bePassionate
Present at international conferences. Meet experts in your field. Open yourself up to new possibilities and discover how you want to impact the world. There's no end to where your NMU research can bring you.
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Research at NMU
Northern Michigan University prides itself on the numerous opportunities we provide to undergraduate and graduate students to engage in high-level research projects. From uncovering the mysteries of the Aurora Borealis to conducting brain tumor and genetics research, students are able to participate in meaningful, hands-on learning that supports their educational and personal goals.
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Northern's Progressive Research and Innovative Mutual Exploration (PRIME) Fund provides seed money for large projects that span disciplines. The BotEco project aims to create a sustainable community space in the old ore dock. NMU faculty from many departments collaborated on this multi-faceted project.
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At NMU, you’ll receive the perfect mix of fundamental theory and hands-on research, all wrapped up in our unique learning environment. With partnerships in place with community businesses and organizations, your research will span beyond our traditional classroom environments and into real-world settings.
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While NMU has numerous state-of-the-art lab facilities right on campus, our research opportunities frequently bring students beyond our traditional walls and into the beautiful, diverse environment of Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
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A collaboration between Northern Michigan University and Upper Peninsula Health Systems - Marquette, the Upper Michigan Brain Tumor Center exists to train the next generation of research and medical professionals, while improving patient outcomes by better understanding how brain cancer works.
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The Beaumier Upper Peninsula Heritage Center is a historical museum and educational facility on the campus of Northern Michigan University.
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The Biology Department houses zoological collections that cover the breadth of diversity of the animal Tree of Life, ranging across most major groups of invertebrate and vertebrate animals. Established in 1974 by J. Kirwin Werner and Lewis Peters, the museum is an important resource for NMU students and faculty in their research pursuits.
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Upcoming Research Events - A Day in the Life of a Neurosurgeon w/ Dr. Sonia Geschwindt
Dr. Sonia Geschwindt, a neurosurgeon at UPHS- Marquette will be speaking about her journey from her undergraduate degree to her career in the operating room and beyond.
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NMU Research Spotlight: CABIN Lab
The podcast WaterCoolerNeuroscience recently featured a paper by NMU's Psychological Science CABIN lab directors Dr. Josh Carlson and Dr. Lin Fang in their episode: How your brain cells grow to handle anxiety. This episode discussed Carlson and Fang's paper "Attentional bias to threat and gray matter volume morphology in high anxious individuals", which discusses the areas in the brain that develop more brain cells and which develop more connections when experiencing stress.
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NMU Undergraduate Research Spotlight
Darren Simmons, a Medicinal Plant Chemistry major from Houston, Texas conducted a McNair Research Internship this summer with Dr. Wilson from the Department of Chemistry. Together they completed a one of a kind project about medicinal properties in the plant Radula complanta (Flat-leaved liverwort). He originally planned on observing the application of ultraviolet light in the lab to see if that would increase concentration of beneficial chemicals, but ended up identifying pathogens and microbes in the plant. Discovered a fungus that grows within liverwort that was not mentioned in the few studies that have been conducted on the plant, and found similar microbes in both C. sativa and R. complanata. With the help of Dr. Wilson, Darren submitted the continuation of this research as a NSF Graduate Research Fellowships Program (GRFP) proposal.
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NMU Research Spotlight: Faculty
NMU Biology Professor, Dr. Neil Cumberlidge recently participated in an expedition to Sierra Leone in an effort to relocate two species of long-lost crabs. One species hadn't been seen since 1795, and the other since 1955. The project was initiated by Cumberlidge and he has been integral to locating these little known species.
