2024 Summer Undergraduate Research Program

Brief Project Overview

Opportunities are available to participate in hands-on bench research in the College of Pharmacy in laboratories that seek to discover new medicines, novel and innovative means of drug delivery, new targets for drug therapy, and to improve current drug therapy regime for patients.  

Additionally, students will participate in one scheduled field trip to Portland (July) and attend a virtual seminar on the topic of science communication (August).

Type of Work & Tasks to Be Assigned

Students will participate in the full range of lab activities which may include including running assays, isolating bioactive compounds, assisting with research subjects, keeping a detailed lab notebook, presenting at weekly lab meetings, developing a formal presentation of research results and helping with daily lab clean-up and maintenance.

Duration of Project

Students typically complete their 10-week program between June 24 and September 6 (11-week window) with most students starting June 24 and ending August 30. Students needing exceptions to these dates can discuss options with their faculty advisor and program coordinators.

Employment will begin June 1 so that students can complete required laboratory training and orientation activities prior to beginning lab work. 

At the conclusion of the program, student researchers will present their work at the College of Pharmacy Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium scheduled for September 6, 2024. 

Location

Research labs focusing on drug discovery and gene regulation and disease are available in Corvallis while labs focusing on targeted drug delivery, clinical pharmacokinetics and health outcomes research are primarily available in Portland.

Housing Arrangements

Housing is the student’s responsibility. Summer sublets are usually available in Corvallis between June and September. For those based in Portland, this bulletin board has links to rental listings and rooms shares. Students located outside of Corvallis/Portland will need to secure housing at their location. 

Funding

A limited number of funded positions are available at Oregon's minimum wage. Additional applicants may be accepted to the program with outside funding support.  Funded students will be paid at current wage rates ($14.20/hr Corvallis or $15.45/hr Portland) for hours worked. Students are allowed a maximum of 20 paid hours per week for a maximum of 200 hours (budget permitting).

Eligibility

No specific pre-requisites are required except an interest in pursuing a career in biomedical research in pharmaceutical sciences.

How to Apply:
  1. Contact a Pharmaceutical Sciences or Pharmacy Practice faculty member whose research interests you and secure their support for your application through a letter of support. Faculty will submit this directly to program coordinators.
  2. Prepare a 1-page letter of interest discussing your research interests in pharmaceutical sciences or pharmacy practice research, any preparation you may have for conducting research, and your career goals.
  3. Secure transcripts that indicate your cumulative GPA to date. Unofficial transcripts are permitted.
  4. Submit your letter of interest and transcripts via email to Noelle Cummings (noelle.cummings@oregonstate.edu) and Dr. BJ Philmus (benjamin.philmus@oregonstate.edu) with the subject line ‘2024 SURP Application’.
  5.  Applications from students are due Friday, May 3, 2024, 5pm.

Notification of application status will be sent to applicants mid-May.

Program Contact Information:

For questions, please contact:

Dr. BJ Philmus, Director, Undergraduate Research Program, OSU College of Pharmacy

benjamin.philmus@oregonstate.edu

Noelle Cummings, Graduate Program Coordinator

Noelle.Cummings@oregonstate.edu