Research Opportunities

Individual Studies in Microbiology, Immunology, & Molecular Genetics (MIMG 199)

Undergraduate research opportunities are available within the Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics (MIMG) Major.  Undergraduates are strongly encouraged to engage in the laboratory research experience as early as their schedules permit.  For students contemplating professional or graduate school, research is, in most cases, necessary.  Additionally, it has been observed that students who do research tend to better comprehend the material covered in their didactic courses.  Performing research directly engages students in their chosen field of study and exposes them to the research milieu.  Research offers students opportunities to become exposed to the life of a scientific researcher by being able to design and carry out experiments, by interacting with others in the lab, and by attending lab meetings and journal clubs.  Students are also given the opportunity to present their work, and oftentimes, have their work published in a scientific journal.

The majority of our faculty accept undergraduate researchers in their labs.  However, many faculty members require that students fulfill certain course requirements before the student is approved to do research.  Because of this, most students don’t begin doing research until their sophomore or junior years.  Check with faculty directly to find out about course requirements.

How to get started —
Find a faculty sponsor:

• Review the faculty research topics.
• Select those faculty members in whose labs you think you would like to work.
• Contact the faculty member directly via email.  You can use the UCLA Directory to look up their address.  If the faculty member doesn’t get back to you quickly, wait at least a week before you send a follow-up email to inquire about your first email.  You can try stopping by their office, but most do not prefer to be approached in this manner.
• In your email, include a resume and a brief cover letter.  If the faculty member is interested, most likely you will be asked to come in for an interview.
• It’s a good idea to look up the faculty member’s recent publications.  The Faculty Research section of this website includes a list of their recent publications.
• Discuss with your faculty sponsor whether you should do SRP or 199.
• Many professors require students who are just starting research to do at least one term of SRP before approving a 199 project.

What’s the difference between SRP and 199?

How do I sign up?

• For SRP: sign up through the Undergraduate Research Center, 2121 Life Science Building.
• For 199: SEE 199 POLICIES BELOW!

Policies for Enrollment In and Continuation of Individual Research (MIMG 199)

(MIMG 198, Departmental Honors)

Please read carefully! All of the following requirements supercede those on the 199 contract itself.  That means: if you read something here, but see conflicting info on the contract and aren’t sure which is correct, go by what the following polices say.

• Student MUST commit to 2 consecutive quarters of 199 research (Spring to Fall is considered consecutive; can also do Spring to Summer).  After the student has completed 199A, (s)he will see a grade of In Progress (IP) on the student’s DPR.  Upon completion of MIMG 199B, the student will receive a letter grade that will then count for both 199A and 199B (8 units total).  Therefore, you must complete 199B in order to receive a grade for either 199A or 199B.
• Enrollment requires a contract.  199 contracts can be obtained from www.my.ucla.edu under the title “Contract Courses”.  Fill out the contract, making sure that you have chosen the correct quarter.  Obtain your mentor’s signature (you do NOT have to get the signature of the Departmental Chair) and submit to the Undergraduate Counselor to be enrolled.
• Current Degree Progress Report (DPR), initialed by the mentor, MUST be attached to the 199 contract, all due by Friday of the 2nd week of classes (due first day of instruction if working with a mentor outside of MIMG).
• All 199 contracts must include a thoughtful and well-described proposal for research, to be presented to and approved by the Department.  Only projects that involve experimental work related to MIMG disciplines will be approved.  (Please note that your Mentor will help you with the proposal.  You do not have to walk into his/her lab with a specific project in mind.)
• All 199 contract must also include a commitment to submit a written report, and be signed by the Mentor before submission to the Undergrad Counselor.
• Written Report
• You will not be enrolled unless you submit a contract, therefore, a contract MUST be turned in for every quarter that you are doing a 199.  Bridget often waits until she gets a large batch of contracts before enrolling everyone at once.  This usually happens on Friday of 2nd week.  Do not submit a contract and then ask her why you haven’t been enrolled yet.  If you don’t see the 199 on your DPR by 5:00 PM on Friday of 2nd week, then THAT is the time to contact her with questions.
• Students are NOT allowed to enroll in 199 in the same research lab in which they are working for pay.  Exceptions to this rule require prior approval by the Faculty Undergraduate Advisor.
• Student must have at least a 3.0 GPA in both the pre-major and major, have taken Chem 153A, and be an MIMG major.
• Students majoring in another Life Science department can petition for enrollment in MIMG 199 to conduct research in the lab of an MIMG faculty member, but only with prior approval of the Faculty Undergrad Advisor or Counselor.
• Both 199A and 199B must be taken for 4 units.  The courses are fixed at 4 units so there is no option to enroll for more or less.
• 4 units of 199 may be applied towards the MIMG major.  Four units, no exceptions.
• Total of 32 units of MIMG 199 may be taken for a letter grade.  Any additional units must be taken P/NP.
• Credit for 199 courses from other departments may not be applied towards the MIMG major.
• MIMG 199 research requires 12-16 hours of research per week.  You will work out your own schedule with your Mentor.
• Any Incomplete (I) for a 199 must be resolved during the following quarter (Fall in the case of Spring), or it will lapse to an F.  Continued enrollment in 199 will not be allowed until the Incomplete is resolved.
• Mentor must be a faculty member in the MIMG Department.  Certain exceptions to this requirement may be made, but only with prior approval by the MIMG Curriculum & Instruction Committee.  In those cases, additional specific requirements must be evaluated and met.

How to Petition to Work with non-MIMG Faculty:

1. Faculty from outside of MIMG must have regular-series or in-residence appointment in one of the other Life Science departments, or in a department in the Medical or Dental Schools, and must be conducting basic research. Work with visiting, adjunct, or clinical faculty, or postgraduate researchers, will not be approved. In general, if outside faculty are also member of the training faculty of the ACCESS program, approval will be likely.
2. Student must submit the following to the Undergrad Counselor no later than the first day of instruction for the quarter in question:
1. Current CV of the Mentor
2. Current DPR of the student, initialed by the Mentor
3. Letter from the student explaining why (s)he wants to work with the Mentor (previous experience with the mentor is an appropriate reason).  The letter should include a proposal for the project that the student will be working on.
3. Proposed work must be similar or related to the research currently underway in MIMG labs.
4. If and when the student receives approval to work with the out-of-department Mentor, the student will then submit the 199 contract (see above) to the Undergrad Advisor.
5. Signed 199 report must be submitted to the Undergrad Counselor by the end of finals week (see below).

Written Report:

• Evidence of research progress, in the form of a 5-10 page, double-spaced, typed document, plus any figures and tables, and in the style of a manuscript (e.g., title page, abstract, intro, methods, results, discussion, references), must be submitted by Friday of Finals week to both the Mentor and the Undergrad Counselor. Both the Mentor and the Student must sign the report that is submitted to the Department.
• At the end of 199A, you are not expected to have enough data for a complete report.  Therefore, think of your paper as a work-in-progress and write as much as you can for the first quarter, with the intention of having a complete paper by the end of 199B.  If, by the end of 199B, you don’t have enough data for a complete report, it is acceptable.  Write as much as you can with the data that you have.

MIMG 199 Checklist:

• I have my contract properly filled out and signed by my mentor.
• I have attached a DPR, signed by my mentor, to the contract.
• I have enough units on my study list to accommodate another 4 units, or I have petitioned the College at A-316 Murphy for more units.
• I have attached a DPR, signed by my mentor, to the contract.