Quantitative Research in the Life and Social Sciences Program (QRLSSP)

Formerly Mathematical and Theoretical Biology Institute

Quantitative Research in the Life and Social Sciences Program (QRLSSP)—formerly Mathematical and Theoretical Biology Institute (MTBI) supports the development of students through educational, research and mentorship activities from the undergraduate to the postdoctoral level. Its programs include intensive multiple-summer research training institutes, long-term support for its alumni, continuous research opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral students and opportunities for national and international visitors.

The Quantitative Research in the Life and Social Sciences Program (QRLSSP) is an intensive summer research experience that prepares undergraduate students for the rigors of graduate level research at the interface of mathematics, statistics, and the natural and social sciences. Select students are invited to Arizona State University for eight weeks, where their time is split between classroom instruction on research methods and hands-on research projects.

QRLSSP is a research experience for undergraduates (REU); it is not an internship, and students will NOT earn college credit for participation. This program is an excellent introduction to graduate research, and provides students with housing, subsistence, and a stipend while allowing them to explore what an advanced degree can entail.

Participants receive intensive instruction in dynamical systems, stochastic processes, computational methods and modeling delivered by top scientists and guest speakers from around the country and the world. A wide variety of topics is presented each summer, in order to provide students with real-life examples and to expose them to new areas of study.

At QRLSSP, students do not work alone. Everything, from homework to research, exists in a collaborative environment with fellow participants, graduate students, postdoctoral students, and visiting scholars. Students work in self-selected groups on research problems of their own choosing, while collaborating with experienced faculty and graduate student mentors. By the end of the summer, students have complete a high-quality technical report and research poster, which are presented at national conferences to an audience of their peers and colleagues.

QRLSSP attends SACNAS 2023

Five QRLSSP participants recently attended the annual SACNAS National Diversity in STEM Conference, held October 26-28 in Portland, OR. Three of the five presented posters produced during their eight week summer REU. NDiSTEM is the largest multidisciplinary and multicultural STEM diversity event held in the US. SACNAS (the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science) is an inclusive organization which strives to enhance the success of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans, from college students to professionals by attaining advanced degrees, careers, and leadership positions in STEM. The organization is national and supports dozens of local student chapters. For more information, please visit sacnas.org.

Math and science boot camp solves for diversity and success in STEM

Check out the article about this REU in ASU Now

Is a Summer REU Right for You?

The benefits of a summer research experience for undergraduates (REU) are many and varied! Consider the following:

It’s a great way to expand your experience while earning summer funding
It provides insight into the research process, helping you to determine if a career in research is appropriate for you.
It enhances communication skills, as you work closely with members of a team
It expands your network within academia by It creates a strong relationship with faculty mentors and other students in varying stages of their careers
It will try your determination and tenacity in accomplishing a goal
It can help invigorate your creativity and may help you in finding your passion
It improves problem solving and can introduce you to a new set of tools
It cultivates intellectual independence
It demonstrates commitment and dedication.

An REU can be useful in the future as well, serving as a strong asset on your CV or resume. You will likely work more closely with your faculty mentor than you do your classroom professors, and they will get to know you, your strengths, and your plans that could be useful in a reference situation. You will also start to create a network of your peers, which may be especially helpful if you move forward in graduate school and academia.

REU students complete research quantifying the impact of Lead-toxicity in bald eagles

While wildlife can be exposed to lead from many sources, bald eagles' main source of lead is linked to the fall and winter big game hunting seasons, which happen to coincide with the eagles’ scavenging season. Lead-toxicity may cause severe clinical symptoms (including death), but also more subtle, chronic symptoms. Chronic lead-toxicity results in continual physiological damage and affected biological mechanisms, including reduced fertility and voracity. This research quantifies the impact of lead-contaminated food sources on the bald eagle’s population of the Great Lakes by formulating a system of ordinary differential equations to show the progression through the stages of lead-toxicity and its role in the eagle’s population dynamics.

REU students analyze the role of the homeless population in the COVID-19 outbreak in NYC.

Homelessness in NYC at its highest level since the Great Depression, and as the NYC battles COVID-19, the advised precautionary measures are out of reach for this population. This research examines the contribution the homeless population has had on prolonging the epidemic in the city. The findings indicate that a significant number of secondary infections in the population of NYC are due to transmission of COVID-19 via the homeless, this most directly attributable to the higher effective reproductive number for the homeless population. These results could be used to study the impact of control measures