Welcome!

The basic steps to doing summer biology research at Reed are:

  1. Talk to faculty and learn about what their current projects are 

  2. Propose a project based on their research

  3. Apply for a grant to fund your research 

  4. If you get funded: figure out summer housing

On this website, you’ll find help with each of these steps!


To join the Reed bio department Slack, which often has announcements about summer research events and resources, use this invite link.

    1. Start talking with faculty early. Starting to build relationships in the fall will increase your chances of being awarded a fellowship for the following summer.

    2. Ways to start building relationships, whether or not you have taken a class with the faculty member: 

      1. Attend faculty office hours (especially if you are in the class, but they are open to all)

      2. Attend Bio seminars…and then talk to faculty about the speakers (these can also sometimes lead to opportunities to research with seminar speakers, which can be funded through the Summer Opportunity Fellowship Award.)

      3. Attend Bio social events & workshops… and talk with faculty members

      4. Ask faculty to attend their lab meetings to learn about the research in the lab.

      5. Ask if there are paid animal care, dish washing, etc. positions in the lab.

      6. More rare, but ask if there is any volunteer work in the lab.

      7. For juniors- Ask about doing an independent research project (for credit by taking 481) during the academic year

      8. Not sure where you want to start or nervous about approaching faculty? Talk to Kayla Johnston (the faculty administrative coordinator for the biology department; email johnstonk@reed.edu) for some more tips and advice on where to get started.

    3. Be strategic about which labs you apply for (especially as a sophomore)

      1. Focus on applying to do research with the faculty you have taken a class with (or developed a relationship with using the strategies above)

      2. Some labs are more competitive than others. Feel free to talk to faculty (or Kayla) to determine which labs might have more research opportunities available.

    4. Don’t forget to apply for off-campus opportunities too!

      1. Reedies are often very competitive for REUs and other off campus research (especially after your Junior year). 

      2. Deadlines start early (often in January), so start researching/planning in the fall.

      3. Reed has funding for support off-campus unpaid research projects.

      4. Talk to faculty about doing research with their collaborators in other institutions.

      5. Talk to seminar speakers to see if their lab is looking for summer students.

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  • The biology student lounge, located in room 101 of the Biology building (all the way at the end of the hall down by Paradox), is a great place to chill, do homework, and meet other biology students. 

    Link to Marissa’s zine, info about club for students of color 

    StemGems is a club for gender minorities in STEM. They host study sessions, trips to Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, and other club events, with the goal of building community and sharing resources among gender minorities in STEM. To join the Discord, use this link: https://discord.gg/fu6Nwjy8NJ. 

    Out in STEM is a nationwide organization for queer people in STEM that has chapters across hundreds of organizations and universities; each year, they host a conference for queer people in STEM. The Reed chapter of oSTEM takes a group to the conference each year, and they host club meetings for queer STEM Reedies to build community. To join the mailing list, email ostem@reed.edu.