LIVE for Plants:
The Summer Experience
JUNE 5 - August 11, 2023

Yes! As long as you are willing to work hard and invest yourself in the project, you will gain skills and experience that should help you move forward in any direction you choose. Your day to day activities will include computer analyses and molecular work (pipetting), so you may rarely have to look at a whole plant. You may also learn to appreciate plants for the biochemical miracles that they are. :p

Yes! As long as you are willing to put forth a little work, you should be fine. You will be learning skills at the beginner level and you will have mentors present to help you work through any issues you encounter. Just think how impressive this will be on that resume!

Participation in this summer program automatically comes with registration and travel expenses for the 2024 American Society of Plant Biologists meeting, (location TBA). After your research summer, you will be able to design your very own research poster to present at the meeting.

This is a very large international meeting, and presenting at this conference is not only prestigious, but it can help you make connections and establish a scientific network. You will be expected to attend if you participate in the program, so please make sure to discuss any conflicts with Dr. Murphy.  

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Yes. Sun's out, pun's out.

Generally yes, though slight accommodations may be made on a case by case basis.

Sparkles and Unicorns! Your first few days you will move in to your apartment, and you will have orientation and safety training so that you can feel confident in your laboratory space. After this introductory period, you can largely expect a "normal" work week, reporting daily from 9 to 5, though this can depend on the type of experiment you are performing each day. You will also attend weekly lab meetings and give the occasional update or presentation on your project. This may seem intimidating, but the point is to practice communicating scientific thoughts! There may also be opportunities to attend meetings or social events with other undergraduates who are on campus from other programs. 

No! You will most likely have your own room in shared apartment on the Cornell campus, which is adjacent to BTI. It is probable that you will have apartment mates that share common living space. Dr. Murphy will be in an apartment near enough to access if there is an emergency, but not so near that you must live in fear of encountering her in your personal sphere.

Most of the apartments are fully furnished, so you need only bring personal items like bedding, towels, toiletries, and clothing. You will receive a more detailed checklist if you are selected. 

Yes. Cornell University and BTI require all employees, whether they work on campus or work fully remotely, to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, or to have obtained a university-approved medical or religious exemption.  For additional information on this requirement, please visit:  https://hr.cornell.edu/covid/university-response/vaccination.