DS-7002 Sample Responses

Description of Trainee/Student Intern's role for this program.

The Student Intern will participate in molecular biology experiments to study genomic responses of Drosophila melanogaster (fruit flies) to human drugs.

Specific goals and objectives for this program.

The Student Intern will learn to culture and analyze fat stem cells grown under different conditions in novel small growth chambers.  This will enable her to conduct meaningful experiments on the development of fat stem cells.  These skills will benefit her continued education and future career as a Stem Cell Biologist.

Names and titles of those who will provide continuous supervision of the Trainee/Student Intern, including the primary supervisor. What are these persons' qualifications to teach the planned learning?

Overall supervision of the program will be provided by Dr. Jane Smith, who holds a PhD in Animal Sciences and has hosted Student Interns in her laboratory for the past four summers.  Daily guidance and training will also be provided by Xin Li, a graduate student whose research is focused in this area.

What plans are in place for the Trainee/Student Intern to participate in cultural activities while in the United States?

International Student and Scholar Services encourages cross-cultural activities and provides relevant materials and programming.

Specific knowledge, skills or techniques to be learned by the Trainee/Student Intern.

The Student Intern will learn to use extracted RNA to perform gene expression analysis in the laboratory, analyze results and summarize in a scientific manner.

How specifically will these knowledge, skills or techniques be taught?

The Student Intern will set up experiments which will expose fruit flies to compounds that should affect their biology, both at a molecular and organismal level, record the results, and then analyze the data to gain an understanding of how fruit flies respond to chemical insults.

How will the Trainee/Student Intern's acquisition of new skills and competencies be measured?

The faculty host will meet with the Student Intern on a weekly basis to discuss progress on the assigned tasks.  The supervisor will also be able to provide direction and feedback as necessary between meetings.  The Student Intern will be expected to write a final report, which will be reviewed and evaluated by the faculty host.