UMass Fusarium Genomics Lab (Ma Lab) - FULL

Our competitive Research Intensives program places high-achieving high school students in professional working labs alongside distinguished faculty, graduate and undergraduate students.

Research Intensive in the UMass Fusarium Genomics Lab (Ma Lab)

For this summer research, students will use our established the Fusarium oxysporum–Arabidopsis thaliana model system, which includes an endophyte, F. oxysporum strain Fo47, and a pathogen, F. oxysporum strain Fo5176. Arabidopsis plants infected by these two F. oxysporum strains display distinctive phenotypes, with Fo5176 causing typical vascular wilt diseases and Fo47 colonizing plants endophytically without any disease symptoms. The main objective of this summer project is to use this model system to understand fungal-plant interactions to help protect our ecosystem by promoting beneficial interactions and controlling pathogenic interactions. Students will have opportunities to grow plants, monitor plant-fungal interactions using microfluid devices, characterize interactions using our automated phenotyping pipeline, and conduct bioinformatics studies. Learn more.

The Ma Lab can host 2 students.

Program Overview

During this program, high school students will assist UMass faculty and graduate students in research labs while learning about research methodologies and contributing to ongoing research studies. Each student will create and present a research poster to faculty, fellow students, friends and family at a poster session at the end of the program.

Students will come away with an introduction to the field of Biochemistry, firsthand experience with university-level research, and an understanding of opportunities that exist for undergraduate students at a major R1 university such as UMass Amherst.

Applications

For all Research Intensives applications: In your statement of interest, please include 3 lab choices from our list of available labs along with a brief explanation of your interest in each one.

This course is offered at the UMass Amherst campus as a residential program. Local students may apply to attend as a commuter.