2016 Undergraduate Research Symposium in the Biological Sciences and Psychology

November 11-12, 2016 at the University of Chicago

About the Symposium

The purpose of the Symposium is to provide undergraduates from biology and psychology with a venue to present their research projects and results to their peers and some faculty. Students are welcome to present on subjects ranging from ecology, environmental science, zoology, biochemistry, medicine, and molecular biology, behavioral and cognitive science, pharmacology, neuroscience, and other fields relating to biology and/or psychology. This conference is open only to students and faculty from colleges and universities that are members of the Midstates Consortium for Math and Science. To see a list of member institutions, click on “Members” to the left. Costs for participants including transportation, lodging, and meals will be covered by the Consortium.

The Undergraduate Research Symposium in the Biological Sciences and Psychology will be Friday-Saturday November 11-12, 2016 at the University of Chicago. The conference begins around 5:30 pm on Friday with registration and dinner followed by the Janet Andersen Award Keynote Lecture. There will be oral and poster presentations Saturday morning and afternoon, and the conference will wrap up at 5 pm on Saturday with a boxed dinner to take with you. Oral presentations are scheduled at 15-minute intervals, allowing 12 minutes for the presentation and 3 minutes for questions. Poster presentations allow participants to display their experimental results on a tack board panel. Lodging will be arranged for you and provided by the Consortium at the La Quinta Inn and Suites Chicago Lakeshore (4900 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60615, phone: 773-324-3000, web: www.laquintachicagolakeshore.com).

Registration

The registration deadline is Monday, October 3, 2016. It is important that EVERYONE presenting register. Listing the people you are presenting with DOES NOT automatically register them. Please read the abstract guidelines below before registering. Faculty members also need to register using the same form — just leave blank any irrelevant fields. If you have not heard from anyone by October 10th, or if you have any other questions at any time, you may contact Mike Seymour at midstatesdirector@gmail.com. Each consortium member school is guaranteed spots for eight students per conference. Between October 3 and October 10, the Consortium director will review all submissions and will evaluate them with respect to the capacity of the meeting. If a school registers more than eight students for a meeting, the Consortium director will be in contact with local campus representatives to discuss how many students will be allowed to attend.

Link to online registration form.

Abstract guidelines

  • Title: 15 words, no special characters except Greek letters and punctuation. First word and proper noun capitalization only.
  • Abstract: 200 words. No figures, tables, or references. Avoid special characters other than Greek letters if possible – please put a note in your registration if a special character is required.
  • Author/presenter/advisor names: Full first (given) name followed by last (family) name. Middle names/initials optional. No titles (Dr., Prof.), no degrees (Ph.D., M.D.). Other suffixes OK (III, Jr.)

The 2016 Janet Andersen Award Keynote Lecture

Dr. Maria Burnatowska-Hledin, Professor of Biology and Chemistry, Hope College. For more information: http://mathsciconsortium.org/janet-andersen-award
Due to a scheduling conflict, Dr. Hledin will be unable to attend. Thus, the Friday dinner speaker is yet to be determined.

Hosts at the University of Chicago

  • Beatrice Fineschi (bfinesch@uchicago.edu, 773-834-4699)
  • Susan Rueth (rueth@uchicago.edu, 773-702-8321)
  • Victoria Prince (vprince@uchicago.edu, 773-834-2100)

Link to experimental online schedule of events suitable for phones, tablets, and computers

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