Life Sciences Program
Independent Study
Information Night
February 2014
What is a Research Practicum ?
LIFE SCI 3RP3
 Provides students an opportunity to explore potential
research projects while volunteering in the laboratory or
clinic of a faculty member in Science or Health Sciences
 Students will complete 60 hours of practicum work in the
laboratory or clinic over one term
 Students will be required to complete a research proposal
as a final graded deliverable for the course
3RP3 - Prerequisites
 Credit or registration in SCIENCE 2C00
 Registration in Level III or above of Life Sciences
 Permission from
 Research Supervisor
 Director of Life Sciences (or delegate)
 Completion of the required application form
3RP3 - Course Restrictions
 LIFE SCI 3RP3 is not open to students with credit or
registration in the following courses at the University





Department- or program-based applied placement
Independent Study
Research Seminar
Internship
Practicum course
 Students may not take LIFE SCI 3RP3 and an Independent
Study Course concurrently
 LIFE SCI 3RP3 must precede an Independent Study Course but
is not a required prerequisite for LIFE SCI 4A03, 4B06, 4C09
What is an Independent Study?
 LIFE SCI 4A03, 4B06, 4C09
 1- or 2-term course with one supervisor
 Conduct Independent research or investigation
 Formulate a scientific hypothesis
 Design and conduct research to support or refute
hypothesis
 Learn and utilize research techniques
 Apply statistics
 Present results and analyses in a written thesis
 Oral or poster presentation
4A03, 4B06, 4C09 - Prerequisites
 Registration in Level IV of Honours Life
Sciences
 Requires permission of the supervising faculty
member and course coordinator
 LIFE SCI 4A03
 LIFE SCI 4B06
 LIFE SCI 4C09
CA of 7.0
CA of 8.5
4A03/4B06/4C09 – Time
Commitment
 LIFE SCI 4A03:
 LIFE SCI 4B06:
 LIFE SCI 4C09:
6-9 hours/week over 1 term
9-12 hours/week over 2 terms
15-18 hours/week over 2 terms
How are you evaluated? 4A03
The marking scheme for the one term independent study
course is as follows.
Literature Review
Lab/Clinic/Field/Computer
Formal Presentation
Final Research Proposal Report
20%
30%
20%
30%
How are you evaluated?
4B06/4C09
The marking scheme for project and thesis courses are
as follows.
Research Proposal/Lit Review
Mid-year assessment
Written final report or thesis
Lab/Clinic/Field/Computer
Final presentation in lab meeting, Ontario
10%
15%
25%
30%
Biology Day or Life Sci Interdisciplinary Research Symposium
20%
LS 4A/B/C are optional except for
students in Origins specialization
Must take ORIGINS 4A09
Supervision
• These courses require the supervision of a professor
from the Faculty of Science or Faculty of Health Sciences.
• It is YOUR responsibility to find a supervising faculty
member for your project
• Further Supervisor search tips are available on the Life
Sciences website.
Finding a suitable research supervisor in
Faculty of Science
 Use the following links to Department and Faculty
websites to find potential Academic supervisors:
DEPARTMENT
DEPARTMENT FACULTY WEBSITE
Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences
http://www.fhs.mcmaster.ca/biochem/people_faculty.html
Biology
http://www.biology.mcmaster.ca/faculty
Chemistry and Chemical Biology
http://www.chemistry.mcmaster.ca/research-home
Geography and Earth Sciences
(including Environmental Sciences)
http://www.science.mcmaster.ca/geo/faculty/faculty.html
Kinesiology
http://www.science.mcmaster.ca/kinesiology/people/faculty.html
Mathematics and Statistics
http://www.math.mcmaster.ca/people/index.php?position_selected=2
Med Physics & Applied Rad Sci
http://www.science.mcmaster.ca/medphys/people.html
Physics & Astronomy (&Biophysics)
http://www.physics.mcmaster.ca/?menu=18#page=All
Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour
http://www.science.mcmaster.ca/pnb/people.html
Finding a suitable research supervisor in
Faculty of Health Science
 There are too many departments in the Faculty
of Health Sciences to list here:
 The following link is a good starting place:
http://fhs.mcmaster.ca/main/schools_and_departments.html
 Explore the Departments that interest you and look for
potential faculty members to contact for an interview
Then what? Contact the professor!
• Send an email inquiry, introducing yourself, indicating your
interest—be specific about what research you would like to do;
explain that you are looking for a supervisor for a project or a thesis,
and would like an appointment to discuss potential research topics
• If you have taken a course with the professor, let him/her know that,
and if you have a list of courses or an unofficial transcript, include
that as an attachment
• You want to impress the professor and sell yourself as being an asset
to the research group
• Do not simply say “Are you taking on any more students?”
• Do this all relatively briefly
When should you do this?
• If you are in Level 2, start looking for a supervisor at
the beginning of Level 3 (October and November)
• Offer to complete a Life Sci 3RP3 (Life Sciences
Research Practicum) with the professor in the spring
or summer term or in Level 3 so you can learn more
about their research.
Who will you really be working
with?
• In many instances, the day-to-day training will be with postdocs or graduate students in the lab
• You may not meet with your supervisor more than once or
twice a month or once weekly during lab meetings
• Sometimes, however, you may work very closely with the
professor---it all depends on your circumstances
• SO ASK YOUR potential supervisor about this BEFORE you
start the project if this is important to you.
Forum for presenting your
results:
 Ontario Biology Day
Conference held annually in
March and rotates around 12
universities in the province.
 Lab Meetings
 Conferences
Forum for presenting your
results:
 Life Sciences
Interdisciplinary
Research Symposium
(LS-IRS)
Run by the Life Sciences
Program for HLS
2014 Event: April 1
Ewart Angus, HSC-1A area
All welcome to attend oral and
poster presentations of current
students.
Application deadlines:
LIFE SCI 3RP3
30 days prior to the start of the
term in which the course takes
place
LIFE SCI 4A03
Fall Term 1: July 1
Winter Term 2: November 1
Spring/Summer: March 1
LIFE SCI 4B06/4C09
Spring/Summer: March 1
Fall/Winter: March 31
Note: these deadlines are for submission of forms,
but you are strongly encouraged to contact a
Faculty member as soon as possible to arrange
supervision.
Examples of Past Projects
Tooth Development in Sea Urchins.
3 unit project
Department of Biology
Newborn genetic screening.
6 unit project
Biochemical Genetics Program
Examples of Past Projects
Molecular markers of heart
disease.
3 unit project
Department of Pathology &
Molecular Medicine
Cell cycle regulation in flies.
9 unit project
Department of Biology
Examples of Past Projects
Bone density and maternal health
Biochemistry and Health Sciences
Basic Research (Lab Bench).
-drug discovery
Group projects with Dr. Dej
and Dr. Gupta (Biology)
Nematode
phylogenies
These projects give
students the opportunity
to work independently
while still acquiring the
skill of coming back
together in a group to
aggregate and analyze
the collected data.
Field with Dr. Chow-Fraser
Field
opportunity
•
In partnership with Hamilton
Naturalist Club, determine the
ecological status of endangered
species such as the flowering
dogwood and American chestnut
in Spooky Hollow
•
Conduct long-term monitoring of
streams and wetlands in
Hamilton region or in the Bruce
Peninsula
More information: www.science.mcmaster.ca/lifesciences/