New Mexico State University

The Program

Doing Research

Berenice Carrillo
“When I met ( biochemistry professor ) Glenn Kuehn, I realized that I didn’t have to be a medical doctor to cure people. I could also conduct research and find the cause of a particular disease and maybe even the cure.”

What is MARC?
The Honors Undergraduate Research Program is made possible by an award to New Mexico State University through the Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) Program of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. The major purpose of the Program is to prepare undergraduate students for post-graduate advanced studies in the biomedical sciences, leading to the Ph.D.

 

What Are The Benefits?
The successful applicant will conduct research in the fields of Physiology, Chemistry, Bio-Chemistry, Microbiology or Molecular Biology in the laboratory of an NMSU professor and will participate in periodic MARC meetings on campus. Research program summaries for all MARC Program professors are available at this web site.

During the summer between the junior and senior years, MARC Fellows will participate in an 8-10 week research experience at an off-campus research-site. Travel expenses to and from the host institution will be paid by the program. During the fall of your junior year, our office compiles information about these programs and helps the MARC students apply to them. This information is available here.

Fellows receive a stipend in 12 equal monthly installments of $913. Their in-state tuition and fees as well as student health services are also paid. All expenses are provided for the Fellow to accompany the Fellow's research mentor to an annual, national meeting of the professor's scientific society. All MARC students must take the Graduate Record Examination which will be paid for by the program.

 

Who May Apply?
Fellowships are competitively awarded to as many as 25 undergraduates who have expressed a commitment to pursue post-graduate biomedical education and who will have junior status at the beginning of the Fellowship. The students must have and maintain a grade point average of at least 3.0. These fellowships must be renewed during the senior year after a review of the student's progress.

Graduate School

Sean Penwell
When he was growing up in northeast El Paso’s “Devil’s Triangle,” attending Harvard was the farthest thing from Sean Penwell’s mind, but this former MARC Fellow and New Mexico State University graduate will do just that this fall thanks to a $300,000 scholarship from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation.

Acceptable majors are:

  • Agronomy,
  • Animal Science,
  • Biochemistry,
  • Bioinformatics,
  • Biology,
  • Chemistry,
  • Environmental Science,
  • Horticulture,
  • Molecular Biology,
  • Physics,
  • Psychology,
  • Range Science or Wildlife Science

 

Is Further Information Available?
Yes! For information and application material, contact the Program's Director, Dr. Michael D. Johnson, (Chemistry Bldg., Room 288A, 505-646-3627), or the Program Coordinator, or Dr. Carol Turner, (Chemistry Bldg., Room 292, 505-646-3476).

Or check out the NIH web site: http://www.nigms.nih.gov/about_nigms/ more.html#marc