Systems Bioengineering NSF REU
The Summer 2025 application portal is open!
Each summer, UVA trains undergraduates from a variety of STEM backgrounds in the skills, confidence, and mentorship necessary for successful careers in the exciting field of systems bioengineering.
Apply to the Systems Bioengineering REU
We use the NSF REU Common Application "ETAP." This is a common application portal for many NSF-sponsored REU programs across the country.
Application Details
Application portal: https://etap.nsf.gov/award/8187/opportunity/11191
List of Summer 2025 Mentors
In order to participate in the Summer 2025 REU Program, applicants must be:
- U.S. citizens or permanent residents
- Full-time undergraduate students returning Fall 2025
- Available for the duration of the 10-week program (May 26 - August 1, 2025)
Additional Information
Students must be enrolled in a science, mathematics, or engineering-based curriculum that includes introductory biology, chemistry, and calculus are especially encouraged to apply. Rising seniors are generally given priority consideration, yet juniors and sophomores also are very competitive in securing spots in our REU. Experience in programming is recommended, but not required.
Applicants must complete an online application form that includes: basic information about you, a resume, an unofficial transcript, some short essays that address the motivation for the program and what you hope to get out of the experience, and two references (preferably academic or supervisory, rather than “community” letters), all to be submitted electronically. We use the NSF REU Common Application (ETAP). This is a common application portal for many NSF-sponsored REU programs across the country. Apply Now
The website will ask you to create a user account. When your account is created, follow the steps provided on the website to complete the common application. Make sure to select UVA's "Multi-Scale Systems Bioengineering" when selecting the Site to which you want to apply.
Dates and Deadlines
- Application Window through April 30, 2025
- All decisions by May 5, 2025
- The program dates are May 26 - August 2, 2025.
Further Detail
- $7000 stipend for 10-week research program
- Reimbursement of travel costs to and from Charlottesville, VA, up to $400
- Free on-campus housing and food allowance and/or dining plan for local restaurants
- Introductory “boot camp” short course on systems bioengineering modeling basics and weekly workshops on ethics and professional development
- Presentation at our Summer Research Symposium - many students earn an additional travel award to present at the fall BMES annual meeting.
Also see our FAQs below. If you have any questions, please contact:
Karen Sleezer
Department of Biomedical Engineering
University of Virginia
Box 800759, Health System
Charlottesville, VA 22908
SystemsBioengREU@virginia.edu
The UVA Multi-Scale Systems Bioengineering REU is funded by NSF Grant 2447802
The NSF Education and Training Application Portal (ETAP) system will automatically prompt the letter writers you designate, once you submit your application. As a courtesy, please let your letter writers know that you have applied and should expect this prompt. We strongly recommend that your letters should be from a faculty member, research advisor, or other professional mentor within your discipline who can address your potential, abilities, and motivation for engaging in research. If you have already applied to other REUs, your letters (and your transcripts) should still be in the system.
Is your program in-person and on-campus? Yes! This is a residential, in-person REU.
Are UVA students encouraged to apply? UVA students are not discouraged to apply. That said, generally, REU Program Directors are eager to offer opportunities to students outside their home institutions. Why? Because these students' schools may not be major research institutions or they may not have systems bioengineering and biomedical data science as a research thrust.
Am I matched to a specific lab or mentor when I get my offer? Usually, there is a delay between being admitted, accepting the position and being matched to a lab and mentor. That said, the program director, Dr. Allen, has a pretty good idea, before making you an offer, about which specific lab, or which handful of labs, you might match to. And he has already started reaching out those labs ahead of time, so that they, too, can get excited about you joining the lab this summer!
UVA SRIP
The Summer Research Internship Program provides an outstanding environment to learn first hand about a career in biomedical research while preparing to succeed in gaining admission to graduate school. Many of our former SRIP participants have matriculated into M.D./Ph.D. and Ph.D. programs, including at UVA. The program hosts approximately 35 students each year.
NIH Kidney Technology Development Research Education Program (UVA undergraduates encouraged to apply!)
The NIH-funded UVA Nephrology undergraduate training program (supported by NIDDK grant 1 R25 DK124918) will provide an immersive research and education experience for technology-oriented undergraduate students to participate in cutting-edge research in kidney diseases to generate innovative solutions for promoting kidney health.
About UVA's REU for Multi-Scale Systems Bioengineering
The objective of the program is to train undergraduates from a variety of STEM backgrounds and provide them with the skills, confidence, and mentorship necessary for successful careers in the exciting field of systems bioengineering. Students will be matched with world-class faculty mentors for a 10-week research project, culminating in a paper and public symposium at the end of the summer.
Research Immersion
All students will participate in collaborative, hands-on, and closely mentored research ranging in scale from molecular dynamics and bioinformatics to subcellular networks to whole-cell models to tissue, organ, and population-level models. Each project will have strong clinical relevance and immersion in a combination of experimentation and computational analyses.
Boot Camp
A series of "boot-camp" workshops in systems modeling and analysis gives participants the foundational knowledge needed to thrive in the program.
Professional Development
Weekly workshops and seminars will cover topics including biomedical research ethics, communication skills, career advising, scientific communication, and professional development, all of which are necessary to be productive in advanced graduate study and be successfully employed in the modern biotechnology industry.
Tight-Knit Lab Culture
Students in the REU, regardless of mentor, will be fully integrated into their respective labs: listed on lab websites, invited to lab lunches and social events, and expected to attend and participate in lab meetings and journal clubs.
BMES Fall Meeting
Participants will submit their work to the REU track at the national Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) conference and will be earn a travel award to attend the conference, if their poster or talk is selected.
Alumni
We're invested in our students' success and provide REU Alumni with ongoing mentorship after they complete the program.
Charlottesville, Virginia
Your suite for the summer is a 5-minute walk to the UVA Academical Village, the Medical Center, the Aquatic Fitness Center, the Corner, and a free ride to the Downtown Mall. There's music, mountains, localvore food and drink, Monticello and Montpelier, and the Shenandoah National Park. Running, cycling and club sports groups are welcoming. Our REU students are active on the weekends!
Why ’Hoos Love to Call Charlottesville Home
"The cultural scene here is way bigger than something a town of this size should have."