Yes.   The full in person participation option in the uq-bio Summer School is primarily intended for senior undergraduate students and first year graduate students.

When evaluating applications for inclusion as full participants, we intend to reserve roughly 20 spots for undergraduates and 10 spots for graduate students.

Students with substantially more experience (i.e, students who already do image processing or modeling in Python as part of their ongoing research) should consider applying to become mentors in the program.

Yes, international students are welcome to apply for both in-person and virtual participation.

Yes, application and registration are free but are required to watch the lecture videos, the live seminars, and the career discussion panels.  We will need your name, institution and email address so that we can provide you with zoom zoom links and passwords to course materials.

We expect to accept 30 applicants for Full On-Campus Participation. Among these, we expect to reserve 6 spots for CSU students and 3 spots for students from undergraduate only colleges 3 spots for students from minority serving institutions. Students within each category will be selected at random from the pool of qualified applicants.

We hope to accommodate all applicants for Partial and Online Participation (up to a cap of 200 participants).

Applicants for full on-campus participation will be deemed qualified if they (1) have had previous coursework or experience in mathematics up to ordinary differential equations and some scientific computing experience, (2) they write a statement of interest that is in line with the program goals, and (3) if they demonstrate a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in the STEM profession.

All Summer School events are free for both full and online attendees.

Lodging and meals will be free for undergraduate students who are selected to participate on campus.  A fee of $500 will be applied to support lodging and meals for on campus graduate student participants (waivers are available based on financial need).

Nothing — online attendance is free.

Applications for full in-person participation were due on February 15, 2023 at 11:59pm. We do not expect there to be any deadline extensions.

Applications for online participation will be open until May 15, 2023 or until all spots in the program are filled.  We hope to be able to accommodate all applicants for partial participation.

Application for full in person participation in the program were due on February 15, 2023. No deadline extensions are anticipated.  Letters of acceptance have been emailed on Feb 24, 2023.

Students must reply to claim their spot in the program before March 13, 2023, at which time spots will be released to a student on the wait list.

We informed students of their acceptance as Full In Person Participants by on Feb 23, 2023.  Students will then have until March, 2023 to claim their spot and register for the program before their spot is transferred to another student on the wait list.

All students not accepted as Full Participants are invited to attend the program as Online Participants.

Yes, all online events will be recorded and links will be made available to all registered online participants.

Most or all online components of the UQ-Bio summer School will be synchronous (Zoom), but recordings will also be posted for asynchronous viewing (along with starter codes or data for use in lessons). Registration is required to attend Zoom lectures or to view recorded sessions.

To apply to become a mentor for UQ-Bio, please contact the organizers at qbio_summer_school@colostate.edu.

Mentor spots are full for 2023, but we will look for new mentors in 2024.

The most important qualities in a UQ-bio mentor are enthusiasm for quantitative biology, respect for others, and a commitment to inclusion in the scientific disciplines.  But in terms of technical experience, we are looking for senior graduate students, postdocs, and faculty who have engaged in interdisciplinary work.  Mentors should have experience computing in Python, Matlab or R and should previously have worked with biological data sets.  We will be seeking to match mentors to interested Full Participants based on mutual scientific interests and training and geographical preferences.

We expect that effective Mentors will have a diverse range of skills.  All should have some experience with computing in Python, Matlab or R.  Some mentors will have a focus in experimental approaches (e.g., cellular imaging), but most will have a focus on computational approaches, especially (1) image processing, (2) machine learning / regression / classification, (3) stochastic simulations, (4) master equations, and/or (5) inference and Monte Carlo approaches.

The amount of time needed to be a mentor is highly variable.

The main duty of a course mentor is to lead small team projects or problem sessions.  The instructors will provide written problem statements, required data sets, and solution manuals to all problem sets in advance.  We will also provide suggested approaches for open ended projects, although each mentor’s  individual flair in problem solving is encouraged.

Commitment for online mentors is expected to range between two and six hours of contact with students per week (in addition to watching the other lectures of the program). Depending on their interests and experience, some mentors may choose to participate for as few as two or for as many as all six weeks of the program.

The commitment for in person mentoring will be greater as these mentors will be expected to attend daily lunches with the group and help with daily exercises with small student groups.

Prior to the summer school, course mentors will be provided with short mentoring training videos with tips to help amplify student motivation and to maintain an inclusive learning environment.  Mentors will also be contacted by the organizers for an online orientation and training session to help with technical details specifically related to the q-bio program.   At the end of each week, the organizers will run a short meeting to get feedback from mentors, to discuss what practices have been most effective so far in the program, and to identify any areas of instruction that need extra attention in the following weeks.

All materials for each week’s problem and project sessions will be provided to the mentors at least one week in advance.  Mentors are strongly encouraged to go through the problem solutions in advance and contact the organizers if any elements are unclear.

Yes, we expect to offer the Undergraduate Quantitative Biology Summer School program in person at the Colorado State University in 2023 and 2024.  Please make sure to join our mailing list at UQ-bio Mailing List if you would like to be kept informed of future events.

Yes, all In Person Participants will receive a certificate of completion at the conclusion of the program.

Online Participants are also eligible to receive a Certificate of Completion. These will be will be available to all students who complete and submit a minimum of five electronic notebooks from Modules 1-4.  To receive the certificate of completion, each student must submit their completed electronic workbook files directly to: qbio_summer_school@colostate.edu no later than August 15, 2023.

Two types of participation are available for the UQ-Bio Summer School: (1) In Person participants will attend daily lectures from May 31 through June 13 on the CSU campus. (2) Online/Virtual participants will be provided with links to watch all lectures and tutorials both live and asynchronously through the course website and will also be able to ask questions via the program Slack channel.

Yes, all online events will be recorded and links will be made available to all registered online participants.

Most or all online components of the UQ-Bio summer School will be synchronous (Zoom), but recordings will also be posted for asynchronous viewing (along with starter codes or data for use in lessons). Registration is required to attend Zoom lectures or to view recorded sessions.

Yes, all In Person Participants will receive a certificate of completion at the conclusion of the program.

Online Participants are also eligible to receive a Certificate of Completion. These will be will be available to all students who complete and submit a minimum of five electronic notebooks from Modules 1-4.  To receive the certificate of completion, each student must submit their completed electronic workbook files directly to: qbio_summer_school@colostate.edu no later than August 15, 2023.

All lessons at the 2023 UQ-Bio summer School will be taught using Python and lessons will use Google Collab. To test out an example of a preliminary Google Colab notebook, please visit one of the lectures from 2021 or 2022 (e.g., https://q-bio.org/wp/uqbio_21_lecture_0p1_raymond/)

Students on campus should bring their own laptop computers. If you do not have access to a laptop computer, please contact the organizers well in advance (i.e., by end of March).

Most or all online components of the UQ-Bio summer School will be synchronous (Zoom), but recordings will also be posted for asynchronous viewing (along with starter codes or data for use in lessons). Registration is required to attend Zoom lectures or to view recorded sessions.

Yes, if you register for a ‘Double’ room, you will be placed in a room with two twin beds and you will share that space with another registered guest of the summer school. If you wish to choose a roommate preference, please email the organizers.

Lodging check in will be at the Pavilion at 920 W Plum St, Fort Collins, CO 80521.

Here is a link to directions from the Groome Transportation drop off location.

The commitment to the program will be full time for the duration of the program, approximately 8 hours per day Monday through Friday and a half day on Saturday. Of this, about half (4 hours per day) will comprise structured activities (e.g., lectures, tutorials, lab tours, etc) and half (4 hours per day) will comprise unstructured events (e.g., meals, mentored problem sessions, project work, journal clubs).

We expect to have the final program schedule ready by May 1, 2023.

Shuttle – Groom Transportation provides round trip shuttle service between the Denver airport and the CSU campus.

Car Rentals – most major car rental agencies have onsite or offsite branches (with shuttle service) at the DEN airport.

Car Sharing – if you choose to rent a car or use Uber, we strongly recommend carpooling. To help you with your planning, please use this spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1OJLpiVElcdw-2zHgQbcfFNowpap_JO0aYvT8dzK-S58/edit?usp=sharing

It typically takes 70-90 minutes to drive between the DEN airport and the CSU campus.

Yes, if you register for a ‘Double’ room, you will be placed in a room with two twin beds and you will share that space with another registered guest of the summer school. If you wish to choose a roommate preference, please email the organizers.

Yes, please visit https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1OJLpiVElcdw-2zHgQbcfFNowpap_JO0aYvT8dzK-S58/edit?usp=sharing to find other q-bio participants who may be interested to car share.

Fort Collins and the Colorado State University are about 50 minutes drive north of the Denver International airport (DEN). DEN is a major hub for United, Southwest and Frontier Airlines and has flights for nearly every US Domestic airline.

Regional Flights – The Northern Colorado Regional Airport (FNL, 20 minutes’ drive from CSU) offers flights to Burbank and Las Vegas.

Lodging check in will be at the Pavilion at 920 W Plum St, Fort Collins, CO 80521.

Here is a link to directions from the Groome Transportation drop off location.

We recommend that you apply for a visitor B1/B2 visa. Please note that the UQ-Bio Summer School is NOT a degree granting program, but rather a professional meeting or conference (i.e., you should get a B1/B2 visa and not a student visa).

Depending upon the country of your nationality, you may be eligible for the visa waiver program (see https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/tourism-visit/visa-waiver-program.html for details).

Participants in the 2023 UQ-Bio Summer School students should check in before 5pm on Tuesday, May 30, and plan to depart after 10am on Wednesday, June 14. Unfortunately, we will not be able to accommodate additional nights due to space limitations.