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Program Description:
- Eight week internships in plant biology, plant pathology, or weed science
- Gain experience in conducting research on special projects
- Additional programs will be offered related to laboratory safety, graduate education, and career opportunities
- Benefits include housing, assistance with transportation costs, and $3,600 stipend
- Starts on June 1, 2009 and runs through July 31, 2009
Eligibility:
- Must be U.S. citizen or permanent resident
- Completed two years college level study in one of the life sciences by June 2009
- Minimum grade point average of 3.0.
Photo Gallery:
Visit our photo gallery of previous years summer internship students and
their projects.
Projects for Summer 2009:
More information will be posted about these projects
by Jan 12, 2009
| Researchers |
Projects |
| Jody
Banks |
How Does Plant Sperm Find the Egg?
All plants have a separate and tiny gametophyte generation responsible
for producing gametes. In ferns and many other plants, the sperm
have flagella and must swim from the male gametophyte and find
the female gametophyte. Once it finds the female, sperm must
then swim and fuse to the egg. How does the female gametophyte
and egg attract the sperm? Are there specific chemicals emitted?
If so, what are they? How does a sperm cell respond to these
signals and change its direction of movement? These are questions
that could be addressed by a summer intern.
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| Janna
Beckerman |
Resistance is Futile
Understanding apple scab, fungicide resistance, and resistance breakdown
in the fungal pathogen, Venturia inaequalis.
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| Nick
Carpita |
Functional Genomics of the Maize Cell Wall
Step 1 in the improvement of bioenergy crops. |
| Nancy
Emery |
The Ecology, Evolution, and Restoration of the
Tallgrass Prairie |
| Bill Johnson |
The Wonderful World of Weeds
The estimated average monetary loss caused by weeds in field crops grown in the U.S. is over 4 billion dollars each year. Weed management expenses are one of the largest variable costs incurred by growers annually. Weeds growing on cropland are like crop plants themselves, drawing upon the soil and air for essential elements. Production of food and energy for humans and livestock and the economic well being of U.S. citizens depends heavily on effective, integrated management of weeds.
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| Guri
Johal |
Genetics and Genomics of Stresses in Corn
The specific purpose of this project is to explore diverse maize germplasm
for variation underlying the immune response to pathogens. It involves
crossing a maize mutant, in which disease resistance gene of the
R type is ectopically expressed, to diverse maize inbreds and then
evaluating the resulting F1 progenies phenoptypically using multiple
measures and assays. The data obtained will then be correlated with
genotypic assessments of these lines to identify and map genes and
QTL capable of modulating the hypersensitive response.
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| Robert
Pruitt |
How Safe Are Those Vegetables Anyway? |
| Mary Alice Webb |
How Plants Make Protective Structures with
Calcium
Many plants accumulate calcium salts, such as calcium
oxalate and calcium carbonate, to fortify their defenses against
herbivores, animals that eat plants. My research looks at cellular
factors that influence the formation of these calcium deposits
in plants, focusing on needle-shaped crystals of calcium oxalate
that form in many plants, as well as calcified hairs that develop
in the epidermis of some plants.
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| Kiersten Wise |
Hunting for Mutants
Some fungal plant diseases have a specific mutation that makes them less able to be controlled by fungicide applications. Typically, these mutants are at low levels in a disease population. However, increased fungicide use can “select” for these resistant strains, resulting in an increase in the mutant population. Monitoring the level of these mutants can help determine if the disease population is shifting in response to fungicide use. This project will use field and lab techniques to hunt for mutants in soybean diseases.
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Application:
You will need Adobe Reader to view and print the application form (below).
Application deadline: February 1, 2009.
Applicants will be notified of their acceptance on or before March
1, 2009.
Click here to download and print the Application Form
Inquiries:
Dr. Peter Goldsbrough, Department Head
Department of Botany and Plant Pathology
Purdue University
915 W. State Street
West Lafayette, IN 47907-2054
Phone:
(765) 494-4615
E-mail:
Graduate
Programs: "Your Door to Discovery"
For information
about graduate education opportunities in the Department of Botany
and Plant Pathology at Purdue University, please visit our web page:
http://www.btny.purdue.edu/grad
If you
would like to tell us about yourself and your career interests so
we can provide you with more specific information, we recommend that
you visit the Apply
Yourself web site and complete a short form.
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Jobs