Developing Scientists
Researchers and educators have the responsibility to train and prepare the next generation of scientists to advance and accelerate discovery. Non-traditional learning efforts, such as summer internship programs, are an essential way to provide hands-on training and practical experiences to give students early experiences in real-world biological experimentation. Offering these experiences beyond our institution and especially to students who don’t have access to training or coursework in interdisciplinary and emerging fields such as computational biology is critical for broadening participation and strengthening the STEM workforce. To continue to advance the field of computational biology, prepare a diverse cadre of students for success in research careers, and fill the constantly growing need for new trainees who are well positioned for success, we have been offering intensive summer research and enrichment training programs to undergraduate and high school students in computational biology and related fields.
The Training and Experimentation in Computational Biology (TECBio): “Simulation and Visualization of Biological Systems at Multiple Scales” REU program is a 10-week summer program that will provide a challenging and fulfilling graduate-level research experience to undergraduate students. A wide variety of theoretical and experimental research projects are available to our participating students. Students also receive classroom training in topics pertinent to the emerging field of computational biology, such as computational structural biology, cell and systems modeling, computational genomics, and bioimage informatics. Additionally, TECBio students participate in a weekly journal club, attend research and career seminars organized specifically for the program, take part in an ethics forum that will instruct them in the responsible conduct of research, present their work at a Pittsburgh-wide annual research symposium, and experience the various social and cultural activities available in Pittsburgh – America’s most livable city.
The Computational Biology Research Academy (CoBRA) provides high school students with the opportunity to work first-hand on research projects employing cutting-edge approaches in computational modeling, in silico simulations, and/or machine learning techniques to answer questions in cancer biology, drug discovery, and other fast-growing fields while also getting essential training for their college experience and beyond. CoBRA is a site of the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center Academy, which strives to provide cutting edge research and career preparatory experiences to a diverse group of highly motivated high school students who are pursuing higher education and careers in STEM fields, especially research and medicine.