Cancer is a disease of complexity.

Engineering principles are developed to study, model, and solve complex problems.

Biomedical Engineering is uniquely poised to make a significant intellectual contribution to solving this complex problem.

BME CUReS Cancer Scholars address nationally identified key challenges in cancer research using an engineering approach.

2021 Tentative Program Dates

May 31 to August 7, 2021

Due to the Biomedical Engineering laboratories conducting cancer research being shut down and on-campus housing not being available through the summer, we have made the very difficult decision to postpone the 2020 BME CUReS Cancer REU to the summer of 2021.

Any further updates on the summer 2021 program to be determined late in the fall 2020 term.

Structured Mentoring

Students in the lab gather around a graduate student mentor

Each Scholar will have both a faculty mentor and a graduate-student mentor (GSM), a mentoring system that has proven effective. The faculty mentors chosen for this project are professors who routinely mentor undergraduates in their labs and have a strong record of supporting undergraduate publication. These faculty mentors will likewise choose GSMs who are enthusiastic about mentoring undergraduates and have undergone mentor training.

Seminars

Ten weekly 90-minute CUReS Cancer Seminars will address professional development and exploration of BME careers. Seminars will include invited guests, including professors, BME alumni, local industry professionals, former/future Texas 4000 riders and graduate students. Some of the Seminars will include local UT Austin students, and some will be for Scholars only.

Topics will include:

applying to graduate school
social impacts of research
research ethics
ethics of reporting on research
balancing research and family
practical skills for presenting research, and interpersonal communication
reflective activities on research experiences, learning processes, and personal career goals

Community Engagement

This summer program will reinforce and enrich the community of undergraduate researchers through partnership with a Texas based philanthropic organization, Texas 4000. Texas 4000 riders go on a 10-week, 4000-mile journey from Austin, TX to Anchorage, AK “to share hope, knowledge and charity in the fight against cancer.”

BME CUReS Cancer Scholars will be on a parallel 10-week journey to become researchers in the fight against cancer. This program forges a connection between the riders and the Scholars allowing them to share their struggles and inspire one another.

The Department of Biomedical Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin is a research partner which also hosts BUILDing SCHOLARS from The University of Texas at El Paso. CUReS Scholars and BUILD Scholars have the opportunity to get to know one another as BME Summer Scholars. CUReS Scholars are housed together with other UT Austin summer research scholars, offering students a unique opportunity to get to know visiting students from many institutions from multiple disciplines.

Presentations at BMES Annual Meeting

In addition to presenting their summer accomplishments in a university-wide summer research poster session in August, a real-world capstone experience will be especially useful to the Scholars as a way to authentically experience the “culture of research”. For this purpose, each Scholar will prepare and submit an abstract for the undergraduate research poster session of the annual meeting of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES).

Travel funds are available to the Scholars whose abstracts are accepted to enable them to present their posters at the BMES Annual Meeting. The faculty and graduate student mentors who also attend the BMES annual meeting will organize a reunion party with the Scholars in conjunction with an annual BMES reception hosted by the Department of Biomedical Engineering.

Field Trips and Social Events

Our undergraduate research community establishes connectivity with both the new Dell Medical School at UT Austin and the local community. Scholars will participate in field trips to the current Seton hospital where the Medical Center will be erected. Scholars in this program will have the opportunity to catalyze discussion of cancer patient care and develop and an understanding of both patient’s needs and the standard of care for disease.

In addition, Scholars will go on at least two social field trips based on Scholars’ interests. Possibilities include seeing the bats fly out from under the Congress Avenue bridge, swimming at Barton Springs Pool, and going to the annual Summer Hillside Musical at Zilker Park. Other social activities, such as a tour of the UT Tower, are planned with other visiting undergraduate researchers across campus.

Summer 2021 Program