The Department of Biological Sciences is the largest department in the Life Sciences disciplines at Purdue University. As part of the College of Science, the department fulfills the teaching and research mission of the university in areas of biological systems ranging from the molecular through ecosystem levels. The Department offers baccalaureate degrees in 9 major areas of study and supports graduate student research across 6 research topic concentrations. As a widely recognized leader in scientific discovery, the Department’s research contributions inform both fundamental questions and complex problems across diverse areas of interest from cancer models to host-pathogen interactions to behavioral ecology.
As part of our commitment to instruction and discovery, we recognize the importance of providing the most comprehensive and valuable experiences to our undergraduate students. We have always offered an exciting curriculum program, where students have opportunities to perform cutting-edge research with individual faculty during the academic year, as well as in the summer months through paid internships.
The competition for our summer research internships is fierce and a large number of truly outstanding students are turned away each summer solely because of a lack of funds. However, with your support we hope to increase the number of students each year that can take part in this exciting educational opportunity. With the help of our loyal Biological Sciences Alumni Advisory Committee (BSAAC), we are launching a new initiative to establish a Biology Summer Research Internships Fund that will support a number of outstanding undergraduates in continuing their laboratory research during the summer months.
Our program goal is to raise $25,000 that will be used to support an additional 6 students to join our 2017 summer research internship class. The experiences these students receive will serve them well as they head off to careers in science, whether to become doctors, dentists, speech pathologists, genetic counselors, veterinarians, educators, or outstanding independent scientists performing cutting edge research to solve some of the most pressing problems of our time.
Our students are the future of biology and I know that they will make a real difference in the world. I hope you will join me and the many Biology Alums throughout the country and world who have already committed to supporting this exciting new initiative. Any donation (large or small) is welcomed and much appreciated by myself, the Department, BSAAC, and of course our outstanding students.
Thank you for your support. Boiler up!
Dr. Stephen F. Konieczny, Professor and Interim Department Head