(Rockville, MD – September 18, 2007)  Fifteen students mentored by members of the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) were selected to receive ASPB Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURFs) for 2007. The $3,000 fellowship permits each student to devote full-time effort to his or her research project for a 10-week period during the summer. The award also includes $500 to the mentor for lab supplies, a free student membership in ASPB until August 2008, and travel grant assistance to attend the 2008 ASPB Plant Biology meeting.
 
There were 24 Category A (Research and Doctoral Universities) applicants and 10 Category B (Master’s Universities, Baccalaureate Colleges, and Associate of Art Colleges) applicants for a total of 34 highly competitive projects. The reviewers were impressed by the high quality of all the applicants’ projects and the commitment of the students and their mentors to their ongoing research.
 
Tazley Hotz received one of the Category B awards for the project entitled Salicylic Acid–Methyl Transferase Required for Plant Innate Immunity.  Dr. Dhirendra Kumar of East Tennessee State will serve as Hotz's research mentor.

More information can be found at the ASPB website: http://www.aspb.org/education/undergrad/cfm.