REU Undergraduate Internships

The Research Experience for Undergraduates Program in Systematics and Evolutionary Biology is funded by the National Science Foundation and has been in place for 30 years. Our program brings approximately 10 students to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City each summer for a ten-week experience working with our curators, faculty, and post-doctoral fellows.

Research projects span diverse fields of comparative biology including paleontology, genomics, population biology, conservation biology, and phylogenetics and taxonomy. Students have access to the Museum's immense natural history collections as well as state-of-the-art equipment for advanced imaging (CT scanner, SEM, TEM) and genomics (Sanger and pyrosequencing platforms).

Students receive a ~$8,000 traineeship stipend, as well as housing and reimbursement for relocation expenses. Housing is made available at nearby International House. The program is held onsite at the American Museum of Natural History. In addition to conducting original research projects throughout the summer, students also participate in formal instruction in systematics and evolution and receive training in ethics, networking, communication, and other career-building skills.

Who Should Apply

• All students in the program must be U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals or permanent residents of the United States.
• Students must be entering or continuing in an Associates or Baccalaureate degree program following their summer internship.

As part of the National Science Foundation's commitment to broadening participation in STEM fields, we especially encourage students who come from community colleges, undergraduate-only institutions, and minority-serving institutions to apply.

Applications are currently closed.

The application period is typically January 1 to January 31 each year. Please email [email protected].

  

Summer 2026 Biology Project Titles 

Population Genetics and Morphology of Arizona Ground Mantises

Mentors: Lohit Garikipati, Kate Montana and Dr. Jessica L. Ware

In the western United States speedy predators run along the hot ground in arid zones. Litaneutria is a genus of small, ground hunting mantises native to north America and are poorly studied, with no molecular or genitalic assessments to determine diversity. Litaneutria skinneri, one species found throughout the Sky Islands of Arizona, exhibits considerable morphological variation. Females of L. skinneri vary in body size and proportions, and the differences in the abdomen, specifically, may relate to reproduction and oviposition strategies. This project will use new collection material to gather genetic and morphological data to understand the diversity and biology of L. skinneri across different localities and habitat types. Students will perform DNA extractions, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), phylogenetic tree reconstruction, and morphological data collection using scanning electron microscopy and CT scanning.

 

Mouthpart morphology and diet evolution of true bugs

Mentors: Dr. Leland Graber and Dr. Jessica L. Ware

Insects have evolved to survive on vastly different diets and often have morphological adaptations to feed on specific diets. The order Hemiptera, known as the “true bugs”, includes economically important urban and agricultural pests such as bed bugs and stink bugs. True bugs have a diverse array of diets, including plant feeding, predatory insect feeding, and even vertebrate blood feeding. While all true bugs have “piercing-sucking” mouthparts, mouthparts across this lineage are morphologically distinct and may indicate evolution toward different diets.

In this project, the student will investigate morphological differences in hemipteran bug mouthparts using different imaging techniques, including scanning electron microscopy and/or micro-CT scanning. The student will compare the morphology of mouthparts and use phylogenetic comparative methods to reconstruct the evolution of diet in hemipteran bugs. The student will also search the scientific literature to aggregate diet data about different true bug species. The student can expect to gain hands-on experience in microscopy, imaging techniques, and data analysis with R software.

 

Systematics and Evolution of Arachnids

Mentors: Colby Sain, Dr. Pio Colmenares and Dr. Lorenzo Prendini

Arachnids, the second most diverse group of terrestrial animals, after insects, inhabit every terrestrial ecosystem and are tremendously important ecologically and economically, performing vital ecosystem services by keeping insect populations in check. Many arachnids are habitat specialists, extremely range-restricted and often micro-endemic to areas with particular topography, vegetation and climate. Arachnids are bioindicators of habitat degradation and climate change. Some of the most ancient arthropods, and the earliest to colonize land, were arachnids, e.g. scorpions, derived from aquatic ancestors that lived more than 425 million years ago. Different arachnid taxa have followed separate evolutionary paths, some hardly changing morphologically from fossil forms, whereas others are highly modified. Many arachnids are increasingly threatened by habitat destruction and harvesting for the exotic pet trade which, together with their often limited vagility and narrow geographical distributions, exacerbates their risk of extinction due to human activities. In a time of accelerating habitat destruction and global warming, arachnids offer an important window on our changing world. The task of inventorying arachnid diversity and distribution is an urgent priority if steps towards their conservation are to be implemented. Improving baseline knowledge about arachnids, a primary aim of the AMNH Arachnology Lab, requires scholars curious and motivated to be involved in research on arachnid systematics and evolutionary biology. During the summer, students will undertake projects assessing the systematics and biogeography of various arachnid orders (e.g. camel spiders, scorpions, whip scorpions or whip spiders) involving (1) morphological examination, measurement, microscopy and imaging of arachnid specimens, (2) genomic DNA extraction and sequencing, (3) mapping and GIS analysis of distributions, and (4) phylogenetic reconstruction. Research will make use of the AMNH Collections of Arachnida, some of the largest and most taxonomically and geographically comprehensive in the world.

 

Genetic and morphological variation within the Thespian Grass Mouse: a reappraisal of its genus-level status

Mentor: Dr. Marcus Vinicius Brandão de Oliveira

Native to elfin forests along the eastern Andean slopes from southern Peru to central Bolivia, the Thespian Grass Mouse has long posed taxonomic challenges. Originally described as Oxymycterus mimus (Thomas, 1901), it was later designated as the type species of Microxus, whose status shifted between genus and subgenus for decades. Early molecular studies reassigned related species to other genera and placed mimus within the genus Akodon, though its precise affinities remained uncertain. Today, Microxus is regarded as junior synonym of Akodon. Morphologically, A. mimus exhibits distinctive cranial and dental traits, and recent phylogenetic analyses recover it as sister to all other Akodon (~40 species). These studies relied on DNA sequence from a single specimen and, therefore, its genetic and morphological variation remain largely unknown. AMNH holds a large series of A. mimus specimens (n = 240) and has recently gathered tissue samples from nearly its entire distribution. Building on these resources, this project aims to i) assess morphometric and morphological variation within A. mimus across geography, ii) reconstruct DNA-based phylogenetic relationships among A. mimus populations and within the genus Akodon, iii) prepare a formal redescription of A. mimus and review the taxonomic status of Microxus.This project will provide the student with hands-on experience in museum specimen handling, DNA extraction, phylogenetic reconstruction, and the interpretation of evolutionary patterns. By an integrative approach, it will improve understanding of the evolutionary history of the genus Akodon and related forms, such as Microxus.

 

How to Steal: Molecular Basis of Intracellular Theft in Sea Slugs

Mentors: Rebecca Lopez-Anido, Dylan Gagler and Dr. Jessica Goodheart

Sea slugs are shell-less heterobranch gastropods that have evolved novel abilities to steal subcellular structures from their prey and incorporate them into their own body. 

For example, some nudibranch sea slugs can steal venomous stinging-organelles from their cnidarian prey (e.g., sea anemones and jellyfish) and use those stolen organelles for their own defense. A different group of sea slugs, sacoglossans, can steal chloroplasts from the algae they eat and use these organelles as an additional energy source. Despite its evolutionary novelty and biological importance, we still do not know how intracellular theft works, nor how it evolved in multiple distantly-related sea slug lineages. 

This project will utilize in situ hybridization chain reaction to characterize the spatial expression of candidate theft genes in the nudibranch sea slug Berghia stephanieae and the sacoglossan sea slug Elysia chlorotica. This research aims to determine the underlying molecular basis of intracellular theft in sea slugs. The REU student will gain experience conducting in situ hybridization chain reaction experiments, microscopy, and analysis of spatial-transcriptomic data.

 

Estimation of DNA Evolution Models and Human Viral Evolution

Mentors: Dr. Ward Wheeler

The project centers on computational estimations of DNA sequence evolution models focusing on viral evolution.  Laboratory developed software will be used, refined, and applied to human-infecting viruses including Covid and Influenza.

 

Comparative morphology of the mouthparts of Auchenorrhyncha

Mentors: Dr. Laura Gonzalez Mozo and Dr. Jessica L. Ware

The suborder Auchenorrhyncha is a group of sapsucking insects comprising the modern superfamilies Cercopoidea (Spittlebugs), Cidadoidea (cicadas), Membracoidea (leafhoppers and treehoppers) and Fulgoroidea. Auchenorrhyncha can be recognized morphologically by their hairlike antennal flagellum, a rostrum arising from the posteroventral surface of the head and a complex sound-producing tymbal apparatus. Auchennorrhyncha are a diverse group, with more than 42,000 species described, distributed worldwide but especially diverse in the tropics. Some species are important agricultural pests, injuring plants directly through feeding and oviposition, or indirectly to the transmission of plant pathogens, yet broad comparative analyses integrating these ecological categories remain limited.

This study aims to: (1) Assess the form and function of the mouthparts across major Auchenorrhyncha lineages in a comparative framework; and (2) Understand how structural variation corresponds to diverse feeding strategies. Students will gain skills on light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), post reconstruction of micro-computed tomography (µCT), histological sectioning and insect morphology. This work will expand our current understanding of how structural diversity in Auchenorrhyncha mouthparts underlies major shifts in plant-feeding biology.

 

Anatomy of early fossil reptiles

Mentors: Dr. Xavier Jenkins and Dr. Roger Benson

Our work focuses on major transitions in the anatomy and ecology of land vertebrates, particularly among small-bodied reptiles that record the ancestry of more than 25,000 living species across lizards, birds, turtles and crocodilians. The student will join our lab and reconstruct 3D models of early reptiles derived from cutting edge X-ray imaging of scientifically important fossils from the Permian and Jurassic periods. These specimens are tiny (skull lengths of 1–3 cm), partly fragmented, disarticulated, and deformed, requiring careful anatomical expertise and reconstruction to interpret. The student will use the 3D digital models derived from the specimens as-preserved to describe and interpret never-before-seen anatomy with implications for our understanding of early reptile origins and relationships. The student will receive close mentorship in CT-based visualization and fossil interpretation.

 

Digitally Unearthing an Exceptionally Preserved Early Pterosaur

Mentors: Dr. Rab Smyth and Dr. Roger Benson

Pterosaurs were the first vertebrates to evolve powered flight, yet our understanding of early pterosaur evolution is limited by the scarcity of three-dimensional fossils. Most specimens are preserved flattened within rock matrices, which obscures anatomical details and constrains studies of skeletal morphology and evolutionary diversity. This issue is especially pronounced for non-pterodactyloid pterosaurs from the Americas, which are rare and often poorly preserved. Nesodactylus hesperius, from the Late Jurassic of Cuba (~160 million years ago), is one of the best-preserved non-pterodactyloid pterosaurs from the western hemisphere, offering a valuable opportunity to study three-dimensional skeletal anatomy. This project will use recently acquired synchrotron data to segment and isolate skeletal elements, reconstructing the 3D morphology of Nesodactylus. By digitally extracting bones still embedded in the matrix, the student will generate high-precision 3D models that reveal anatomical features inaccessible through traditional preparation methods. These models will provide a detailed morphological record for Nesodactylus and a reference framework for comparative studies of non-pterodactyloid pterosaurs, supporting research on their functional anatomy and evolutionary relationships. The student will gain hands-on experience with synchrotron data, digital segmentation, and 3D reconstruction. This work will develop skills in imaging-based paleontology and vertebrate anatomy while producing high-quality 3D models for future research.

 

Common Carp Dietary Analysis: Are Endangered Eels on the Menu?

Mentors: Dr. Suzanne Macey and Dr. Ana Luz Porzecanski

Popular as sportfish and food, common carp (Cyprinus carpio) have been introduced and become established in more than 100 countries outside their home range in Eurasia. Resilient even in degraded urban watersheds, common carp are omnivorous and voracious bottom feeders. NYC Parks and local environmental stewards worry that carp established in the Bronx River may interfere with their efforts to protect glass eels — an early life stage of Anguilla rostrata, a species of conservation concern. Parks staff and volunteers seasonally monitor, capture, and translocate the young eels by physically carrying them over the historic 182nd Street Dam (a migration barrier) to waters where carp are regularly observed. Are carp eating the translocated eels? If not, what are they eating in a very urban river? Does it differ above and below the dam?

In this project, students will:

- Assist in the field with eel translocations and carp collections (via pole and line fishing) above and below the dam

- Isolate carp stomach contents through dissection

- Extract DNA and prepare libraries for shotgun metagenomic sequencing

- Analyze and visualize the sequencing results using bioinformatic pipelines to reveal carp prey species.

This collaborative research responds directly to local conservation practitioners’ concerns through exploratory sampling of carp from the Bronx River. Results may lead to actionable conservation measures, such as improved plans for managing carp and alternative methods for eel translocation.

The Research Experience for Undergraduates Program in Physical Sciences (Earth and Planetary Sciences and Astrophysics) is funded by the National Science Foundation. The Museum's Division of Physical Sciences—in collaboration with the City University of New York (CUNY)—is pleased to offer summer undergraduate research opportunities in Astrophysics, and Earth and Planetary Sciences.

Our program brings approximately eight students to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City each summer for a ten-week experience working with our curators, faculty, and post-doctoral fellows. Students receive a ~$7,000 traineeship stipend, as well as housing and reimbursement for relocation expenses. Housing is made available at nearby International House.

In addition to conducting original research projects throughout the summer, students participate in a series of weekly meetings at which they discuss their research, present informal progress reports, and engage in discussions and seminars regarding scientific research, graduate school, and research career opportunities. At the conclusion, they deliver oral presentations of their work and prepare publication quality research papers. The program is open to all students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents, in any two or four year undergraduate degree program, who will not have completed a bachelor's degree before September 1, 2025.  

Who Should Apply

All students in the program must be U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, or permanent residents of the United States. Students must be entering or continuing in an Associates or Baccalaureate degree program following their summer internship. As part of the National Science Foundation's commitment to broadening participation in STEM fields, we especially encourage students who come from community colleges, undergraduate-only institutions, and minority-serving institutions to apply.

Applications are currently closed.

The application period is typically January 1 to January 31 each year. Please email [email protected].

 

Summer 2026 Physical Sciences Project Titles

Brown Dwarfs in New York City Research Group

Mentor: Jacqueline Faherty

The Brown Dwarfs in New York City Research group (BDNYC) is at the forefront of characterizing objects at the planetary mass boundary. We host a wealth of observational data (spectra, astrometry, photometry, etc) on thousands of sources and expect to start seeing James Webb Space Telescope data by the summer of 2022. An REU student would be invited into one of several different projects ongoing at BDNYC. The variety of choices range from studying the weather related phenomena on warm, young giant worlds; the diversity of characteristics in the coldest isolated giant worlds, looking at the orbital characteristics of giant worlds around very nearby stars, or examining the rotation rate evolution for the highest to lowest mass components of nearby associations. We are extremely open to working within the skill set of the right student so we are also open to adapting any project to the REU student's preference. 

 

Cataloguing Secondary Mineral Inclusions in Diamond to Reveal Deep Mantle Processes

Mentor: Kate Kiseeva, Nester Korolev & Rondi Davies

Diamonds are among the deepest, most pristine natural samples of Earth’s mantle available for study. Many form at depths of about 140 to 200 km within the thick lithospheric roots of ancient cratons, and rarer ultra-deep diamonds form in the transition zone and lower mantle. Because diamonds are chemically resistant and can trap tiny mineral inclusions during and after growth, they preserve direct evidence of mantle composition, processes, and the history of craton formation and modification.

In this REU project, students will examine suites of diamonds that contain both primary and secondary inclusions. The main goal is to carefully document the mineral phases present, along with any multi-mineral reaction textures, and to build a publishable catalogue of secondary mineral inclusions in diamond that includes clear mineral identifications and descriptions of reaction relationships. Because secondary inclusions form later through processes like cracking, fluid infiltration, and alteration, a systematic catalogue like this will be a valuable resource for the broader diamond and mantle research community.

 

Chondrules in Enstatite Chondrite Meteorites

Mentors: Michael Weisberg, Marina Gemma, & Denton Ebel

Enstatite chondrites are primitive meteorites from undifferentiated asteroids that formed in the inner (Earth-forming) region of the early solar system and have genetic links to the Earth and Moon. They contain small igneous droplets called chondrules, composed of olivine and pyroxene surrounded by a glassy mesostasis, the last melt from which the chondrules crystallized. This project will be a textural and compositional study of enstatite chondrite mesostasis using a variety of analytical tools including the optical microscope, scanning electron microscope and electron probe. The goals will be to compare the mesostasis in enstatite chondrite chondrules to that in chondrules from carbonaceous and other non-carbonaceous chondrites to decipher differences in the solar system environments in which they formed and their crystallization histories.

 

Experimental formation of serpentinites

Mentor: Céline Martin

Scientific background: Serpentinites are metasomatic rocks that form by hydration of the mantle (made of olivine and pyroxene) in a wide range of geological settings (seafloor, subduction zone, passive margin, back- and fore-arc). During the past decade, it became increasingly evident that the mechanisms controlling serpentinization are not well understood. Particularly, the transformation of the pyroxene into serpentine minerals is never described in studies. 

Description of the project: This project will be conducted on serpentinite samples created experimentally from fresh lherzolite (a type of mantle rock). The selected student will study the evolution of the mineralogy and the petrology of lherzolite that spent 1, 2, 3… 12 months in natural seawater at 110ºC, and draw conclusions about the serpentinization processes.

 

How fast are pebble collisions in protoplanetary disks?

Mentors: Linn Eriksson & Mordecai-Mark Mac Low

The first step in the planet formation process is the collisional growth from micrometer-sized dust grains to roughly millimeter-sized pebbles. Beyond pebble-size the collisional growth stops, because collisions between pebbles tend to result in fragmentation rather than sticking. Whether fragmentation occurs is determined by the relative velocity of the colliding pebbles. State-of-the-art simulations of planet formation currently rely on a simplified expression to estimate these critical collision speeds. 

In this project, the student will use data from 3D simulations of pebbles moving in turbulent gas within a protoplanetary disk. The turbulence in these simulations is generated self-consistently by the magnetorotational instability. The student’s task will be to analyze the particle motions in these simulations to directly measure the collision velocities. The student will investigate how the collision velocity depends on particle size and turbulence strength. Finally, the student will compare these measurements of realistic collision velocities with the simplified expression used in state-of-the-art simulations. The goal is to evaluate the accuracy of the current simplification and contribute to a better understanding of particle growth in protoplanetary disks.

 

Refractory Inclusions in Non-Carbonaceous Chondrites

Mentors: Denton Ebel, Marina Gemma & Michael Weisberg

Non-carbonaceous chondrite meteorites are remnants of the early solar system with distinctive chemistry likely established in the inner Solar System. They contain Ca-, Al-rich inclusions and other high-temperature mineral assemblages in lower abundance than found in carbonaceous chondrite meteorites. The student will receive a crash course in solar system origins and meteorite petrology. This project involves surveying elemental composition maps (see above) for refractory inclusions to quantify their types and abundance in non-carbonaceous chondrites (Kakangari-type, R-type, ECs) from the AMNH meteorite collection. The student will use the optical microscope, electron microprobe, and scanning electron microscopes at AMNH to investigate and quantify inclusion mineralogy and texture.

 

Searching for Runaway Stars in Simulations of Star Formation

Mentors: Sabrina Appel and Mordecai-Mark Mac Low

Stars form from cold, dense gas that collapses under its own gravity. Since this star-forming gas is often located in large clouds, most stars form clustered together. Sometimes, individual stars will be flung out of the star-forming region and will move away from the rest of the stars at a high speed — these are called runaway stars. In addition, newly formed stars produce various modes of stellar feedback that alter the properties of the surrounding gas and the formation of subsequent stars. One early mode of stellar feedback is protostellar jet feedback, where newly formed stars inject narrow jets of material into their surroundings.

Studying star formation using detailed computer simulations can give us valuable insights into the many physical mechanisms that influence star formation.  In particular, we use a numerical simulation called Torch to study the formation and evolution of star clusters. By comparing simulation runs with and without protostellar jet feedback, we can better understand how jets impact the formation of stars and star clusters. This summer project will examine these simulation. 

 

Searching for a second Earth 

Mentors: Ruth Angus 

The Terra Hunting Experiment will be the first survey truly capable of finding a nearby Earth-like planet. Terra Hunting data will be released soon and we need to get ready. In this project, we'll learn how the magnetic activity of stars might interfere with the search for another Earth. We'll try to come up with a strategy for mitigating the effects of stellar activity, clearing the way to find Earth 2.0 when Terra Hunting data become available.

 

What do chemical elements reveal about galaxy formation?

Mentors: Eric Andersson

Galaxy formation theory is one of the cornerstones of modern astrophysics, connecting our cosmic neighborhood to the evolution of the Universe across billions of years. Now is an exciting time to study galaxies, as our theories are being adapted to account for recent discoveries from the James Webb Space Telescope.

To interpret these discoveries and develop new theories, we execute advanced simulations on thousands of computers working in parallel. These simulations model how galaxies grow from large-scale structure, track how baryonic matter cycles between gas and stars, and produce new chemical elements through nucleosynthesis. In this project, we will analyze state-of-the-art simulations to explore what elemental abundances reveal about the processes governing galaxy formation. The project is flexible in scope, it can be discovery-driven, and we will tailor project goals to the student's interests and skills.