Week 1 - Getting to know the program and mentors
Topics:
- Biology research mentors’ presentations
- Getting to know your cohort
- Logistics and expectations of S-STEM program
Assignments:
- Watch all mentor introduction videos (Links in the mentor choice form, below)
- Group discussion and Q/A session online
- Turn in your ranked mentor choice form on Canvas
- Read this short paper for discussion
Resources
Back to top of page
Week 2 - What makes for good mentorship
Topics:
- Expectations for advisors and advisees
- What to look for in an advisor
Assignments:
- begin lab rotations (2 weeks per lab, 5 labs)
- it’s up to you to make the most of your time with each research mentor
- stay in touch
Resources
Back to top of page
Week 3 - effective time management
Topics:
- Fitting research into academics
- Work-life balance
- Mental health
- Imposter syndrome and other cognitive snags
Assignments:
- Create a time budget that makes room for classes, work, family, research, and staring into the existential void
- Take care of yourself
- Keep in touch with your lab rotation activities and email your next mentor
Resources
Back to top of page
Week 4 - issues facing underrepresented scholars
Topics:
- Racial, gender, and sexual-orientation biases
- Finding and fixing our own biases
- How to be part of the solution
- Discussion with Jazmine Benjamin (PhD student at U Alabama, Birmingham)
- Discussion with Dr. Faye Smith (Postdoc at USDA/ARS)
Assignments:
- Read all of the pieces below in the resources section (video is optional if you’re time-crunched, but it’s interesting)
- Group video chat
- Turn in a reflection piece on your place within these issues
- Don’t forget about your research duties; Ask your mentor useful questions to see if the lab is a good fit.
Resources
Back to top of page
Week 5 - applying for funding
Topics:
- Internal funding opportunities at UVU
- Application processes
Assignments:
- Check out the resources below
- Identify a funding source you’d like to try for and make a timeline for applying
Resources
Back to top of page
Week 6 - how to read a scientific paper
Topics:
- Research reports / reviews / editorials
- Following the backwards citation trail
- Critical evaluation
Assignments:
- Find the following paper in full:
Walker, R. S., Gurven, M., Burger, O., & Hamilton, M. J. (2008). The trade-off between number and size of offspring in humans and other primates. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 275(1636), 827–834.
- Follow a citation trail backwards for at least 5 statements you found interesting in the paper
- Compile a document with the bibliographies of the previous works and the quoted relevant sections
Resources
- Your best friend for finding papers: google scholar
- An illegal way to get papers you don’t have access to is SciHub (I would never advocate this behavior though)
- Types of scholarly publications
- Don’t forget about pre-prints
Back to top of page
Week 7 - how to find gaps in knowledge
Topics:
- Using the library
- Literature reviews
- Managing references with Zotero
Assignments:
- Download Zotero
- Use it to collect 20 peer-reviewed articles on a topic of your choice
- Create a bibliography in the format required by the journal “Nature”
Resources
Back to top of page
Week 8 - experimental design
Topics:
- Principles and types
- Qualitative, quantitative, how we “know”
- Observational vs manipulated
- Inductive and deductive reasoning
Assignments:
- Bring your research ideas to group discussions
- Go through the resources below well enough to follow a discussion as we design experiments together
Resources
Back to top of page
Week 9 - realities of research
Topics:
- Keeping a lab notebook
- Reproducibility
- Adapting to inevitable failure
Assignments:
Resources
Back to top of page
Week 10 - the publication process
Topics:
- Writing science
- Selecting an appropriate journal
- Peer review process
Assignments:
- Find 3 journals that you would like to eventually submit a manuscript to
- Find their “author information” pages
Resources
Back to top of page
Week 11 - giving effective presentations
Topics:
- Types of presentations
- Poster design
- Telling a storylogistics and expectations of S-STEM program
- Logistics tips and tricks
Assignments:
- Go through the resources below
- Check out the previous cohort posters
- Find the worst scientific poster of all time - show it to us in our group chat
Resources
Back to top of page
Week 12 - getting the most out of a conference
Topics:
- Finding a conference
- The art of “abstract projection”
- What goes on at a Typical conference
- How to network
Assignments:
- Finish lab rotations / select research mentor
- Sign mentorship agreement documents
- Discuss relevant conferences with your mentor
Resources
Back to top of page
Week 13 - how to build and prepare an effective CV
Topics:
- Effective use of social media
- Web presence
- What goes on a CV
Assignments:
- Look through the resources to see undergrad CV examples
- Track down the CVs of 3 scientists who’s work interests you. What do they have in common? What’s unique?
- Upload and share your CV on Slack
- Peer-review of each others’ CVs
- work with mentor to select research topic
Resources
Back to top of page
Week 14 - Thanksgiving Break
Topics:
- Stuffing vs mashed potatoes
- How to bring up science with your crazy “5G-towers-are-causing-coronavirus” aunt
- How to avoid your racist uncle
Assignments:
- annotated literature review of research topic (due at end of break)
Resources
Back to top of page
Week 15 - next steps
Topics:
- Getting the most from the S-STEM program
- Setting goals
- Building a support network of collaborators and allies
Assignments:
- develop research plans with your mentor and work on your poster
Back to top of page
Week 16 - presenting your research plan
Assignments:
- Poster session
in SB atrium online
Back to top of page