New Grant to Fund More Summer Research at Lander

More South Carolina students will have access to research while in college thanks to a recently awarded grant.

The grant, funded by the National Science Foundation, will allow Lander University’s College of Science and Mathematics to add another summer research program for Lander students and other South Carolina students.

Lander is one of 11 colleges in the state receiving part of a $10 million grant meant to boost research capacity and STEM workforce pathways across primarily undergraduate institutions and historically Black colleges and universities.

Lander will receive $157,341 per year for four years, funding stipends and supplies for 10 student researchers in up to five faculty research labs.

“This summer brought the launch of our South Carolina IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence summer biomedical research program which is funded by a grant awarded to Dr. Melissa Hayes and Dr. Elyse Donaubauer as part of the National Institutes of Health-funded SC-INBRE network,” said Dr. Jennifer Yates, dean of the College of Science and Mathematics. 

“We are thrilled that we’ll be able to expand our summer research capacity next year to engage more students and faculty in broader research areas with the addition of the NSF funding of the South Carolina Collaborative Academic Pathways in STEM program. As the Primary Investigator for Lander’s site, I am grateful to have Professor Lisa McDonald serving the program as co-PI. We are looking forward to working with Drs. Hayes and Donaubauer to best engage our students in a collaborative summer research program at Lander.”

Each summer, approximately half of the participating students will be Lander students, while the other half will be from other South Carolina institutions, with priority given to students who don’t have research opportunities at their institutions.

The program will include professional development around research design, mentor relationships, research ethics, data analysis and presentation of results. The program will begin with a three-day “boot camp” and finish with a shared research symposium with the students in the SC-INBRE program.

Research in the SC-INBRE program is focused on biomedical science. The SC-CAPS program will have the ability to reach across numerous scientific fields, including biology, mathematics, physical sciences, applied computing and psychology.