What's New

The Office of Undergraduate Research will be hosting two upcoming networking events on Sunday Sept. 22 (6-7:30 pm, Blue and Gold Rooms, Lyon Towers) and Thursday Sept. 26 (6-7:30 pm, Mountainlair Ballroom, Second Floor Mountainlair, Main Campus). This networking event is open to all undergraduates who (i) are interested in getting involved in scholarly activity, also referred to as research or creative endeavors or (ii) are already involved in scholarly activity and would like to mentor others in finding scholarly opportunities. Free food will be provided!

At this networking event, you will learn about undergraduate scholarly activities and how to get involved from your undergraduate peers. Representatives from the Office of Undergraduate Research will be present to address any questions about facilitating entry into undergraduate research. 

Researchers Needed: The Injury and Recovery Lab is currently recruiting students who are interested in behavioral neuroscience to work in an animal research laboratory studying treatments for traumatic brain injury. Typically, students work extensively with our animal subjects, performing daily testing in operant chambers (computer-controlled boxes which deliver sugar pellets based on animals’ responses). Although students typically start off with behavior, our lab also utilizes several “wet lab” procedures such as ELISA or immunohistochemistry.

Researchers Needed: The Weil lab is seeking 1-2 undergraduate researchers to assist in our work on the lifelong consequences of traumatic brain injuries. There are two lines of research in our lab that students can become involved with.

1) Energetic dysfunction in the brain following traumatic brain injury. This project investigates how brain injuries can impair the brain’s ability to process and utilize energy and how this can make the brain more vulnerable to other kinds of injuries, like repeated brain injuries, later on. 

2) Alcohol abuse after traumatic brain injury. Traumatic brain injuries early in life can increase the likelihood of developing alcohol abuse issues later on in life. Our lab is interested in trying to understand how a brain injury can lead to increases in drinking behavior. 

WVU is hosting a Global Health Summit on October 11, 2019 at the Health Sciences Center. Undergraduates with research in this area are encouraged to submit their research for poster presentation. See the links below for more information.

The WVU campus community is invited to attend workshops (Sept. 4 & 5, 2019) presented by Dr. Saundra McGuire (Emeritus Professor, Louisiana State University and author of "Teach Students How to Learn"). Dr. McGuire will be presenting a series of four workshops of special interest to faculty, staff, graduate students, and advisors who teach, advise, and tutor and undergraduate students. All are invited to any four of the offered workshops. Details on each workshop are provided below.

Workshop PowerPoints: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1BAn3GpluxGfSKMZcnJjTdN6-p-ncgQVi

Announcing 2020 Undergraduate Research Day at the Capitol

The 17th annual West Virginia Undergraduate Research Day at the Capitol will be held in the West Virginia Capitol Rotunda Friday, February 7, 2020 beginning at 8:30 am. The format for the 2020 Research Day will be a poster session featuring research and creative works conducted by undergraduate students under the guidance of faculty mentors from colleges and universities across the state. The purpose of this event is to familiarize state legislators with some of the research and creative activities involving undergraduate students that occur on campuses across the state and the educational impact of those activities. We encourage undergraduates to apply/submit abstracts (due by midnight Nov. 1, 2019) to present their work. The event will showcase posters in a wide range of subjects, including the sciences, arts, social sciences, and humanities.

Justin Huffman, an undergraduate chemistry major at WVU from Talcott, WV, presented a poster of his research entitled "Development of Enzyme Responsive Spin Probes for Non-Invasive Imaging of Enzyme Activity by EPR” at the Rocky Mountain Conference on Magnetic Resonance in Denver, Colorado on July 21-24, 2019. This conference is one of the major conferences in the field and attracts an international audience. Justin's research presentation was awarded a poster prize. Congratulations Justin!

Justin is mentored in research by Dr. Benoit Driesschaert, Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at WVU. Justin was supported in research by the 2019 Summer Undergraduate Research Experience Site and his travel was facilitated by travel awards from the Shared EPR and SURE Enrichment Funds.

The 2019 Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium was a success. A total of 117 undergraduate students from 20+ institutions presented the results of their immersive summer research experiences in poster form on Thursday July 25, 2019. Researchers presented in one of eight different categories: Agricultural & Environmental Sciences, Biological Sciences, Engineering, Health Sciences, Human Engagement, Neuroscience, Physical Sciences, and Social & Behavioral Sciences. Join us in congratulating our category winners and runner-ups.

*Funding for the 2019 Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) program, which administers the symposium, was provided in part by (i) the West Virginia Research Challenge Fund through a grant from the Division of Science and Research, Higher Education Policy Commission,  (ii) the WVU Office of the Provost, and (iii) the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design; the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences; the Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources; the Honors College; the Health Sciences Center; the Colleges of Business and Economics, Creative Arts, and Physical Activity and Sports Sciences; the Departments of Biology and Chemistry; and the Office of Undergraduate Research.