Open Opportunities in Summer 2026

Timothy O'Neil — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 20:39:41 +0000

Open Opportunities in Summer 2026 Timothy O'Neil Thu, 04/16/2026 - 14:39

Anticipating climate effects in Boulder grasslands: conservation and restoration in a changing world.

Department/Program: Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Mentor: Katharine Suding, Suding_lab@colorado.edu

Are you interested in ecology, plant science, or conservation, and looking for an opportunity to gain professional experience? We seek two part-time PAID research assistants to assist an ongoing project in Boulder’s grasslands over summer 2026 (May–Aug). Students will be investigating the fate of seeds in a large rainfall manipulation experiment. You will help answer important questions in basic and applied ecology. With a projected increase in drought frequency, together we will seek to understand how drought and grazing affect grassland plant community composition over time. This research will help us conserve our natural grasslands through impending climate changes. No experience is necessary. We strongly encourage students underrepresented in STEM (e.g. women, LGBTQ+, BIPOC), first year students, and transfer students to apply. Students must be interested in developing some of the following skillsets: accessing/reading relevant scientific literature, experimental design, data collection and management (in field and laboratory settings), data analysis, and science communication.

Understanding How People Learn From Spherical Visualizations

Department/Program: Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science

Mentor: Grace Bennett-Pierre, grace.bennett-pierre@colorado.edu

Details:

Interested in how people learn about Earth science from spherical visualizations? Join a research team to study visitor interactions when learning from an interactive touchscreen with NOAA’s Science On a Sphere (SOS) at Fiske Planetarium. Using qualitative and quantitative research methods, you’ll explore how visitors engage with Earth science visualizations in an informal learning environment. This opportunity will provide hands-on experience in developmental psychology research, STEM learning in informal environments, qualitative data analysis and data visualization. You will also gain valuable research skills such as study design, literature search, and creating a research poster. We welcome students from psychology, neuroscience, education, data or information science, or other social sciences. Coursework in statistics or research methods are a plus, but not required- just bring your curiosity and enthusiasm for learning research.

CHANGING SKIES: WRITING THROUGH THE CLIMATE CRISIS

Department/Program: Program for Writing and Rhetoric

Mentor: Jay Ellis, jay.ellis@colorado.edu

Details:

As a CU Undergraduate student, you can join the Hindsight staff and earn credit hours. Upperclassmen can take the practicum course WRTG 3095-001 for three credit hours. For underclassmen or those who can't attend the practicum time, you can take a one to three credit hour, upper or lower-division internship, provided you have at least 30 completed credit hours. We also offer volunteer positions for Graduate students and undergraduates who can't take WRTG 3095-001 or an internship. If you're interested in joining staff, add WRTG 3095-001 Journal Publishing to your course schedule or reach out to faculty advisor Dr. Jay Ellis (Jay.Ellis@colorado.edu) for information on taking an internship. See a video about what it’s like to be on staff on our website—and read our journal to see what you’ll help publish.

Critical Cartographies of the San Luis Valley: Mapping Identity through Acequias and Vernacular Socio-Ecological Practices

Department/Program: Environmental Design

Mentor: Juan Grisales, juan.grisales@colorado.edu

Details:

Are you interested in learning more about identity, water management, and design? Join our interdisciplinary research team as we work with farmers in the San Luis Valley who use acequias, man-made irrigation systems. You’ll receive research training in qualitative research methods, discourse analysis, and design, and you’ll have the opportunity to work alongside farmers and irrigators in San Luis, CO, to map relevant acequia features and conditions. As water is precarious in the West, it is important to examine the ancient irrigation techniques and their adaptation to the changing climate. Through engaging directly with the local community, you’ll learn about Colorado Hispano identity and leveraging tools of design - all while helping generate knowledge about the acequias and working on projects that will directly benefit the community.

Effects of chronic psychosocial stress on hippocampal neuroinflammation and behavioral coping style

Department/Program: Integrative Physiology

Mentor: Christopher Lowry, christopher.lowry@colorado.edu

Details:

This UROP Team Grant is a fantastic opportunity to be involved in a multi-disciplinary project that evaluates mechanisms underlying development of endophenotypes relevant to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Students involved in this project will receive training in how to handle and perform research on mice, including benchwork techniques and fundamental microbiology techniques. Students can expect to also be involved in the data analysis, manuscript preparation, and planning of future studies once the described study has been completed. Our lab has a strong record of having undergraduates included as co-authors on publications, and this opportunity will be extended to the students involved in this project. Overall, this is an immersive and multidisciplinary project that will provide the students with opportunities to learn about how to conduct research in a dynamic and productive research environment.

Mountaintop animal responses to climate change

Department/Program: Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Mentor: Christy McCain, christy.mccain@colorado.edu

Details:

Join our research team exploring how climate change is reshaping biodiversity in western mountains! Undergraduate researchers can focus on the areas that interest them most either in lab, field or both. We provide opportunities to engage in a variety of projects, including field surveys of mammals and insects, camera trap studies, and analyses of climate, museum, and monitoring data. Projects investigate how changing temperatures and moisture influence species persistence and how biological traits may help predict vulnerability to climate change. Research sites include alpine habitats in Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico. No prior research experience is required. Students will receive training and mentorship throughout the summer and will be fully integrated into an inclusive lab community. We focus on developing scientific thinking, including how to formulate hypotheses, design and implement data collection procedures, and analyze results. Students will gain experience to help them thrive in future research and professional opportunities.

Canaries in the coal mine: maintaining long-term research in Colorado’s mountain lakes

Department/Program: Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research; Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Mentor: Isabella Oleksy, isabella.oleksy@colorado.edu

Details:

This Team Grant is an opportunity for undergraduates who want to refine their field and lab skills or explore a new field while working in the beautiful Rocky Mountain National Park. This project will give students extensive experience in lake sampling field methods and water chemistry lab analyses. For students who are interested and motivated, there is a chance to take the lead on an aspect of the project, which could be developed into a presentation or senior thesis. Undergraduate researchers will be surrounded by a supportive group of fellow undergraduates, graduate students, and postdocs with different backgrounds who can help answer questions about jobs, graduate school, or science in general. This experience will have a strong emphasis on learning how to collect and analyze quality scientific data with a goal of giving students applicable skills to help them thrive in future positions.

Using RNA-based fluorescent biosensors to study metabolic changes in breast cancer

Department/Program: Biochemistry

Mentor: Amy Palmer, amy.palmer@colorado.edu

Details:

This project involves multiple undergrad students testing and using novel RNA-based fluorescent biosensors to study one carbon metabolism in breast cancer. The project will enable students to acquire skills in culturing human cells, transfecting cells with fluorescent biosensors, and using fluorescence microscopy to study how metabolism changes in response to drugs. Individual students will have the opportunity to explore a different breast cancer cell line and a different biosensor. Students will also gain skills in maintaining lab notebooks, giving research presentation, quantitative image analysis, and error analysis.

Defining how zinc regulation is altered in breast cancer

Department/Program: Biochemistry

Mentor: Amy Palmer, amy.palmer@colorado.edu

Details:

This project involves multiple undergrad students exploring the mechanism of why breast cancer cells hyper-proliferate in high zinc compared to normal mammary cells and why triple negative breast cancer cell lines die in low zinc. The project will enable students to acquire skills in culturing human cells, transfecting cells with fluorescent reporters, and using fluorescence microscopy to analyze mechanisms of cell death and proliferation. Individual students will have the opportunity to explore a different breast cancer cell line. Students will also gain skills in maintaining lab notebooks, giving research presentation, quantitative image analysis, and error analysis.

The seeds for fire-smart grassland restoration: training the next generation of community-engaged ecologists through community partnerships

Department/Program: Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Mentor: Katharine Suding, suding_lab@colorado.edu

Details:

Grassland wildfire poses a catastrophic threat to communities on the Colorado Front Range, and local governments are in urgent need of research to inform interventions that can mitigate this risk. One possible solution is to promote plant species, through restoration seeding, that produce less intense wildfires – allowing firefighters to regain control. This project will quantify the traits of grassland plant species related to fire behavior, in order to help land managers decide which species to promote in fire-smart ecological restoration to reduce grassland fire risk. In this research experience, you’ll do science that is not only rigorous – but ready to be applied on the ground. You will be trained in excellent science communication as well as foundations of fire ecology. No prior experience is required – all training will be provided. We are looking for students with an excitement for ecology and applied research regardless of experience level.

UROP invites ̽��Ƶ undergraduates to join a team of students working with faculty on a wide range of projects in many majors.

Eligibility

Students must be degree-seeking undergraduates at the University of Colorado Boulder and should not plan to graduate before the end of a proposed project's grant term.

Participate

Contact project mentors directly using the email addresses included in the project descriptions. We strongly encourage you to take the time to write unique emails to each mentor—if you plan to reach out about multiple projects. Additionally, we recommend including