Mentors Information

REACH U2 — Research Experiences to Advance the Careers of HBCU Undergraduates at the Univ of Utah—piloted in summer 2022 and is designed to provide six undergraduate students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) in North Carolina with a mentored, hands-on research experience at the U over ten weeks during the summer. Each student works ~35-40 hours per week as part of the Faculty Mentor’s lab or research team. The program covers students’ stipend, travel, and housing. Students will participate in the Undergraduate Research Symposium with a poster as well as submit to the Undergraduate Research Journal RANGE, both organized by the Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR).

REACH U2 uses existing SPUR infrastructure (Summer Program for Undergraduate Research, part of OUR) to hire, onboard, and advise participating students. The SPUR curriculum includes weekly research education sessions, near-peer mentoring, socials, and participation in scholarly opportunities (poster session, publication in Undergraduate Research Journal). In addition, REACH U2 offers a weekly seminar series on topics relevant to the career development of undergraduate students from populations underrepresented in biomedical research who intend to apply for graduate school in the biomedical and health sciences. More information on REACH U2, including 2023 project descriptions, are on the REACH U2 website: https://medicine.utah.edu/dfpm/research/reach-u2/.

If you are interested in mentoring a REACH U2 student, please email to Maude Romney (maude.romney@utah.edu) by Oct 15, 2023, with the following information, which will be included on the website to help prospective students apply to projects that meet their research interests and backgrounds.

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    • Your information
      • All current University of Utah faculty (both tenure-track and career-line) are eligible to serve as mentors.
    • Project name
    • Applicable photo: This photo will accompany your project description listed on our website. It can be a picture of you, your research lab, undergraduate researchers in action, etc.
    • Project background: What is the research and why is it important? Please limit your response to approximately 250 words (1750 characters).
    • Student role: What would the student be working on if accepted for this project? Help the student imagine what the experience would look like for them. Please limit your response to approximately 250 words (1750 characters).
    • Student learning outcomes and benefits: How will this particular experience prepare a student for their future? Please limit your response to approximately 250 words (1750 characters).
    • Mentoring philosophy and specific mentoring activities: What kind of mentoring experience will you offer? What kind of support should the student expect from you? Please limit your response to approximately 250 words (1750 characters).
    • Mentor expectations: Review and agree to program expectations.