The Center for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, with support from several donors, will once again support Notre Dame undergraduate students to engage in summer research in 2018.

Program Activities. Full-time research should be conducted for 10 weeks with a faculty member associated with the Center for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine on a project related to stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, or regenerative biology. Participants must provide a thank you letter to donors and a summary of their research experience before the fall semester begins, and present their research at a scientific conference or symposium within one academic year.

Support. The Center for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship award consists of a $4,000 stipend and $1,000 for supplies. If a student applies for and receives support from other university sources, the total stipend from the Center for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine and the other university sources will not exceed $4,000.

Eligibility. Current freshmen, sophomores, and juniors should have worked with their faculty mentors for at least one semester prior to the summer of research. Successful applicants are expected to continue working with their faculty mentor beyond the summer of funding.

Application. Please submit your application through email to Laurie Gregory (Laurie.Gregory.29@nd.edu) by Friday, March 2 at 5 PM and ensure that the subject line states SCReM-SURF Application; no budget justification is needed. To be considered, the following information needs to be submitted:

A. Proposal Narrative - A proposal of no more than five pages should be emailed as a single PDF document and formatted exactly as follows:

1. Cover Page: Name, gender, ethnicity, email, college, major(s), overall GPA, science GPA, career intent (e.g., M.D., Ph.D.), research mentor, and 3-5 keywords describing the proposed research

2. Research Experiences: Description of all research previously undertaken

3. Research Intent: Succinct, but thorough, description of proposed summer research that provides sufficient detail to demonstrate the viability of the research while enabling reviewers unfamiliar with the area of research to provide an assessment

4. Significance of Proposed Research: Paragraph describing how information generated by proposed research could be applied more broadly or how it could impact other areas

5. Career Plans: Explanation of how a summer research experience fits into the applicant's career plans, both immediate and long-term

6. Major Research Discovery: Brief description of one research discovery, including reference to relevant citation that the applicant believes is critical to the area of proposed research, being sure to explain why

B. Letter of Support - The research mentor must submit a recommendation letter via email to Laurie Gregory (Laurie.Gregory.29@nd.edu) and ensure that the subject line states SCReM-SURF Application. The mentor will receive an email upon submission of the application and letter. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the recommendation letter is submitted. Only the research mentor for the proposed research should provide such a letter, including an assessment of applicant’s potential, such as the worthiness of the proposed research, and a statement of the likelihood of continuing research beyond the summer in the mentor’s laboratory.

C. Official Transcript – The applicant must submit an electronic version of his/her transcript provided by the University of Notre Dame to Laurie Gregory.

Deadline. Application materials are due by Friday, March 2, 2018, at 5 PM. Applications will not be considered if they are incomplete, if they are not correctly formatted, if the proposal narrative is longer than five pages, and/or submitted after the deadline. Complete applications will be acknowledged by an email when submitted. If the applicant does not receive an acknowledgment by March 9, please contact Laurie Gregory immediately as it is likely there is some issue with the content of the application.

• NOTE: If you already applied for the COLLEGE OF SCIENCE SUMMER UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP in 2018, you simply need to send a copy of all the same materials to Laurie Gregory (Laurie.Gregory.29@nd.edu) and ensure that the subject line states SCReM-SURF Application to complete this application.

Selection. Final selections will be made based upon the qualifications of the candidates, quality of proposed research, and whether proposals are well written, concise, and compelling. All efforts will be made to notify successful applicants before April 1.

For more information, please contact David Hyde, Director of the Center for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, at (574) 631-8054 or dhyde@nd.edu.