REU Site: Summer Intensive Research Experiences in Neuroscience (SIREN)

This REU Site award to the University of Michigan, located in Ann Arbor, MI, will support the training of 10 students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2027-2029. The site is hosted by the Neuroscience Graduate Program at the University of Michigan, the longest standing program of its kind in the United States. It is anticipated that a total of 30 students, primarily those with limited access to state-of-the-art research opportunities in neuroscience, will be recruited to the program. Participants will conduct hands-on research at the forefront of neuroscience, advancing a deeper understanding of the brain and behavior. The program includes a highly integrated training environment focused on building communication and research skills to help participants strengthen their capability and resolve to pursue long-term careers in neuroscience research. Participants will learn about the responsible conduct of research, gain essential technical skills in research practices, and critically analyze data sets, ultimately presenting their research in an end-of-summer symposium. Many will present their work at additional scientific conferences. Program activities will be assessed though short feedback surveys throughout the program, and overall impact will be assessed through surveys of self-assessed learning gains and career trajectories of past program participants. Students should apply to the REU site using the NSF ETAP system (Education and Training Application: https://www.nsfetap.org/). The training students will receive is aligned with the NSF priority in Biotechnology. A hallmark of this REU Site is a focus on interdisciplinary neuroscience. Research opportunities will span several neuroscience subdisciplines including behavioral, cellular/molecular, sensory, developmental, and computational neuroscience. Individual projects will explore topics such as learning and memory, neural circuits involved in reward and motivation, mechanisms of neurodegeneration, and the biological basis of perception using in silico, in vitro, animal, or human model systems. Journal clubs, presentations, and discussions will intersect these subareas to further explore interdisciplinary approaches to science. Weekly workshops will help develop the transferable skills required for success in long-term research careers; topics include current methods in neuroscience, rigor and reproducibility, research skills, and career planning. In addition, this REU Site includes weekly applied improv coursework and short presentations intended to build confidence, creativity, agility, and empathy in public speaking. A holistic review of applicants will include scientific interests together with essays, transcripts, and letters of reference. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.