The Unofficial SMART Scholarship Forum

wow ! Angelina good for you on the biotech certification I'm sure that will be a good point to have. And yeah, I tried looking through the websites, research pages, etc... and all the information was either base level or yeah, vague. I did email asking some questions but security is always a thing... Which, fair. I found the best method to get information about specific people's research is to just plug their name into sci-hub, academia, Google scholar etc... and check what comes up. The other way I found info was some SFs have YouTube channels ! Or, if you are looking at an item (I was checking about a lot of the bio sensors information) you can use the CBRN executive office capabilities PDF, check for the external contractor, and then look at their posted info. (I was trying to learn more about the Minion and Oxford technologies field sequencing devices). :3
USAMRIID also has online handbook information on lab methods, medical practices for specific bioagents, etc...

dellums scholar also applying under biosciences and i hope this application cycle goes well for you! i am also struggling with the SFs because a lot of the information on their websites is so vague. i also don't know if we're supposed to sent our test scores lol cause there's nothing on the application about that but i know it was a requirement in previous years.. i have a good backround in biotechnology (biotechnician assistant cert., biomed pathway at school, dual enrollment program for health professions) so i really hope i stand out

Theres an appropriate way to do it (ex. reaching out through the SF questions submission in the application, asking corresponding authors questions about their publications) and an inappropriate way to do it (ex. soliciting strangers on Linkedin, soliciting random people listed on research pages)

I haven't worked at DEVCOM or CRREL, but yeah being a part of the mycological society would probably go a long way. I don't see many other ways to stand out from other highschool applicants.

I'm a Dellmus applicant (HS senior) and planning to go into biological sciences, I have been trying to find more information on each of the labs I put down and it seems to be a mixed bag on whether or not it is social acceptable to reach out. I assume it may be best to wait until January or February to check in or ask for more information on some of the labs...? I was hoping to learn more about DEVCOM and CRREL. I had seen that DEVCOM has an assortment of research in an area that I have a lot of background in: mycology, and I'm hoping that makes me a standout scholar for that lab. I also partly was just wondering the logistics and politeness of reaching out, because I would like to know more about some of the research done at both labs.
Other questions in general:
1. Has anyone here worked at DEVCOM or CRREL?
2. If so, what was your experience like?
3. Is having 'life' experience in niche fields that pertain to the labs you put down assist at all in their consideration? For me, I explained that I have been a part of my state's mycological society since childhood, as well as worked as a volunteer at a butterfly house. I'm hoping that DEVCOM really notes that, considering I have seen they are doing work with fungi, although that was updated in 2021 I think.

Does anyone know Dr. Matthew D Servinsky? I saw he was the listed research biologist in that last update on fungal research, I'm questioning if it might be ok to reach out to him now and ask about his research in general along with the program....

T-T this whole process has been more than nerve wracking with the govt. shut down and so forth, best of luck, and sanity to everyone involved/applying