BUILD RESEARCH MENTOR NEWS – MAY 2016

2016-17 BUILD Trainee Cohort Selection

Review of applications and interviews of trainee candidates are now complete for both Associates (formerly LD) and Scholars (formerly UD).  Students who have not yet been matched have been asked to interview with possible mentors based on the information you have given us on the mentor survey.  Be aware that potential Associates and Scholars Trainees may contact you to discuss the possibility of joining your research program in the next several weeks. Please let your college coordinator (CHHS: Selena Nguyen-Rodriguez (Both Scholars and Associates); CLA: Chi-Ah Chun (Scholars), Young-Hee Cho (Associates); CNSM: Paul Weers (Scholars), Jesse Dillon (Associates); COE: Panadda "Nim" Marayong (Scholars), Shadnaz Asgari (Associates)) know when you decide to accept a student as a mentee.

1st Annual BUILD Symposium

The inaugural BUILD Research Symposium showcasing cross-disciplinary research of faculty, students and research partners to improve the health was held on Saturday, April 16, 2016. This years’ theme was “Multiple Minds, One Goal: Understanding and Improving Health through Research.”  Faculty and research partners presented their work addressing the global obesity epidemic via both community and lab-based research efforts. Dr. Pietro Galassetti (UC Irvine), provided the keynote presentation on “Pediatric Obesity: The Hidden Dangers.” Panel presenters included Dr. Donna Spruijt-Metz (USC) who spoke on “mHealth to Combat Obesity in Underserved Populations;” Dr. Elizabeth Eldon, presented “Studying Obesity in Drosophila”, and Dr. Selena Nguyen-Rodriguez shared “Sanos y Fuertes (Healthy and Strong): Transdisciplinary Graduate Education and Training to Prevent Latino Childhood Obesity.” The latter two speakers highlighted work being carried out by CSULB BUILD research mentors.
Forty-six undergraduate BUILD trainees from engineering and the behavioral, biological, clinical, physical, public health and social sciences presented research posters, which focused on their work to promote health. CSULB President, Dr. Jane Conoley, provided a welcome address to families, and to campus and community members. A total of 363 people registered to attend the Symposium.  Students were encouraged to invite their families, and the majority of attendees (218), were family members.  Family members were invited to provide video messages to encourage their daughters and sons, as well as other minority students, to consider health-related careers. Twelve families provided messages in English, Spanish and Arabic.

Natalie Arevalo – BUILD Scholar (COE)

Symposium Registration Desk with Maria Barajas (CLA) BUILD A

Mark Your Calendars:

  •  Please remember to spend out your 2015-2016 BUILD supply funds by June 1. They will not roll over!
  • BUILD Mentor Orientation is scheduled for Thursday June 2nd from noon to 1pm.  Invitations will be sent to mentors of the incoming Associates and Scholars soon!  

Upcoming Faculty Workshops

  • June 7th-8th: Dr. Don Haviland will present on the use of NVivo software from 9:00-4:00 PM each day in LA1-206.
  • June 14th-15th: Dr. Martin Lee will present on statistical “Sample Size and Power Calculations.” Location: TBD.

Announcements from the BUILD Trainee Learning Communities

  • End of the Year Research Report:  All active BUILD trainees must submit a brief research report by May 6th in which they describe the research work accomplished between June, 1, 2015 and May 1, 2016.  The report guidelines are the same as those used for the Fall UD Learning Community.
  • Faculty Mentor Evaluation of their BUILD Trainees: BUILD will be asking for your evaluation of your trainees at the end of April. Links to an “improved” Qualtrics Survey will be sent to all active mentors.
  • The incoming UD Scholars’ appointment begins on June 1, and these scholars can formally begin training in their faculty mentor’s lab under BUILD support. They will also participate in the 8-week-long BUILD Summer Undergraduate Research Gateway to Excellence (SURGE) program between 6/6 and 7/29.  The SURGE program consists of biweekly Learning Community seminar that meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9am till noon, a field trip to USC in June (and possibly another one to UCI in July), and the Summer Research Symposium on 7/29, where the scholars present the research they  accomplished in the summer to Lower Division Associates, BUILD faculty mentors, and their families.
  • The LD Associates Program will offer a new 2-week-long Summer Preparing for Research Excellence Program (PREP) beginning mid-July.  The goal of the Summer PREP, which consists of a daily 5-hour Learning Community M-Th between 7/18 and 7/29, is to help jump start the LD Associates’ research training, before they formally begin the research lab work with their mentors in Fall.  We plan to have them shadowing on your research programs part of the time during Summer PREP, so they get to know your team and the program.  More details will come in the June newsletter.

Research Curriculum Course Instructors Still Needed

The BUILD Initiative helped develop a series of courses for CSULB to provide a research-focused curriculum for the entire campus.  All of these courses will be offered in the next year and we are looking for instructors interested in teaching the courses.  If you have not already let us know you are interested in teaching any of the following courses, please let us know by e-mailing us at BUILD.mentors@csulb.edu.  For those who are available to teach in Spring 2017 you can suggest meeting times for your class.  Please do so as soon as possible since the spring 2017 scheduling process will begin in a few weeks.

UNIV 150 – Research Career Explorations in Sciences (3)
Prerequisite: Composition II (AFRS 100, ASAM 100, CHLS 100, or ENGL 100).  May be taken concurrently.
The course is designed for entering or undeclared students to evaluate the diversity of career opportunities available to those having a doctorate degree in the sciences. Students will develop knowledge and skills that are designed to cultivate curiosity and an identity as a scientist.

CLA/HHS 296 – Introduction of Behavioral Research Methods (3)
Prerequisite: Completion of one GE Foundation requirement
Introduces topics for inquiry and analysis in behavioral and social science research. Historical events shaping current ethical standards for research guide research design, analysis, and reporting. Students learn observation and experimentation, hypotheses formulation and testing, measurement, analysis, and reporting.

NSCI/ENG 296 – Introduction to Biomedical Research Methods (3)
Prerequisite: At least one GE foundation requirement.
Introduction to principles and ethics of experimentation, hypothesis formulation and testing. Students will learn data measurement, analysis and presentation, how to find and read scientific literature, keep a laboratory notebook and basic data graphing and analysis skills.

HHS 207 Interdisciplinary Approaches to Health Disparities (3)
Prerequisite: At least one GE Foundation requirement
This course covers the definition, prevalence, risk and protective factors, and interventions for health disparities among diverse populations. Using problem-based approaches, students will learn about discipline-specific and interdisciplinary methods to address common biomedical issues in a culturally relevant way.

CLA/ENG/HHS/NSCI 361 – Scientific Research Communication (3)
Prerequisites.  Completion of the GE foundation, completion of one explorations course, score of 11 or higher on the GWAR Placement Examination or successfully completed the necessary portfolio course that is a prerequisite for a GWAR Writing Intensive Capstone. Introduction to technical writing for students pursuing research careers.  Accessing and using research literature.  Writing technical and research reports for various purposes and audiences.  Oral presentation of research and scientific information.  Includes intensive writing.

CLA/HHS 496 – Advanced Behavioral Research Methods (3)
Prerequisites: Upper Division standing, completion of the GE Foundation, one or more Explorations courses and HHS361 or CLA361 or ENGR361 or NSCI361.
This course is designed to provide an in-depth knowledge of scientific research, emphasizing connection between research design and statistical analyses.  The course covers literature review, hypothesis generation, types of research designs and conceptual approach to data analyses.

NSCI/ENG 496 – Advanced Biomedical Research Methods (3)
Prerequisite: Upper Division standing, completion of the GE Foundation, one or more Explorations courses and HHS361 or CLA361 or ENGR361 or NSCI361.
An advanced study of the theoretical and practical aspects of conducting biomedical research including hypothesis formulation, experimental design, assessment of error within empirical data, and the preparation of sound and fundable grant proposals.

Communicating with BUILD

We invite your news about your BUILD Trainee and any comments, concerns, or suggestions about BUILD.  If you have any of these, in relation to being a BUILD Mentor, or concerns about your BUILD Student, please contact us at BUILD.mentors@csulb.edu.  Be sure to keep an eye out for the June newsletter.