Tuesday, April 21, 1998
Research program lets undergrads examine life in the lab
PROGRAM: Students receive experience working with top professors
in fields
By Andy Shah
Daily Bruin Contributor
When Naindeep Singh started working in a neurobiology lab last
quarter, he noticed several differences between the classroom and
the lab.
For one, he was on a first name basis with the professor he was
working for.
Also, he encountered the intricacies of a researcheris work. "I
started to understand the politics of science. A lot has to do with
who you are and who you know," said the second-year history and
neuroscience student.
Working under the Student Research Program (SRP), Singh saw the
flat, black text of his books translate into research dealing with
detecting different neurons that correlate with the eyes.
The Student Research Program, founded in 1985, provides
undergraduates with research opportunities and close interaction
with top faculty. The program aims to enhance a student’s education
by helping them acquire research backgrounds and skills needed to
be successful in their chosen field.
"It is very rare for undergraduates to be included in research,"
said G. Jennifer Wilson, assistant dean of Honors and Undergraduate
Programs.
"Yet we have undergraduates here working with professors who are
on the cutting edge. (SRP) really gets to the heart of UCLA’s
research mission."
To date, more than 10,000 students have participated in SRP and
about 2,500 students are involved this year.
Of this number, about 15 percent of the students work in the
School of Medicine, 55 percent in the Life and Physical Sciences,
15 percent in the Social Sciences, and the remaining 15 percent
participate in research throughout the Humanities, School of Arts
and other professional schools.
"It was a really great experience," said Singh. "I got to see
how the classroom material was applied."
SRP is open to all undergraduates in good academic standing.
The program is done on a volunteer basis, and students receive a
notation on their transcript at the end of the project.
Students are required to commit a minimum of one full quarter to
SRP, but many continue their work beyond this. Students can
participate in the summer also.
Often, in lab settings, faculty prefer a minimum of a two or
three quarter commitment because of the time necessary for lab
orientation.
Students typically spend six to eight hours a week working on
their project.
Oneal Bhambani, a second-year computer science and engineering
student, participated in a SRP involving electrical engineering
last summer.
"It was pretty cool," he said. "But the time consumption made it
seem like another engineering class."
He feels much better working on his current SRP, involving
computer science: modeling Lyme disease using a computer language
that was created at UCLA.
"I’m part of the research, so it has opened up a wide range of
opportunities," he said.
Students usually aren’t deeply involved in the research, said
Wilson.
"But they do get a mentor, they get to be part of a team, and
they get to see what really goes in research," she said.
Jessica Langenhan, a first-year physiological science student,
said her SRP involving breast cancer survivors was a good
experience but not fully what she expected.
"I did a lot of tedious paperwork, so it was kind of like an
office clerk job," she said. "But it was good doing something with
a purpose."
She noted that the reason she didn’t get to participate in that
much research was because she was a freshman, so this project gave
her something to put on her resume.
"Now that I’m getting more experience, I’m ready for more
hands-on scientific work," she said.
Singh also noted he initially performed menial work.
"It’s like that in the beginning. But the more you stick around,
the more you show your commitment," he said.
Bhambani agrees. "I see a lot of pre-meds starting out doing
menial work, but they eventually progress," he said.
Bhambani added that truly committed students may be awarded a
Presidential Undergraduate Fellowship, which allows an
undergraduate to perform research funded by the school.
Wilson said the close interaction with professors motivates
students to emulate their mentors.
"I think (SRP) truly inspires students to be great scholars
themselves," she said.