Help make breakthroughs happen

Are you interested in revolutionizing dental education? We are developing innovative, color-coded 3D printed models to enhance dental training by providing detailed representations of dental structures and conditions. These models will serve as valuable educational tools, allowing students to visualize and understand complex dental anatomy and procedures more effectively. As a student researcher on this project, you will be involved in designing and producing these 3D models using specialized software, collaborating with dental professionals and educators to ensure the models meet educational standards. You will also work with educators to test the models in real classroom settings, gathering feedback to refine and improve the designs. Through this experience, you will gain hands-on exposure to 3D printing technology, deepen your understanding of dental anatomy, and contribute to the advancement of dental education. This is a unique opportunity to be part of an innovative project that bridges technology and healthcare training.

Students will dedicate 4 hours/week to the project and present outcomes at IUSD Research Day 2026.

This will be a hybrid project conducted on campus.

Do you want to make a real difference in the lives of older adults? Join our research team and help study how dentures impact the nutrition of those who wear them. Tooth loss affects more than just oral health—it can decrease chewing efficiency and proper food intake, leading to poor nutrition and an increased risk of chronic diseases. In our clinical study, we are investigating how dentures affect diet quality by using tools like malnutrition risk screenings, dietary recalls, and lab test results. As an undergraduate researcher, you’ll assist in processing and analyzing data to understand the effects of dentures on nutrition, as well as how medications and medical conditions compound this issue. You’ll gain hands-on experience working with clinical data, validating its quality, and contributing to a study that may lead to better screening practices and improved health outcomes for individuals with dentures. This is a great opportunity to make a meaningful impact on public health while gaining valuable research experience!

Students will conduct literature reviews, verify data accuracy, classify medications, and format data for statistical analysis.

This will be a hybrid project conducted on and off campus.

Are you interested in dental research and new technologies? This project explores the effectiveness of laser-activated nanobubble water irrigation in improving root canal treatments, specifically in challenging premolar canal systems. Traditional methods often struggle to remove biofilm from these intricate canals, but this study tests whether combining lasers with nanobubble-enhanced fluids can make the cleaning process more effective. As a 1RIP student, you’ll get hands-on experience with cutting-edge dental techniques. You’ll assist in preparing teeth for research, learn about the latest laser activation protocols, and help analyze biofilm removal using advanced imaging tools like fluorescence microscopy and SEM. Along the way, you'll be trained in research skills such as literature reviews, data entry, and statistical analysis. You’ll be mentored by Dr. Govindool, work alongside graduate students, and have the chance to contribute to exciting publications or presentations.

Students will assist with experiments, literature reviews, and standardizing research protocols.

This will be a hybrid project conducted on and off campus.

Are you fascinated by the hidden world of bacteria and how tiny proteins might play big roles in health and disease? Join our research team to uncover small, overlooked proteins in Streptococcus mutans, the bacterium responsible for tooth decay. Many of these proteins are so small—fewer than 50 amino acids—that they’ve been missed by traditional genome annotation methods. But some may be doing important jobs like helping bacteria communicate, transport nutrients, or even cause disease. As a 1RIP student, you’ll be introduced to cutting-edge techniques like bioinformatics, ribosome profiling, and mass spectrometry to help identify these “missing” proteins. You’ll also explore how these tiny proteins find their way to the bacterial membrane—despite being too small to interact with the usual transport machinery. Along the way, you’ll build hands-on skills in microbiology, molecular biology, and data analysis, and work closely with the principal investigator in a supportive lab environment. This is a great opportunity to dive into real research early in your college experience and contribute to a project supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Students will review literature, learn bioinformatics, microbiological methods, cloning, and protein biochemistry. Participate in all project stages and work 4-5 hours per week.

This will be an in-person project conducted on campus.

Are you curious about how science can help us detect cancer early? Join our research team through the 1RIP program and explore how biomarkers could help us identify oral cancer before it becomes life-threatening. As a 1RIP student, you’ll start by learning how to search scientific articles and write short summaries of what you find. You’ll dig into topics like how oral cancer develops and what early signs researchers are looking for. Then, you’ll use what you’ve learned to help design your own research question. Along the way, I’ll support you as you adjust to college life and help you build the skills you’ll use in any scientific or health-related career.

Students will gain critical thinking and analytical skills, navigate scientific literature, understand oral cancer biology, and receive mentorship for college life and academic planning.

This will be a hybrid project conducted on and off campus.

Are you interested in how diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease can affect the eyes—and what our internal body clocks have to do with it? Our lab studies how changes in circadian regulatory genes may lead to eye complications like diabetic retinopathy, using both tissue cultures and animal models to explore retinal health. We’re especially focused on identifying how these conditions impact the structure and function of the retina. As a student researcher, you’ll gain hands-on experience with a wide range of lab techniques, including immunofluorescence, qRT-PCR, and western blotting. You’ll also have the chance to learn specialized tools used in eye and circadian research, such as optical coherence tomography (OCT) and electroretinogram (ERG) studies. This is a great opportunity to explore vision science, gain lab skills, and learn how vision research connects with neuroscience.

Students will gain experience in tissue culture, molecular biology, image analysis, and animal studies.

This will be an in-person project conducted on campus.

Are you curious about how our genes affect allergic reactions to food? In this project, you’ll help investigate the role of the Anxa1 gene, which may play a surprising part in how the body responds to food allergies. Early evidence from mice that lack this gene suggests it might actually increase allergic reactions—something we didn’t expect. As a student researcher, you’ll work closely with the professor and a graduate student to help examine additional mice and gather more data to test this finding. There may also be opportunities to explore related projects in immunology and genetics. No prior lab experience is required—just a willingness to learn and a curiosity about how our immune systems work.

Students will perform ELISA and PCR tests, working in the lab for at least 5 hours a week.

This will be an in-person project conducted on campus.

Are you curious about how the brain helps regulate things like blood sugar, fat storage, and overall energy balance? Our lab is exploring how the brain communicates with peripheral organs—like the pancreas, liver, and adrenal glands—through the sympathetic nervous system. While some current therapies can target this system to help treat obesity and diabetes, they often affect other areas of the body and cause unwanted side effects. That’s why we’re focusing on the upstream neural systems that can specifically target functions like glucose mobilization—an ideal approach to addressing issues like hypoglycemia. However, there’s still only a superficial understanding of the unique cellular components involved, including neurotransmitters, receptors, and transcription factors. This project uses mouse models to investigate the specific neural mechanisms that control these processes. As a student researcher, you’ll work with a graduate student and take part in a wide variety of hands-on tasks—from surgical and animal care to physiological monitoring and histological analysis—all aimed at helping establish new ways to reduce body weight and adiposity.

Students will learn various laboratory techniques, including immunohistochemistry, optogenetics, and neurosurgery.

This will be an in-person project conducted on campus.

What makes some people more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease? Our research focuses on a gene called Bridging Integrator-1 (BIN1), which may play a key role in how brain cells communicate—and could be linked to the development of Alzheimer’s. We want to understand how different forms of the BIN1 gene affect brain function, and why certain variations might increase the risk of disease. As a student researcher, you’ll work with Dr. Naazneen Khan and a team of scientists at Indiana University to analyze genetic and brain data from people with and without Alzheimer’s. You’ll learn how to use bioinformatics tools, build statistical models, and create data visualizations to help uncover patterns in the data. No prior experience with genetics or coding is required—we’ll teach you everything you need to get started. Along the way, you’ll build valuable skills in critical thinking, data analysis, and science communication that can support future paths in medicine, public health, or research.

Students will analyze genetics data, clean data, and use Excel for data management.

This will be a hybrid project conducted on campus.

Are you curious about how cancer spreads and why some treatments stop working? Join our research team to explore the biology of tumor cells and what drives them to metastasize. You'll start by learning how to make plasmids—circular DNA molecules used in the lab—then move on to producing proteins and studying how oncogenes (genes that can turn cells cancerous) interact with other proteins. As part of the project, you'll help investigate the cellular mechanisms that allow tumors to resist standard therapies, contributing to research that could one day improve cancer treatment.

Students will be punctual and ready to learn while assisting with research on oncogene regulation.

This will be an in-person project conducted on campus.

Have you ever wondered what causes memory loss in Alzheimer’s disease—and how scientists are working to stop it? In Dr. Adrian Oblak’s lab, you’ll join a research team exploring a key protein called SHIP1 (INPP5D), which may influence how the brain responds to inflammation and damage in Alzheimer’s. This project introduces you to the world of neuroscience and cellular biology through hands-on experience—no prior background required. As a student researcher, you’ll help organize and review scientific articles, track and document data from brain imaging and tissue analysis, and learn how researchers use digital brain atlases to study disease progression. You’ll also assist with preparing presentations, labeling images, and entering data for future analysis—all while gaining valuable skills in scientific communication and lab research.

Students will learn about Alzheimer's disease, SHIP1, scientific research techniques, and lab teamwork in a supportive environment.

This will be an in-person project conducted on campus.

Are you curious about how our nervous system works? Ion channels are essential proteins that allow our major organs, especially the brain and nerves, to function properly. In our lab, we focus on understanding how ion channels contribute to pain signaling in the nervous system. As a 1RIP student, you’ll learn basic cell culture techniques and have the opportunity to participate in exciting calcium imaging experiments. These experiments involve cultured sensory neurons from dorsal root ganglia, allowing you to observe how ion channels play a crucial role in pain signaling. This hands-on experience will give you valuable insight into cellular biology and neuroscience!

Students will receive training to participate in experiments related to pain signaling and ion channels.

This will be an in-person project conducted on campus.

Ever wondered how exercise can benefit your health, but in different ways for different people? Join our team to explore how different types of exercise impact health outcomes! Our current project focuses on determining the optimal exercise regimens for individuals based on factors like gender, age, and health status, using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. As an undergraduate researcher, you’ll start by learning how to download data from public databases and mastering the basics of programming in R, a powerful tool for statistics and data science. Once you’re comfortable with the data and R, you’ll analyze and interpret it to uncover insights about the relationship between exercise and health. You’ll receive foundational training in programming and data analysis and will have opportunities to explore bioinformatics and data mining as the project progresses. This is a great opportunity to gain hands-on experience in a field that directly impacts health and well-being. Join us and help advance our understanding of personalized exercise recommendations!

Students will download and analyze data from public databases, focusing on personalized health insights. Quantitative backgrounds or programming experience will be helpful.

This will be a hybrid project conducted on campus.

Are you interested in public health and the spread of infectious diseases? This research project focuses on understanding how community health workers (CHWs), who are often the first to notice signs of outbreaks, use surveillance tools to support their communities. With the rise of vector-borne diseases (VBDs) like West Nile virus and Lyme disease, which are increasing due to climate change, many current surveillance systems aren’t designed to fit the daily realities that CHWs face. As an undergraduate researcher, you will design a short survey to better understand how CHWs in Indiana track, treat, and prevent VBDs. You’ll explore how existing surveillance tools support their work, what information would be most useful to them, and what challenges they encounter. After creating the survey, you’ll distribute it, analyze the responses, and present your findings to help improve future surveillance systems, ensuring they meet the needs of those directly combating these diseases in the community.

Students will design surveys, recruit participants, distribute surveys, summarize responses, and gain public health research experience.

This will be a hybrid project conducted on campus.

Are you fascinated by space and how it affects the human body? Our lab is investigating Spaceflight Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome (SANS), a condition that can impact astronauts’ vision during and after space travel—but whose exact causes and risk factors are still not well understood. To help uncover what’s happening, we use human retinal organoids and donor eye tissue to model how microgravity and space radiation affect the eyes, and to test potential therapies. As a student researcher, you’ll work closely with a graduate student and a postdoctoral associate to perform microgravity simulations, harvest tissue, run experimental assays, and analyze data. You’ll also contribute to advanced techniques like histology, SNP variant analysis, and using a human donor eye perfusion system—all aimed at helping us better understand and counteract the effects of space on human vision.

Students will gain expertise in molecular biology, biochemical assays, stem cell biology, and scientific dissemination.

This will be an in-person project conducted on campus.

Are you interested in shaping the future of education? In this research project, you’ll help review anatomy course development for Occupational Therapy (OT) students by gathering insights directly from students through focus groups and interviews. The goal is to understand what factors contribute to successful course design, professionalism, student growth, and mastery of course material. As part of the team, you’ll assist in conducting these focus group interviews, analyze the data, and help identify key elements that will improve the course. This hands-on experience will allow you to directly influence educational practices while working closely with faculty and fellow students to create a more effective and engaging learning environment for future OT students.

Students will lead focus groups and assist in analyzing qualitative data.

This will be a hybrid project conducted on campus.

Are you curious about heart health and how college students can improve it? The American Heart Association’s Life’s Essential 8 identifies eight key factors that contribute to a healthy heart, including physical activity, nutrition, sleep, and blood pressure. This study aims to explore college students' awareness of these factors and how they currently measure up to these health metrics. As an undergraduate researcher, you’ll be helping to recruit students on campus, giving them physical activity trackers, and following up with them via email to complete surveys over the course of four weeks. You’ll also get training on how to interpret the data, providing you with hands-on experience in health research and data analysis.

Students will meet fellow students, communicate via email, send surveys, and distribute Fitbit devices.

This will be a hybrid project conducted on campus.

Are you curious about how advertising during major sports events influences what people buy? Join a research project exploring how sponsorship messages during the 2026 FIFA World Cup shape viewers' attitudes, social norms, and intentions to purchase sponsored products. Using the Theory of Planned Behavior, we’ll study how exposure to these messages through various media—like TV and social platforms—affects audience behavior. As a student researcher, you'll help design and distribute an online survey, analyze responses, and interpret data to see how marketing impacts decision-making. This is a great opportunity to gain hands-on experience in social science research and sports marketing.

Students will assist with literature reviews and data collection and analysis.

This will be an in-person project conducted on campus.

Are you passionate about improving accessibility for mobility device users (MDUs) in the Indianapolis metropolitan area? We’re looking for an undergraduate researcher to help us design and develop an educational board game that highlights the challenges and opportunities of community mobility for people who use devices like canes, walkers, scooters, and wheelchairs. As part of our research team, you will conduct short interviews with MDUs to gather insights about their experiences and needs. You won’t need any coding skills for this project, but your work will help us create a game that raises awareness and promotes better community mobility. If you’re interested in making a real difference in accessibility, we’d love to have you on board!

Students will collect and analyze data to provide insights and recommendations for promoting accessibility and well-being.

This will be a hybrid project conducted on and off campus.

Are you passionate about making transportation more accessible for people with mobility disabilities? Join our research team to help develop a digital educational game that explores the real-world challenges and supports faced by people who use mobility devices like canes, walkers, scooters, and wheelchairs. This project aims to raise awareness and promote inclusive design through interactive gameplay. We are looking for an undergraduate researcher who can help develop and improve our current beta version of the game—contributing to its design, functionality, and overall user experience to ensure it accurately and effectively represents the experiences of individuals navigating community spaces with mobility aids.

Students will help implement a digital educational game by designing its aesthetics, improving accessibility, and enhancing the narrative for both single and multiplayer options. Students will apply skills from areas like Game Design Track, Introduction to Game Studies, Visual Literacy, Digital Humanities, Digital Narrative, and Interactive Design. Experience with Unity is helpful.

This will be a virtual project conducted on campus.

Are you passionate about improving health and well-being in your community? The Center for Health Policy at the Fairbanks School of Public Health is looking for first-year undergraduate interns to join our team, working on research and projects that inform health system performance, policy, and programming in Indiana. The Center collaborates with state and local health organizations to address critical issues, such as substance misuse, mental health services, social determinants of health, and population health. As an intern, you will work closely with a team of 7 health policy analysts and professors leading the research teams. You’ll contribute meaningfully to 25‒30 active health and public health projects, with opportunities to engage in policy analysis, research development, and data management. This internship will provide you with valuable hands-on experience and the chance to learn about the impact of health policy on real communities while working toward improving the health of Hoosiers.

Students will assist with data entry, survey development, attend meetings, contribute to presentations, and provide research assistance.

This will be a hybrid project conducted on campus.

Are you interested in the chemistry behind life processes? Molybdenum is a heavy metal used in many industries, but it’s also a vital trace element in the body. It forms part of a molecule called molybdenum cofactor (Moco), which is essential for several life-sustaining reactions. If Moco production is disrupted, it can lead to serious health issues. In our lab, we are exploring how a Moco-containing enzyme, nitrate reductase, helps convert nitrate to nitrite, a crucial step in various biological and environmental processes. As an undergraduate researcher, you'll get hands-on experience with molecular techniques, including protein production, purification, and biophysical studies. You will also learn essential skills in spectroscopic and kinetic techniques, all while gaining valuable insight into the field of biochemistry. Participating students must complete laboratory safety training and CITI training.

Students will learn basic laboratory techniques, time management, and foundational science.

This will be an in-person project conducted on campus.

Are you interested in understanding how diseases affect vision? In this research project, we’re studying changes in the size, number, and patterns of cells in the retina, using an animal model of papilledema — a condition that can cause vision loss in humans. The goal is to analyze digital images obtained from a confocal microscope, which are labeled for various cell types. As an undergraduate researcher, you’ll help run these images through analytical workflows to extract meaningful data about how the cells are affected. If you're curious about cell biology and the impact of diseases on vision, this project will give you hands-on experience in microscopy and data analysis!

Students will analyze images obtained by graduate students and work collaboratively to obtain data.

This will be an in-person project conducted on campus.

Have you ever wondered if Indiana’s extreme weather is truly new—or if it’s happened before? In this research project, you’ll help uncover the climate history of the North American Midwest by analyzing lake sediments that preserve thousands of years of environmental clues. These sediments act like time capsules, revealing how weather patterns, ecosystems, and even human activity have changed over the past 20,000 years. You’ll work with Dr. Broxton Bird, a paleoclimatologist, and Dr. Jeremy Wilson, an anthropologist, to explore how both climate and human societies have responded to environmental change. As a student researcher, you’ll gain hands-on experience collecting sediment cores and water samples in the field and learning lab techniques like geochemistry, radiocarbon dating, and isotope analysis. No prior experience is needed—just curiosity and a willingness to learn. This is a unique opportunity to get involved in real scientific research and contribute to understanding the Earth’s past to help prepare for its future.

Students will participate in fieldwork, process environmental samples, generate data, and explore geographic and anthropological data.

This will be an in-person project conducted on campus.

Are you curious about what gravity really is? In our lab, we’re exploring the oldest known force in the universe—gravity—to answer one of the biggest questions in physics: is gravity purely a classical force, or could it behave like a quantum interaction? We run experiments to measure the gravitational constant with extreme precision and investigate how gravity might operate at the smallest scales. As an undergraduate researcher, you could help design and build electronics, analyze experimental data, or develop simulations—depending on your interests and skills. No matter your major, there’s a place for you in this fundamental exploration of the universe.

Students will collaborate with peers, make weekly presentations, and learn physics and presentation skills.

This will be an in-person project conducted on campus.

Are you a first-year student fascinated by the ocean?! The Gilhooly Lab in the Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences is looking for two undergraduate researchers to help analyze ocean sediments collected from a spot in the Atlantic Ocean halfway between Cape Town and Rio de Janeiro. We’re studying how dust carried by wind from Africa and South America ends up in the ocean—and how that dust might act as a fertilizer for marine plants. As a student researcher, you’ll help examine these sediments to uncover what they’re made of and what they can tell us about ocean life and climate over time. No previous lab experience is needed, but you will be required to complete a Lab Safety Training course before getting started.

Students will work with sediments, measure chemical content, and plot data to analyze sediment changes over time.

This will be an in-person project conducted on campus.

Are you passionate about stream waters, food production, and Indiana’s cropland? Ever wondered how these elements are connected? Healthy cropland soils are essential for feeding the world’s growing population, and soil respiration is a key measure of soil health. Interestingly, respiration (or degassing) can also reveal important information about the biological condition of streams. Join our team to explore these connections and contribute to sustainable agriculture and healthy waters. You’ll work with soil, sediment, and water samples collected from various locations in Central Indiana, building a dataset that includes geographical information, environmental factors, and analysis results. The research involves both field visits (about 20%) and lab work (about 80%), and during your first semester, you will work closely with a graduate student. As you gain more experience, you will take on greater responsibilities. You’ll learn sample preparation and gain hands-on experience in laboratory techniques like portable respirometry and gas chromatography. This is an exciting opportunity to help develop an important indicator for assessing soil and water health!

Students will collect data, perform lab analysis, review literature, and summarize results while learning essential research methods.

This will be an in-person project conducted on and off campus.

Are you interested in how bones heal? In our lab, we're studying the role of a protein called STAT3, which is known for its involvement in inflammation, immune response, and tissue regeneration. While we know STAT3 plays a role in these processes, its specific function in bone healing isn't fully understood yet. By exploring how STAT3 influences bone repair, we hope to uncover new insights that could help treat bone fractures and disorders like osteoporosis. As an undergraduate researcher, you'll gain hands-on experience working alongside graduate students, learning key lab techniques, and contributing to important discoveries about bone health. You'll be directly involved in research, helping us understand how signaling molecules affect bone healing, and learning valuable skills that will prepare you for future studies in biology and medicine.

Students will engage in animal breeding, genotyping, experimental design, data analysis, and poster presentations.

This will be an in-person project conducted on campus.

Are you fascinated by crime scene investigations and want to learn how scientists analyze tiny clues to solve big mysteries? Join a hands-on forensic science project where you’ll research best practices for analyzing trace evidence—like fibers, hair, and other materials often left behind at a scene. You’ll help create a reference library and develop step-by-step procedures focused on microscopic analysis. Then, you’ll design a protocol for capturing high-quality digital images and build an image library of common trace materials. You’ll work closely with a Teaching Professor and a team of graduate and undergraduate assistants in forensic microscopy to gain real lab experience and contribute to resources used in forensic education.

Students will learn forensic microscopy techniques, work with teaching assistants, and develop best practices in a laboratory setting.

This will be an in-person project conducted on campus.

Are you interested in helping college students improve their sleep and mental health? This research project focuses on developing a simple digital intervention to assist students who are struggling with sleep and are at risk for serious mental health conditions. As an undergraduate research assistant, you'll play a key role in recruiting participants, administering assessments to measure sleep quality and mental health, and guiding participants through the digital sleep intervention. You'll also assist with data management and analysis. Working closely with Dr. Kyle Minor's team in the Psychology Department, you'll receive weekly supervision and gain hands-on experience in clinical psychology, contributing to research that could make a real difference in students' well-being.

Students will recruit participants, administer questionnaires, assist with digital interventions, and manage data.

This will be a hybrid project conducted on campus.

What if the way we teach science overlooks what makes geoscience unique? National efforts to address urgent challenges like climate change and natural hazards depend on helping students—especially in introductory courses—understand the true nature and practices of geoscience. But most science education research assumes that all sciences operate the same way, often relying on models from experimental fields like physics. This project, grounded in the Vision and Change for the Future of Undergraduate Geoscience Education report, aims to fill a critical gap: our current tools for assessing what students and professionals understand about geoscience aren’t based on how geoscientists actually think and work. As a student researcher, you’ll join a team using interviews and other qualitative methods to explore how geoscience is conceptualized across backgrounds and career stages. You’ll help analyze data, uncover patterns, and identify key attributes of geoscientific thinking that can inform the development of better, more inclusive assessment tools—and ultimately improve how geoscience is taught.

Students will conduct literature reviews, support interviews, transcribe data, and assist with qualitative analysis.

This will be an in-person project conducted on and off campus.

Are you curious about how the brain works? Join our biophysics lab and dive into exciting research on dopamine, a neurotransmitter that plays a crucial role in brain function. Our lab is exploring how dopamine moves between neurons and interacts with cell membranes, focusing on the fact that dopamine cannot cross the blood-brain barrier, while its precursor, levodopa, can. This difference is key to understanding brain health. As a 1RIP student, you'll become a vital member of our research team, working closely with Professor Horia Petrache and experienced graduate and undergraduate students in the Science (LD) building. You'll learn how to prepare membrane systems and conduct experiments using advanced techniques like Dynamic Light Scattering, Fluorescence Spectroscopy, and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. These experiments will help us understand how dopamine and levodopa interact with lipid membranes. This is an incredible opportunity to gain hands-on experience in biophysics research, develop valuable lab skills, and contribute to cutting-edge science.

Students will prepare samples, perform measurements, analyze data, and participate in weekly literature discussions.

This will be an in-person project conducted on campus.

Have you ever wondered how forests are restored after the trees have been removed? Once, vast forests covered much of Indiana, but over the past 200+ years, most of the land was cleared for agriculture and development. Today, roughly 21% of the state’s land area is forested, a significant increase from the early 1900s when it was just 6.5%. The movement to restore forest habitat is based on our growing understanding of the many benefits forests provide, from oxygen production and shading to resources like lumber and medicine. Riparian forests, which grow along rivers, are especially important in moderating flooding. The Center for Earth and Environmental Science (CEES) has been studying the restoration of these riparian forests for 25 years at the Lilly ARBOR (Answers for Restoring the Banks of Our River), located on the eastern bank of the White River. In this research project, you’ll work with Dr. Victoria Schmalhofer and the CEES team to help assess forest regeneration by tracking the growth and survival of trees planted 25 years ago in a flood-prone area. You’ll spend time in the forest measuring tree diameter, assessing tree health, and conducting a general biological inventory of the area. All observations will be uploaded to the iNaturalist platform. Students will also have the opportunity to be involved in a 25-year survey of the forest’s progress. Though the ARBOR is located just off-campus by the river, it’s important to note that you’ll always work with others and never alone. Working outdoors near the river can present challenges, but it offers a unique chance to contribute to meaningful ecological research.

Students will learn tree sampling methods, plant identification, and participate in environmental stewardship activities.

This will be an in-person project conducted on and off campus.

Have you ever wondered how simple creatures like worms can organize themselves into complex colonies without anyone giving them instructions? At IU Indianapolis, we’re using machine learning, simulations, and data analysis to uncover the patterns behind worm behavior. We work with experimental data collected by our collaborators at UTSA to study how these creatures behave in different environments. As part of our team, you’ll work closely with a graduate student mentor to process and analyze this data. You’ll help improve image segmentation, which trains computers to recognize worms in videos, and prepare datasets for simulations. No prior coding experience is required — just curiosity, attention to detail, and an interest in computational research and biological systems!

Students will process and analyze experimental data using machine learning models, image processing techniques, and segmentation tools.

This will be an in-person project conducted on campus.

Have you ever felt dismissed or interrupted in a professional setting, making you question your place in a field? Imagine asking a senior researcher at a conference about their work, only to be met with a look of dismissal, or trying to raise an important question in a meeting, only to have someone constantly interrupt you. Over time, these experiences can make you feel like you don’t belong, and may even lead you to quit. Unfortunately, the American research workforce can’t afford to lose the talents of bright students because of incivility. In our lab, we’re exploring why people engage in incivility and how powerful emotions and threats to one’s social standing can drive this behavior. We also investigate the concept of moral licensing, where individuals feel justified in committing uncivil acts after proving themselves as “good” people. To address this issue, we’re developing and testing training programs designed to foster empathy and reduce incivility. As an undergraduate researcher, you’ll be part of a team that includes faculty, post-doctoral fellows, and other students, all working together to understand the mechanisms behind incivility and assess different training approaches. Your tasks will involve helping design and conduct experiments with human participants to test the effectiveness of various empathy training programs. You’ll also work on examining the effects of power, threat, and moral licensing in creating incivility, and evaluate the outcomes of different training modalities. Under the guidance of senior students and faculty, you’ll gain invaluable experience in experimental design, data collection, and exploring the psychological dynamics that contribute to harmful behavior.

Students will develop evaluation materials, collect and clean data, perform descriptive statistics, and learn SPSS data analysis skills.

This will be a hybrid project conducted on and off campus.

What if you had your own personalized AI tutor, advisor, and career coach—all working with your professors to help you succeed in college and beyond? This project explores how we can design and test a Human-AI Collaborative Learning System (HACLS) that combines five specialized AI agents to support students and educators: a tutoring agent (StuTuAi), teaching assistant (EduTaAi), academic advisor (AcAdAi), career coach (MeCaAi), and a central organizer (FazBot) that pulls together course materials from syllabi and learning platforms. As a student researcher, you’ll get to use these tools for your own learning while also helping test and improve them. You’ll evaluate how students interact with the AI, suggest improvements, and explore how these agents can support academic success and career readiness. Along the way, you’ll learn about AI in education, user experience design, and the ethics of human-AI collaboration—while helping shape the future of how we learn.

Students will test AI agents, gather student feedback, refine AI prompts, and contribute to learning analytics and ethical considerations.

This will be a hybrid project conducted on campus.

Are you curious about how we can make AI systems more human-centered, safe, and trustworthy? Join a project focused on developing an “Artificial Consciousness – AI Control Module,” a framework that helps AI systems align with human values like safety, fairness, accuracy, and transparency. This control module uses multiple AI agents that represent different human goals and work together—through a trust-based negotiation process—to guide the outputs of AI systems in a way that makes them more understandable and reliable. As a student researcher, you’ll collaborate with a team of master’s and PhD students, conduct literature reviews, join project meetings, and help write and test code that contributes to this cutting-edge work in ethical AI design.

Students will conduct literature reviews, participate in meetings, develop code, and contribute to impactful AI research.

This will be a hybrid project conducted on campus.

Do you have a passion for using technology to improve healthcare outcomes? Join our team to work on NeoRoo, a mobile health (mHealth) platform designed to support nurses caring for newborns in low-resource settings. Each year, millions of babies are born too early or too small, and while skin-to-skin care (also called Kangaroo Mother Care) can improve their chances of survival, it’s hard for caregivers to monitor its effectiveness. That’s where NeoRoo comes in. As a 1RIP student, you’ll help us test and improve a prototype that will be used by healthcare workers in Kenya and India. You might assist with user interface design, learn how to gather and analyze feedback from nurses and doctors, or help evaluate how well the system works. Don't miss this opportunity to make a meaningful impact in healthcare technology and contribute to improving outcomes for premature babies around the world!

Students will contribute to developing the NeoRoo app, focusing on user interface, neonatal vital signs monitoring, and communication features. Skills in HTML, JavaScript, and Flutter are beneficial.

This will be a hybrid project conducted on campus.

Do you want to be at the forefront of AI and healthcare research? Join our research team and be part of a collaborative group of clinicians, biomedical engineers, and computer scientists working to solve real-world problems in cancer diagnosis and treatment. As a 1RIP student, you’ll start by learning how to review scientific literature, explore existing AI tools, and understand how technology can support clinical decision-making. You’ll have the chance to help build or test models that analyze patient data and contribute to tools that could improve health outcomes. You’ll also work alongside a welcoming group of undergraduate and graduate students who will support you every step of the way.

Students will handle medical imaging data, learn AI technologies, analyze healthcare data, and present your research at lab meetings and conferences.

This will be a hybrid project conducted on and off campus.

Are you curious about how people overcome their fear of learning to code—especially later in life and outside of tech careers? Join a research-creative project that’s turning real-life stories into a book called Learning to Code Later, which explores how librarians, educators, and other professionals build tech confidence without a computer science background. As a student researcher, you’ll work with Dr. Austin Stroud, a lecturer and author with experience in digital services and library science education. You’ll help collect and analyze interviews with professionals, uncover what makes coding feel intimidating (or empowering), and contribute to creating student-friendly content like reflection questions, glossaries, and coding explainers. Along the way, you’ll gain hands-on experience in research, writing, and the creative process behind publishing a book. Whether you're into education, technology, psychology, or storytelling, this project offers a welcoming space to explore how we learn—and how we help others learn, too. Most of our meetings will be on Zoom, but there will be chances to collaborate in person on campus about once a week.

Students will identify themes from interviews, design reflection exercises, conduct literature reviews, and optionally co-author features in the manuscript.

This will be a hybrid project conducted on and off campus.

Have you ever wondered why things happen the way they do—like why a certain video shows up in your feed, or how doctors and judges make tough decisions? In this project, we’ll explore how both humans and artificial intelligence (AI) reason about cause and effect. Working as part of a small research team with close faculty mentorship, you'll investigate how AI models create explanations, how humans interpret them, and what makes an explanation feel clear, trustworthy, or persuasive. You'll read and discuss current research, analyze real-world examples, and build skills in critical thinking and communication. No technical background is required—just curiosity and an interest in the intersection of reasoning, ethics, and technology. You'll work closely with a faculty mentor in a small, supportive research team.

Students will study real-world situations, learn about human and AI reasoning, design surveys, and use AI tools with guidance. Engage in discussions connecting ethics, technology, and human behavior.

This will be an in-person project conducted on campus.

Are you interested in understanding how diseases like Alzheimer’s and cancer develop at the cellular level? This project uses cutting-edge spatial omics technology and machine learning approaches to reveal how cells and their organizations change as these complex diseases progress. By modeling the development of these diseases with computational tools, we aim to uncover the biochemical and biophysical mechanisms behind them. As a 1RIP student, you will get hands-on experience coding to analyze the spatial-temporal patterns of disease development, helping to interpret data and gain insights into how diseases evolve over time. You will also anticipate joining our weekly lab meeting to get immersive experience of interdisciplinary research. Whether you're interested in biology, computer science, or health sciences, this project will provide you with valuable skills and knowledge in both computational analysis and disease research.

Students will engage in bioinformatics research, data science, and biomedical technologies. Learn data retrieval, preprocessing, modeling, and analysis.

This will be a hybrid project conducted on campus.

Are you interested in art that transforms public spaces? Join our team for a hands-on experience that introduces students to the fundamentals of sculpture and construction, with a focus on monumental public art. As a 1RIP student, you’ll learn the basics of sculpture and construction, gaining hands-on experience with studio workflows, fabrication techniques, and how art is prepared for professional exhibitions—all while contributing to real-world public art projects. To be successful in this role, you must be able to lift 25 pounds and feel comfortable working in an arts industrial setting. PPE and safety training will be provided to ensure a safe and productive environment. No experience is required—just a willingness to learn and get your hands dirty!

Students will assist with tool safety, sculpture fabrication, team collaboration, and exhibition preparation in a dynamic studio environment.

This will be an in-person project conducted on campus.

Are you passionate about music, technology, and health? The Music and Arts Technology (MAT) Department at IU Indianapolis is looking for a first-year student to join an exciting research project focused on the soundscapes of electronic music environments and how to protect the hearing of musicians and audience members. This project explores how sound affects us both creatively and physically, while aiming to protect hearing health in music settings. We’ll be analyzing sound levels at electronic music performances and testing different hearing protection devices using advanced sound measurement equipment like sound level meters and noise dosimeters. As an undergraduate researcher, you’ll actively participate in data collection and analysis, operating sound measurement equipment, and using MATLAB to interpret the results. You’ll also help test hearing protection devices to assess how well they balance preventing noise-induced hearing loss while maintaining the musical experience. Under the guidance of Dr. Timothy Hsu, you’ll contribute to developing noise reduction strategies and programs that can make a real difference in the music community. Join us in the AcousTech lab at IU Indianapolis to work alongside a dedicated research team and gain hands-on experience with cutting-edge technology that blends music with health science. This is your chance to make a meaningful impact in the world of electronic music and hearing protection!

Students will measure sound levels, assess hearing protection devices, and gain experience in experimental design and statistical analysis.

This will be an in-person project conducted on campus.

Are you interested in learning how music can support recovery from opioid use? Our research team, led by Dr. Kate Myers-Coffman, is working with a local outpatient opioid treatment clinic to explore the therapeutic uses of music therapy for individuals receiving medication-assisted opioid treatment. We are investigating how a neurobiologically grounded music therapy program can improve recovery outcomes by increasing hope, stress management, coping skills, self-compassion, and relaxation, which can help reduce cravings and improve mood. As an undergraduate research assistant, you will join our team of undergraduate and graduate researchers to assist with data collection, help manage study logistics, and learn how to analyze qualitative data. You will also participate in study team meetings, contribute to data management tasks, and assist in projects that share our findings with the public through presentations and journal submissions. This opportunity will allow you to gain valuable experience in study management, data analysis, community engagement, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Come be part of this exciting research community and make a meaningful contribution to the health and wellbeing of Indianapolis residents!

Students will assist with consenting, data collection, study management, data analysis, and community engagement.

This will be a hybrid project conducted on and off campus.

Are you interested in the relationship between the arts and religious traditions in the contemporary world? The Religion, Spirituality, and the Arts program at IU Indianapolis invites first-year students to join a dynamic research project exploring how religious narratives are expressed through artistic forms. In this public seminar, practicing artists and humanities experts come together to discuss and create works inspired by these narratives. As an undergraduate researcher, you will help develop the seminar, interact with artists, and contribute to building both an online and in-person exhibition. You'll gain hands-on experience with grant writing, reporting, and event management, while also working with various stakeholders across campus and the city. This is an exciting opportunity to explore museum studies, exhibition management, and public engagement while contributing to a project that bridges the arts and spirituality in meaningful ways.

Students will engage in research, grant writing, exhibition development, and historical research.

This will be a hybrid project conducted on and off campus.

Are you interested in improving colleges and universities? With over 4,000 colleges and universities in the U.S. alone, each institution is striving to make a meaningful difference in the lives of students, families, and communities. In this research project, you will have the opportunity to work closely with a faculty mentor in the Center for Leading Improvements in Higher Education to conduct in-depth literature reviews and interviews related to assessing and improving higher education. Through this work, you will learn how to frame a research topic or question effectively, identify key words and search terms, and use a variety of search tools—including academic and professional sources and interviews with key informants—to gather relevant information. You will also synthesize and summarize your findings, gaining a deeper understanding of how these insights can lead to practical recommendations for improving the educational experience. At the end of the project, you will present both a written and oral report that outlines your research and provides recommendations for higher education improvement. Additionally, you’ll have the opportunity to participate in the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis, the oldest and largest event in the U.S. focused on assessing and improving higher education. This annual event, which takes place in late October, attracts more than 1,000 participants from across the U.S. and around the world. Your role at the conference will include serving as a host to presenters and attendees, helping them navigate the conference experience and engage with the latest ideas and practices in the field. This will give you a unique opportunity to connect with education professionals and gain insight into the future of higher education.

Students will conduct literature reviews, interviews, synthesize findings, and develop recommendations to improve higher education.

This will be a hybrid project conducted on and off campus.

Have you ever wondered what it is like to be the grandchild of an internationally famous figure? Did that status help or handicap that individual's own achievements? Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) was the best-known and most influential African American in the 19th century. His political connections and economic resources were available to assist his twenty-one grandchildren in their own aspirations, but those younger African Americans still had significant racial prejudices to overcome in the late 19th and early 20th century. As a 1RIP student, you’ll choose one of Douglass’s twenty-one grandchildren and dive into their life story. You’ll read and analyze letters exchanged with their legendary grandfather, research their personal and professional experiences, and consider how family legacy both empowered and constrained them. This is a powerful opportunity to connect historical research with questions about identity, privilege, race, and generational change.

Students will transcribe Douglass letters, verify transcriptions, research historical annotations, and contribute to an online documentary collection.

This will be an in-person project conducted on campus.

Are you interested in the impact of prison on mental health? Many online resources now archive prison narratives, including writings by incarcerated individuals, interviews, and historical documents. This growing body of work includes projects like The American Prison Writing Archive, The Visiting Room Project, and JSTOR’s American Prison Newspapers. For this research project, I’m looking for an undergraduate research assistant to help comb through these resources and catalog narratives that address the effects of prison on mental health. You will work closely with me to identify relevant stories, organize the findings, and contribute to understanding how incarceration influences mental well-being. If you're passionate about social issues and mental health, this is a great opportunity to be involved!

Students will conduct database searches, read primary literature, write narrative descriptions, and catalog citations.

This will be a virtual project conducted off campus.

Are you interested in using your voice to create social change? We are looking for engaged and motivated college students to help explore the political power of students and how your voices can be amplified for transformative social impact. In this immersion project, you will work closely with Professor Trevor Potts, the Director of Civic Engagement, in the Department of Communication. Together, we’ll focus on three main research goals: First, building on existing partnerships in domestic violence prevention, we’ll explore new pathways for community-centered engagement. Second, we will facilitate dialogues with community partners to create "transformative" experiences for both the community and student leaders. Finally, we’ll measure the impact of civic engagement efforts through focus groups, assessing how collaborations with community partners have impacted both students and the wider community. This is a unique opportunity to amplify student voices in political and social change, and if you’re passionate about making a difference, we would love for you to join us!

Students will dialogue with community partners, facilitate focus groups, and explore political agency in university education.

This will be a hybrid project conducted on and off campus.

Are you interested in helping future teachers succeed on their certification exams? Join our collaborative project focused on supporting students preparing for the PRAXIS exam—a key step for becoming a licensed educator. We’re building interactive, multimedia study platforms that make studying more effective and engaging. As part of the team, you’ll help review PRAXIS exam content areas, identify the most effective study strategies, and organize practice materials into themed modules like content knowledge, instructional practices, and literacy foundations. Using Google Sites, you’ll design and build digital study tools that include quizzes, video explainers, tips from peers, and links to reliable resources.

Students will serve as curriculum designers, content curators, and digital learning facilitators by developing an interactive Google Site to support future teachers preparing for the PRAXIS exam. Students will research exam content areas, organize study m

This will be an in-person project conducted on and off campus.

Do you love anime? Have you ever wondered what draws people to anime conventions? With over 350 anime conventions happening annually in the United States, there's nearly one for every day of the year! This project will dive into understanding why people attend these events. As a 1RIP student, you'll work with a "Code Book" to organize and analyze responses from convention-goers. Your task will be to tag these responses by broad themes, allowing us to identify common trends and motivations. You’ll collaborate closely with Faculty Librarian Billy Tringali, the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Anime and Manga Studies, and be part of a team that explores the fascinating world of anime fandom. This is a digital humanities project, making it a great fit for students interested in anime, manga, or any major in the Humanities or Social Sciences!

Students will code survey responses, work on a hybrid schedule, and potentially present and publish research findings.

This will be a hybrid project conducted on campus.

Are you curious about how studying human skeletons can reveal the untold stories of Indianapolis’ past? Join the Life and Death in Early Indianapolis project to explore how the analysis of skeletal remains can deepen our understanding of life, death, and health in the 19th century. As part of a city-led excavation of Greenlawn Cemetery—Indianapolis’ original burial ground, now being disturbed by modern development—you’ll help analyze remains from one of the city's earliest cemeteries, established in 1821 along the White River. As a 1RIP student in this project, you’ll learn how to process, inventory, and analyze human skeletal remains alongside Dr. Wilson and a team of researchers. You’ll help build biological profiles for individuals, estimating their sex, age-at-death, stature, and ancestry. Depending on preservation, you’ll also examine signs of health and disease, such as tooth loss, abscesses, childhood stress indicators, and bone changes linked to infection. This hands-on research will give you a direct connection to the lived experiences of Indianapolis' earliest residents—and a powerful introduction to anthropology, archaeology, and human biology.

Students will learn to identify and analyze skeletal remains, participate in mentoring, and present findings at community meetings and research events.

This will be an in-person project conducted on campus.

What if all your social media posts were collected and stored in a library, and someone had to decide when and how to share them with the world? In this project, we will explore the process of proposing, obtaining permissions, and launching a digital edition of important texts, including letters and manuscripts from the Gordon Lish Collection at the Lilly Library in Bloomington. As an undergraduate researcher, you will help document this process by creating an Instagram or other social media account to showcase the work. You’ll learn about the intricacies of curating and sharing historical texts in the digital age, and you’ll play a key role in bringing these fascinating materials to a wider audience. If you’re interested in the intersection of history, technology, and social media, this project is for you!

Students will transcribe manuscripts, annotate transcriptions, create social media posts, and collaborate with researchers.

This will be a hybrid project conducted on and off campus.

Are you interested in improving mental health care for children and families, especially in underserved communities? Join our research team to explore how telebehavioral health interventions can proactively address behavioral health issues in children, youth, and families, particularly in rural and marginalized populations. In collaboration with Dawn Health, a telehealth company, we are investigating how telehealth can provide preventive and early intervention services to improve mental health outcomes and reduce disparities in care. As an undergraduate researcher, you’ll help evaluate the effectiveness of these interventions by analyzing data on how telehealth addresses factors like race, socioeconomic status, and geography, and assess its ability to engage families and caregivers in treatment. You’ll also examine how telehealth can overcome technological barriers, such as internet access and digital literacy, which often prevent underserved populations from accessing care. Using a combination of surveys, interviews, and statistical analysis, you’ll contribute to the development of evidence-based policy recommendations aimed at scaling telebehavioral health services and promoting broader adoption in healthcare and public policy. This is a fantastic opportunity to gain hands-on experience in behavioral health research and make a real impact on improving access to care!

Students will learn about grant writing, study design, data collection, analysis, and manuscript development.

This will be a hybrid project conducted on campus.