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The ExFAB CSU Masters Scholars Program 

Applications for the ExFAB CSU Masters Scholars program are now open!

Program Description: The ExFAB CSU Masters Scholars program provides CSU Masters and senior-level CSU undergraduate students the opportunity to participate in a 10-week paid summer internship in an ExFAB research laboratory located at either UC Santa Barbara or UC Riverside. Each ExFAB CSU Masters Scholar will conduct an in-depth research project using state-of-the-art technology instrumentation with activities designed to bolster both professional and career skills.  MS Fellows will receive a $12,000 stipend plus housing. Most meals are included. 

 

Program Dates: June 9, 2025 – August 15, 2025

Deadline to Apply:  March 10, 2025 @11:59PM

Estimated Date of Notification: Mid April 2025

 

Eligibility: Full-time CSU Masters or senior undergraduate students in a STEM major or area of study who have been accepted into a STEM-related CSU Master’s program for Fall 2025.

 

Application Process:  Eligible students must submit a completed application form through this website at this link before the application deadline.

 

Please note that all applications must have the following documents attached:

 

  1. Personal Statement.  
  • Describe your long-term career goals
  • Describe the experiences that shaped your interest in STEM
  • Discuss any other relevant information that you feel the selection committee should take into consideration when assessing your application
  • Describe your interest in the ExFAB CSU Masters Scholars program, including what you would like to gain from the experience.
  1. Research Statement
  • Please provide a brief description of any research experience you have had in the past and your role in the research project
  • Discuss any other relevant information that you feel the selection committee should take into consideration when assessing your experience in research
  1. Your C.V. (curriculum vitae)
  2. Your Unofficial CSU Transcript
  3. Three (3) Letters of Recommendation.  Letters of Recommendation should be on a letterhead. They should be from a science faculty member, investigator or employer who is qualified to comment on your attributes and can comment on your potential for success as a researcher. Please have the letters of recommendation submitted by the recommender through the “Submit a Letter of Recommendation.”

Submit an Application

The application is currently closed.

Submit a Letter of Recommendation

The application is currently closed.

Participating Labs

O'Malley and Mills Lab - UCSB

Producing and Screening Enzymes for Waste Degradation via Cell Free Systems

Unusual organisms in the environment are able to thrive because they have equally unusual metabolic pathways and enzymes that enable their survival. If these enzymes can be identified, they can be characterized and manufactured to advance biotechnology and biomanufacturing. This project focuses on identifying and screening waste degrading enzymes from anaerobic gut fungi - these fungi die in the presence of oxygen and are resident to the guts of large herbivores. Our lab has isolated a panel of anaerobic fungi and have identified a set of putative enzymes that degrade plant waste material (lignocellose). Since anaerobic fungi cannot yet be stably genetically modified, we are building new tools to test fungal enzyme expression and function in so-called "cell free systems", which are composed of critical organelles and parts of the cells that are free from the confines of a membrane. We are using ExFAB's unique anaerobic robotic platform to set up an array of cell free systems to unmask the function of novel enzymes that can turn waste into valuable products.

Mentor: Janelle Arnold

Hanein Lab - UCSB

The Hanein lab specializes in developing ways to delve deep into the intricacies of the tiny nanomachines within our bodies that power our ability to combat intruders, see and hear, heal wounds and illnesses, engage in physical activities, mature and age and experience happiness. We achieve this by utilizing an advanced suite of state-of-the-art cryogenic light and electron microscopes, which enable us to obtain a quantitative representation of life at the atomic scale while experiencing mechanical and compositional alterations.

Mentor: Peter Van Blerkom

Stajich Lab - UCR

The Stajich lab group is part of the Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, Center for Plant Cell Biology at University of California Riverside. They primarily study Fungi with interests in how they interact with other microbes, plants, animals using genomic, computational, evolutionary and experimental approaches. Our work also encompasses Plant and Insect genomics, Extremophile fungi, Biological soil crusts through active collaborations at UC Riverside and beyond.

Mentor: Kian Kelly

Wheeldon Lab - UCR

High Throughput Tool Development for Non-Conventional Organisms

The most well-studied species have provided important insight into molecular genetics. However, engineering of these organisms has limitations that could be overcome by rapidly engineering tools for new organisms. One emphasis of our lab is to fill this gap by developing genetic engineering tools for species that can provide new insights, produce valuable metabolites, or that can survive in extreme conditions like high salt or high temperature. For example, we are engineering Marchantia polymorpha to rapidly understand plant genetics and screening hundreds of strains of Kluyveromyces marxianus to find extremophile yeast for production of valuable chemicals.

Mentor: Eva Ottum

Additional support provided by the CNSI Elings Fund, the UC Riverside Bourns College of Engineering and the UC Riverside College of Natural and Agricultural Science.