Undergraduate Research Opportunities

CEMB offers summer research opportunities for integrated mechanobiology for undergraduate students.

Please contact Ariel Parker at pariel@seas.upenn.edu or any of the CEMB faculty at other sites, for more information.

CEMB seeks motivated undergraduate students for its Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program for Summer 2025. Students participate in 10-week, on-campus programs in Philadelphia or St. Louis, working in research groups at the University of Pennsylvania and Washington University in St. Louis. Students are matched to projects within a research group based on their interests, educational background, and previous research experience.

Many projects are interdisciplinary and provide opportunities to develop research skills in the physical sciences, the biological sciences, and engineering. Students develop practical research skills: collaborating, designing experiments, collecting and analyzing data, and communicating results. Other aspects of the program complement the lab experience and are oriented toward professional development and career skills: seminars, journal clubs, and professional and career workshops, including training in ethics, innovation, and technology transfer.

Research Areas

• Molecular biology
• Cell and tissue mechanics in plants and animals
• Bioengineering
• Biochemistry and biophysics
• Computational biology
• Biomedical devices
• Nanoscale science and engineering

To see examples of past projects, view the Project Archives.

For information about potential projects at Washington University, click here. 

Locations

• University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri

A common application allows you to apply to either site or BOTH sites.

What the Program Offers

• $6500 stipend
• Summer housing
• Travel assistance (if eligible)
• Social activities (Cardinals/Phillies baseball, outings in the city, cook-outs on campus)
• Professional development & networking
• Opportunity to attend a Fall 2025 conference to present your summer research

Qualifications

• US Citizens or Permanent Residents
• Rising junior or senior in an undergraduate degree program
• Enrolled in a science or engineering degree program

Women, first-generation, low-income students, and those traditionally underrepresented in STEM graduate education are strongly encouraged to apply.

Application Deadline: February 3, 2025

Applications will open on November 1, 2024.  To have a complete application, you will need to upload the following documents as PDF files and answer all parts of the application:

• One-page resume
  • (file name format: Lastname_Firstname_RESUME.pdf)
• Unofficial Transcripts
  • (file name format: Lastname_Firstname_TRANSCRIPT.pdf)
• Two short essay questions
• One-page statement of research interest
  • (file name format: Lastname_Firstname_RESEARCH.pdf)
  • Briefly describe your interest in research at the CEMB. Why are you interested in mechanobiology research? Are there particular faculty with whom you would like to work and why? In addition, describe any prior experiences conducting supervised research.
• Letters of Recommendation (1 required)
  • Invitations will be sent to letter writers you identify through the Interfolio system. Your best letters will be from faculty mentors/advisors, previous (or current) course instructors, and previous (or current) research supervisors. Individuals should be able to speak to your academic achievements and abilities, as well as personal characteristics and professional promise. Letters of recommendation (PDF files only) must be uploaded directly to the Interfolio system by each letter writer.

Additional Information

• Please contact Ariel Parker at UPenn, pariel@seas.upenn.edu for any questions regarding the overall program.
• Please contact Patricia Widder at WashU, pwidder9876@wustl.edu for questions regarding the program at Washington University.