New Mexico INBRE Summer Experience (NISE) is an 8-week full-time summer research experience for undergraduates, featuring four different programs. NISE-Prep, NISE-Bootcamp, NISE-Internship and NISE-Bioinformatics are great ways to form connections with students from across New Mexico, and to enhance lab and research skills. The summer experience concludes with a presentation of results at a research symposium during the first week of August. Students are compensated (approximately $5000, details differ by institution for NISE-Prep) for their participation, and housing is provided for those traveling to participate in NISE-Bootcamp or NISE-Internship.

Students that have limited or no prior research experience will have the opportunity to conduct independent biomedical research projects at their home institution.The ideal participating student is entering their sophomore or junior year, interested in learning more about careers in biomedical research, and has not previously worked in a research lab. Faculty mentors will provide research-related guidance to their student mentees. Students will develop skills to move into a biomedical research career. For an application, please contact the NM-INBRE Liaison from your institution. 

Students with no prior research experience will have the opportunity to conduct microbiology research at NMSU during the summer months. The goal is to increase student understanding of biomedical research and enhance their career development through a mixture of laboratory experiences and lecture-based activities on the New Mexico State University (NMSU) campus. Students between Sophomore and Junior Year (or those expecting to be 2 academic years away from a BS/BA degree) will work with researchers at NMSU, including workshops to develop bench and college-success skills. NISE-Bootcamp will provide students with an authentic research experience to prepare them to pursue a career in science. It will also help students move from an academic understanding of science to hands-on experience with research techniques and concepts. An important expected outcome of this program is having students apply for and conduct mentored research internships the summer after they participate in Bootcamp. 

NISE-internship will help students identify appropriate graduate programs, and gain the application skills to make them competitive for entry into advanced degrees. Students looking to expand their research experience will be matched with an NMSU faculty mentor to conduct independent biomedical research projects. The goal is to enhance student research skills and prepare participants for graduate education in biomedical research and/or health research careers. Students, ideally between their Junior and Senior Year (or those entering their final/senior year as an undergraduate), planning to apply to graduate school in biomedical/behavioral sciences in the next year with research experience will be matched with NMSU faculty to conduct independent biomedical research projects at NMSU. Housing on the NMSU campus will be included. An important and expected outcome is for students to apply to biomedical or behavioral graduate programs during the academic year following their NISE Internship.

Undergraduate students interested in researching the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and other pandemics will be paid to engage  virtually with scientists and bioinformaticians at the National Center for Genome Resources to develop critical-thinking, research and basic bioinformatics skills. Interested in digging into pandemics, both past and present? Together, we'll explore popular and scientific literature and other resources to learn about pandemics from all different angles, from the pathogens (genetics, evolution, transmission) to the disease (testing, outcomes, interventions, vaccination and immunity, risk factors) to society (equity, policies, economy, mental health). We'll teach you how to find and analyse pathogen genomes to glean important biological insights such as which variant each genome is and how they are changing over time. We'll support you as you delve into past and present pandemics from 3 countries of your choosing to compare and contrast the course of their pandemics. You'll come away with improved critical-thinking, research and bioinformatics skills. This is a virtual workshop so you can do it from the comfort of your home (but don't worry, we won't be on zoom all day). 

Nathaniel Jobe

I am Nathaniel Jobe, I am from New Mexico Tech. I am in Dr. Uranga’s lab using zeolite to remove ethidium bromide from contaminated water. After taking part in the NISE Bootcamp program last year, I wanted to come back for the internship program. I learned some lab skills last year. However, I wanted to learn more independent skills in planning and executing experiments.

Nick Arnold

I’m Nick Arnold and I’m a senior at Western New Mexico University. I’ve been given the opportunity to work under the guidance of Dr. Talipov this summer. The project I’m working on with him has to do with the DUSP5 enzyme. The DUSP5 enzyme is a phosphatase that interacts with phosphorylated extracellular regulated kinases. My mentor wants us to develop a model for the mutant enzyme’s structure so that drugs can be designed to target the specific deficit in the enzyme. I came to this program because I missed a lot of the Molecular biology lab techniques during the periods off classes due to Covid-19.