UMass Boston

The summer REU program in Integrative and Evolutionary Biology at UMass Boston is sponsored by the National Science Foundation. The program offers undergraduate students the opportunity to:

• Carry out an independent research project in biology
• Work closely with a faculty advisor and research group
• Develop research skills, including laboratory, field, analytical, and computational skills
• Explore issues related to research such as science communication and responsible conduct of research
• Exchange ideas with students at weekly workshops
• Participate in field trips and other activities in and around Boston and Boston Harbor

Program Dates: This program runs from June 9 to August 15, 2025. The program is a 10-week, full-time experience.

Location: The campus is south of downtown Boston on a peninsula extending into scenic Boston Harbor.

Stipend: Participants receive $11,800 for the 10-week period, which includes a stipend of $7,000 plus a room and board allowance of $4,800. 

Eligibility: Applicants must be U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, or U.S. permanent residents. The student must be a current undergraduate student, that is, enrolled in a degree program (part-time or full-time) leading to a baccalaureate or associate degree.  Students who have received their bachelor's degrees by the start of the program are not eligible. Applicants should have completed at least one semester of college-level biology. Individuals from groups underrepresented in science and students from disadvantaged backgrounds are especially encouraged to apply. Students from institutions with limited opportunities for research, such as small colleges, are also encouraged to apply. Students must be able to participate for the full 10 weeks.

Application due date:  February 15, 2025

Research Topics:

• Marine coastal ecology
• Immune cell development
• Regulation of meiosis
• Social decision-making in fish schools
• Circadian rhythms, mRNA regulation, and metabolism
• Regeneration in amphibians
• Ecological genomics of plants
• Neurobiology of vision
• Evolution of mRNA regulation in invertebrate development
• Germ cell development in zebrafish
• Cell signaling in Drosophila
• Ecology & evolution of insect herbivores
• Amphibian microbiome and disease ecology

The Program: UMass Boston, located on Boston Harbor, offers a 10-week summer program for majors in the biological sciences, sponsored by the NSF: Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) in Integrative and Evolutionary Biology. Students carry out exciting research projects and participate in a variety of enrichment activities. Each student works as part of a research team under the guidance of a faculty advisor. Close mentoring relationships and participation in a community of scientists engaged in research are key parts of the experience.

Student research projects span an array of biological problems, and students are paired with faculty mentors based on mutual scientific interests. The program helps students learn how research is done, learn valuable skills, and develop independence in scientific thinking.

Students also participate in activities that promote a sense of community among students and faculty, teach scientific communication skills, and explore broader issues concerning the practice of science. These experiences occur during weekly discussions and workshops that focus on practical, personal, and ethical aspects of research.  The program also features social activities and field trips in and around Boston. The program ends with a research poster symposium. The program stimulates and supports interest in biological research and prepares students for advanced study to pursue research careers.

The Campus: UMass Boston is located just south of downtown Boston on a peninsula overlooking the city and Boston Harbor. The 16,000-student campus shares the peninsula with the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum and the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate. The UMass Boston Biology Department consists of 28 full-time faculty, graduate students working toward MS and PhD degrees, and undergraduate students. The Department is housed in the state-of-the-art Integrated Sciences Complex. The resources of the Department and the University—recreational facilities, library, computer facilities, and Campus Center—are available to REU participants.

The following research opportunities are available in summer 2025. 

Coastal Ecology. As the oceans continue to warm, sea level rises, and invasive species continue to increase in abundance, we face a critical need to understand how these changes will alter the structure and function of life in the sea. Jarrett Byrnes’ lab is 1) examining how urban structures shape the biodiversity of life in Boston Harbor, 2) using data science to investigate how and why kelp forests have changed around the planet, using data-driven approaches to time series, 3) investigating the distribution of kelp forests in the Gulf of Maine, using imagery analysis, machine learning, and novel field data collection, and 4) studying the intertidal ecology of the Boston Harbor Islands. The projects involve field work, data science, or combinations of the two. If you are AAUS certified for research diving, please indicate so on your CV and application.

Immune cell development. Juliet Girard’s lab studies the molecular mechanisms that govern blood cell development (hematopoiesis) using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as a model system. Insights into the molecular mechanisms that underlie blood formation are necessary to understand the causes of blood diseases such as leukemia. Drosophila blood cells are immune cells with functional similarities to human myeloid cells such as macrophages, and despite the vast evolutionary distance that separates these two organisms, their blood cells employ some of the same molecular pathways for their development. The Girard lab investigates the process by which undifferentiated blood progenitor cells differentiate into a variety of specialized blood cell types, both under normal conditions and a during an immune response. Their approach to this research combines the power of Drosophila genetics and microscopy with newer single cell and molecular techniques.

Regulation of meiosis. Linda Huang’s research focuses on how cells regulate the steps of meiosis. In particular, the lab investigates how cytokinesis and meiosis II spindle disassembly are executed and occur in a coordinated fashion during meiosis II. These studies utilize budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which undergoes meiosis and gamete production through the process of sporulation. Other model organisms may be used as well. Student research projects will utilize molecular biology, biochemistry, and genetics techniques to answer fundamental biological questions regarding meiosis.

Social decision-making in fish schools. Many animals are able to expand their sensory and decision-making abilities by living in a group. In a sense, by sharing information with groupmates, animals in a group can function as a “superorganism.” Albert Kao’s lab studies the conditions under which such collective intelligence can emerge (and when it fails). In the lab, we are conducting experiments on fish schools, utilizing technology to automatically record and track the movements of individual fish. REU students will participate in these experiments, and, if they are interested, develop mathematical models to simulate the behavior of the fish.

Circadian rhythms, mRNA regulation, and metabolism. Almost every organism on the planet uses a circadian clock to tell time and align behaviors with the 24-hour light/dark cycle. Christina Kelliher’s lab studies how the circadian clock functions under different nutrient environments using the fungal model system Neurospora crassa, including how mRNAs and proteins are directly modified to maintain the ~24-hour circadian cycle period length. REU students will have the opportunity to develop molecular biology experimental design and/or bioinformatic skillsets, including Neurospora crassa culturing, PCR, construct cloning, RT-qPCR, Western blots, RNA-Sequencing, and/or untranslated region (UTR) transcriptome annotation.

Regeneration in amphibians. The ability to regenerate complete tetrapod limb structures is conserved among urodele amphibians including newts and salamanders. Yet, why these animals can regrow limbs, while animals like humans can’t, is not known. Catherine McCusker’s lab studies limb regeneration in the amphibian model, the Mexican axolotl. The lab integrates molecular and classical embryological biology and next generation sequencing technologies to study changes that occur in adult amphibian cells as they contribute to the regenerating limb structure. REU students will study the mechanisms that regulate the behavior and function of the cells contributing to the regenerating limb.

Ecological genomics of plants. How do we ensure that we have plentiful food and healthy ecosystems? One solution is to study plants! Brook Moyers' lab studies the genetic basis of plant adaptation to stressful environments, including drought in crops, heavy metals in salt marshes, and habitat loss in wild plant populations. To do this, the lab uses techniques from the fields of molecular genetics, plant physiology, evolutionary biology, engineering, and computer science. REU students will develop projects that integrate across these fields and develop skills in experimental design, plant cultivation, genetic analysis, and bioinformatics.

Neurobiology of vision and vitamin A deficiency. Vitamin A is essential for vision, and vitamin A deficiency is the leading cause of preventable childhood blindness. However, the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Jens Rister’s group uses transcriptomics, proteomics, and genetics in the model organism Drosophila melanogaster to elucidate how vitamin A deficiency affects the eye. Recently, the group has identified proteins that respond to vitamin A deficiency and stabilize damaged photoreceptors. REU students will use genetics as well as molecular techniques to analyze the function of these proteins and will visualize their expression using confocal microscopy.

Evolution of mRNA regulation during invertebrate development and regeneration. Animals that have the ability to regenerate their entire body maintain populations of stem cells capable of replacing any lost tissue throughout their lives. Research has shown that animal germline stem cells (those that give rise to sperm and ova) and adult stems cells of invertebrates capable of whole-body regeneration share specific mechanisms that regulate gene expression at the mRNA level. The laboratory directed by Labib Rouhana uses planarians, sea anemones, and ctenophores to investigate the evolutionary conservation of mRNA regulation pathways among germline, embryonic, and somatic stem cells during animal evolution.

Germ Cell Development in zebrafish. Kellee Siegfried’s lab is focused on understanding the establishment and maintenance of fertility through investigating the genetic control of germ cell development, using the zebrafish model. The germ line undergoes unique developmental processes in order to produce highly specialized haploid gametes – sperm and eggs. To identify genes that are necessary for germ cell development, we are investigating zebrafish mutant lines with germ cell defects. These mutant lines exhibit defects in renewal of the germ line stem cell population and progression through meiosis in the testis. Our analysis of these mutants will reveal mechanisms that are important for germ cell development and to promote and maintain robust fertility. Projects that REU students will participate in will use techniques such as Crispr/Cas genome editing, PCR, gene expression analysis molecular cloning, histology, microscopy, and zebrafish husbandry.

Cell signaling in Drosophila. Alexey Veraksa's lab uses Drosophila melanogaster as a model system to investigate mechanisms of cell signaling during development. We focus on conserved signaling pathways that are important for human health. The lab uses genetic, biochemical, imaging, and cell biological approaches, as well as proteomics, to characterize the functions of protein complexes participating in signaling events. REU students will participate in one of our current projects aimed at understanding signaling pathways that control organ growth and tissue patterning.

Ecology and evolution of insect herbivores. One-third of all multicellular species on Earth are insects that eat plants. These insect herbivores are key to environmental health, being food for other trophic levels, pollinators, or agricultural pests. Thus, to conserve natural habitats and our food supply, we must know how insect herbivores are affected by their food plants and by the animals that eat them. But after decades of research, we still do not know why insect herbivores feed on particular plants, most of them being considered dietary specialists. Mayra Vidal’s lab explores how natural enemies and host plant quality can influence the diet of generalist herbivores. REU students will participate in experiments that focus on the performance of caterpillars on different host plant species, in field surveys of natural populations, and potentially in genetic analyses of generalist populations.

Amphibian microbiome and disease ecology. Microbiomes are increasingly being studied for their roles in global public health and wildlife disease management critical for conservation. Research in the lab of Doug Woodhams explores the interactions between host immunity, symbiotic bacteria, and pathogens within amphibian systems through a combination of laboratory experiments and field work. A large part of our work includes analysis of microbiome data with bioinformatics tools. Students can expect to build skills in data analysis, disease ecology, conservation, and systems-based thinking.

Application Details:

You will be asked to upload the following:

• Names and contact information of two people who have agreed to write letters of recommendation. These people should be professors, if possible. (Each reference will be sent an email with instructions for submitting their letter.)
• Resumé or CV
• College transcript (The transcript can be unofficial.)
• Responses to specific questions about your interests and goals

Please note that we are using the common NSF ETAP application site. This application includes certain questions that we don’t need and won’t consider, specifically SAT scores. You can leave that section blank. 

Questions regarding REU or the application process?  Contact Dr. Leslie McClain, REU Program Coordinator leslie.mcclain@umb.edu 

Applications are open for Summer 2025.

UMass Boston REU Application