The First-Year Research Experience (FYRE) is intended to engage students in the process of research early in their college experience. During the past 3 years, FYRE has been offered as a 2-semester research-based course. This new format is distinct from one-on-one mentoring, and it presents unique opportunities for training and mentoring undergraduate researchers. Through an interactive format, participants in this workshop will become familiar with the UNV171/172 mechanism that is used to offer FYRE courses, learn about the variety of courses that have been offered, and explore their outcomes. Participants will also learn about the process and timeline of offering a FYRE course.
Joyce J. Fernandes, Ph.D., is Professor of Biology and Director of Undergraduate Research. Her research focusses on reorganization of motor pathways in the fruit fly, which is a well-established genetic model system. Dr. Fernandes's research projects have been funded by the National Institutes of Health as well as the National Science Foundation. She has mentored over 50 undergraduate researchers during her time at Miami. Dr. Fernandes was instrumental in developing the First Year Research Experience (FYRE) program at Miami, which provides opportunities for early involvement in undergraduate research. She teaches courses in Cell Biology and Developmental Biology as well as a 2-semester FYRE sequence.
As former chair of the Undergraduate Research Committee of University Senate, Dr. Joseph Johnson proposed and led the creation of the Office of Research for Undergraduates (ORU), where he served as its inaugural director from 2014-2017. During his time at ORU, he secured funding to lead the redesign of the FYRE program to a course-based research model. He has led three year-long iterations of the FYRE courses (UNV 171/172) on a variety of topics in the behavioral sciences, reaching 55 first-year students. In the Department of Psychology, Dr. Johnson teaches statistics, research methods, and scientific writing, and he does research using computational models to capture the cognitive processses associated with decision-making behavior.