are able to assess their ability to teach and motivate others effectively.

Research Meetings and Journal Clubs

At regular weekly meetings, the students present their latest research directions and results in very short oral presentations to the entire group. Topical seminars in journal club format, led by students, faculty, and postdoctoral fellows, follow. Students are encouraged to present peer-reviewed journal articles relevant to their interests and research. Small groups discuss and present the main results of the paper to the larger groups − normally followed by open conjecture as to the importance of the results, reliability of the methods, and strength of the conclusions of the paper.

Stipends and Travel

Summer research stipends of $4,000 and school-year stipends of $2,000 help draw the best students to the program and allow them to earn a living allowance while participating in the research endeavor.

Conferences and Publications

Students are strongly encouraged to present their results at local and national scientific meetings. Full term participants are expected to have enough results for a small publication in a refereed journal in their area by the end of their senior year. Our students have presented at national meetings of the Biomedical Engineering Society, national meetings at the NIH, and local meetings of the Tennessee Academy of Sciences. Travel expenses are covered by the program.