MURPH 2021-2022 Program

MURPH roadmap
MURPH offers a research engagement opportunity to undergraduates over the Winter Terms 1 and 2, expecting a part-time commitment from the students. Throughout the program, a number of select multidisciplinary projects in applied health will be launched, each creating a unique setting for a minimum of 2 undergraduates, named as MURPH Scholars, from distinct faculties to gain an unprecedented team-based research experience in health-related fields. In addition to working on a team-based research project, MURPH Scholars will have the opportunity to attend various research and professional skill development workshops uniquely designed by the MURPH team. Two graduate students will also provide continual mentorship support to the Scholars over the course of the program.

In the past two years, MURPH has supported 14 applied health projects with the involvement of 33 MURPH Scholars and 27 faculty members. You can learn about students' success stories and program highlights in the past years from MURPH Pamphlet and MURPH Report.

2021-2022 Program

MURPH is now accepting applications from faculty members, undergraduate students, and supporting organizations interested in conducting multidisciplinary research projects for the upcoming (September 2021-April 2022) academic year. To learn more about the application process, please click on a link below that is relevant to you.

Application deadline: Wednesday, September 15, 2021

For Faculty Members

We are inviting all faculty members at UBC Okanagan to submit their project proposals to MURPH for the Winter Terms 1 & 2. The MURPH management team will review and select the proposals for funding. Each awarded project will receive the following benefits:

▸Salaries of two part-time undergraduate students (10 hrs/week for 20 weeks);
▸Continuous mentorship to hired undergraduates, provided by the MURPH Graduate Student Mentors.

The undergraduate students for each project will be selected, in direct consultation with the PIs of the approved projects, from the pool of successful student applications to MURPH.

Please note that all the awarded PIs must attend the MURPH launch meeting, to be held in October 2021, and the mid-term program review meeting, to be held in January 2022 (these meetings will be held digitally or in-person).

Next to regular (paid) research assistant appointments, some other students who are applying to MURPH might wish to have their projects linked to a credited course, in which case they are not entitled to be paid, but they can still be regarded as the participants in the program (MURPH Scholars).

Projects Requirements. Each project must:

▸be relevant to health (any categories, e.g. biomedical engineering, public health, remote health, medical education, etc.);
▸foster cross-disciplinary partnership;
▸have two PIs, each from a different faculty at UBC Okanagan (Arts; Science; Creative and Critical Studies; Education; Engineering; Health and Social Development; Management; and Medicine);
▸create research opportunities for undergraduate students from distinct disciplines.

For Undergraduate Students

We are inviting all undergraduate students from any faculty at UBC Okanagan (Arts; Science; Creative and Critical Studies; Education; Engineering; Health and Social Development; Management; and Medicine) to apply for MURPH research positions for the Winter Terms 1 & 2. Applicants must:

▸ have a strong desire and commitment to become involved in a multi-disciplinary research project focused on applied health;
▸ have a willingness to collaborate with others outside their discipline;
▸ hold a cumulative GPA of A (80%) or higher;
▸ commit to a minimum of 10 hours per week on the research project for 20 weeks;
▸ attend 5 professional workshops which consist of pre and post workshop preparation, in addition to the workshop itself (4-6 hours commitment/workshop);
▸ attend 2 research conferences in March 2022;

Note: The students who have participated in the program in the past two years are not eligible to apply again for this year.

MURPH offers participants the following opportunities:

▸a 20-week (starting October 4, 2021) part-time paid research job, remotely or in the lab, working with two faculty members;
▸skills development workshops on topics relevant to multidisciplinary research in health, data presentation, abstract writing, etc.;
▸continuous mentorship support provided by two graduate students dedicated to MURPH.

Note: If any student is willing to apply to MURPH as part of their requirements for a course, e.g. HMKN 499, FLEX, etc., they can still be considered as a full member of a MURPH project and a MURPH Scholar, but will not be eligible to be paid for their time through MURPH, as the research experience will be part of their coursework.

For Companies

MURPH is seeking partnerships with organizations interested in conducting multidisciplinary research projects for the upcoming academic year (September 2021- April 2022). We are inviting all interested parties to submit their project proposals to MURPH. Project proposals will be evaluated and short-listed by the program management team. If you are selected to participate, the MURPH staff will help you build connections with research faculty and student teams that have the expertise and lab facilities related to your proposed project.

For any inquiries regarding this program, please email Mahdi Takaffoli, MMRI Research Engineer, at mahdi.takaffoli@ubc.ca.