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The undergraduate research program provides opportunities for students to collaborate with faculty and peers to investigate real-world problems, explore academic interests, or contribute to scholarly projects. This hands-on learning experience enhances critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills, allowing students to apply classroom knowledge to practical settings.
Undergraduate research programs can help you:
- explore different undergraduate research opportunities
- identify a potential faculty mentor
- learn more about the application process for the Summer Undergraduate Research programs
- identify opportunities to present your research project
- search for funding support or awards in undergraduate research
Steps to get started
Step 1: Find Your Motivation
Start by identifying your motivations for pursuing research.
- Do you want to gain first-hand knowledge in a specific subject area or prepare for jobs in health care?
- Do you want to conduct research because it will help you get into graduate, medical or veterinarian school?
Once you identify your motivations, you can narrow down the research you'd like to pursue. Contact the Integrated Health Sciences director/assistant directors or advisors if you need help to plan your undergraduate research.
Step 2: Identify a Faculty Mentor
Once you've selected an area of interest, identify a faculty member with whom you'd be interested in researching. You can find information for more than 40 IHS faculty members, their research interests and emails in the IHS directory. Take a class of theirs or attend department seminars.
After selecting a faculty member, contact them via email or visit them during their office hours if you are currently taking a course from them. In preparation for the email or meeting, become familiar with their work and how it aligns with your interests. Describe why their lab interests you and why you’d be a good fit in their lab.
Step 3: Engage in different types of research opportunities
3.1. Credit for research experiences
Integrated health sciences (IHS)-related research experiences with Iowa State faculty can count directly towards IHS degree requirements. Students can earn credit for introductory research experiences by signing up for IHS 2990, while more senior students, or those with prior experience, can register for IHS 4990.
3.2. University Honors Program
Research experience is also available through the Iowa State University Honors Program.
3.3. Research-based courses
Several GDCB faculty teach courses that may help you find your research passion.
BIOL 3110X Genome Editing and Engineering: The course is open to any interested students including those from the IHS Program. Coursework includes hands-on experiences in molecular cloning, CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing, and imaging techniques.
This course includes gene-editing in cultured human cells using the Nobel Prize-winning CRISPR-Cas9 technology. Novel biological and cellular processes and disease-related pathways in mammalian cell culture and other model systems will be investigated through CRISPR/Cas9-mediated mutagenesis approaches.
BIOL 4230L Developmental Biology Lab: Any interested IHS student may sign up for BIOL 4230L. This lab involves gene-editing in zebrafish using the Nobel Prize-winning CRISPR-Cas9 technology.
Students have the opportunity to select a gene of interest related to a human disease of their choice and use gene editing technology to remove or modify the gene.
Students then evaluate the effects such as changes in survival, morphology, and system functions. Students receive an introduction to bioinformatics, PCR, gel electrophoresis, DNA and RNA isolation, fluorescence microscopy and more.
Taken as a freshman, it teaches skills that can be very useful in obtaining further research opportunities both on and off campus.
3.4. Paid research opportunities
There are several ways to get paid for your undergraduate research work.
- First, you can apply for ISU’s Undergraduate Research Assistantships.
- Second, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS) offers competitively selected research awards to students who have a primary major in the college. Since 2018, the college awarded about $639,500 in LAS Dean’s High Impact Awards for Undergraduate Research.
- Third, IHS faculty members may have grants to pay you to perform some research in their labs, which usually happens after you gain some research experience through IHS2990/4990 courses with the professors and/or other undergraduate research experience described above.