Using Community Partnerships to Accommodate Students’ Research Interests

Many students wish to gain research experiences during their undergraduate educations. Sometimes, granting those wishes becomes difficult when the number desiring research experience outnumbers the faculty available to mentor them. At the University of North Florida, approximately 75% of the students within the Biology major are in the biomedical tracks. This translates to 917 students for nine faculty members with biomedical research interests. To better accommodate these students, the department has begun to form relationships with community partners. These relationships may allow students to gain basic science and clinical research experiences and support professional development of faculty