LMP405Y1 - Project in Pathobiology 154P

The LMP405Y1 Research Project in Pathobiology Program is an internship for students who are passionate about research and discovery in fundamental biomedical sciences.

Program participants are provided with unique opportunities for self-discovery and exposure to cutting-edge research.

LMP is uniquely equipped for such an endeavour due to the vast extent of our intellectual resources comprising over 350 faculty members and being located in the centre of Toronto’s Discovery District.

With vast intellectual resources, including the world’s largest concentration of scientists and MaRS, one of the world's largest urban innovation hubs, the Discovery District is home to over 13,000 researchers working in a small downtown area of 2½ square kilometers.

Importantly, for students interested in the science of medicine, LMP also benefits from the many affiliations the University has with cutting edge health research institutes and associated leading health care facilities such as “teaching” hospitals located both within and outside this distinctive research cluster. See our partners and affiliates for more.

This unique combination of sociogeographical factors permits the LMP program to afford placement of student interns in the world's top-ranking research laboratories where they have one-of-a-kind opportunity to gain practical experience with the means and tools of biomedical research as well as the highs and lows of conducting original research.

Students will also have the opportunity to broaden their summer experience by participating in the LMP Summer Undergraduate Research Experience Program.

Through the LMP programs, we strive to help our students establish their professional priorities, develop their scientific sensibilities, hone their research skills and build their professional networks within the scientific community.

Our programs have gained nationwide recognition from students and investigators as one of the most successful research programs due to the:

• incomparable resources available to students in the LMP’s laboratories;
• location of the program within the Discovery District; and
• exposure to world renown researchers and research facilities.

Collectively, we are passionate teachers with a mission to create life-changing, transformative opportunities for passionate students interested in taking them.

Dr. Michal Opas

Supervisors must be primary or cross-appointed in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology (LMP). They do not necessarily have to be members of graduate faculty, although these are most likely to have ongoing research projects.

On occasion, projects outside this department are possible so long as they are co-supervised by a member of LMP.  

They should also realize that supervisors are obliged to supervise even those students who do not do well for the full academic year, since the final mark will reflect poor student performance.

It is up to the student to make arrangements with prospective supervisors, and once the supervisor has agreed to take the student, the following are necessary:

• Supervisors are to e-mail lmp.undergrad@utoronto.ca, a statement that the student will be working in his/her laboratory. This e-mail will serve as an agreement to supervise and provide the necessary academic feedback in a timely manner.  Please refer to Academic Breakdown below.
• Students must email lmp.undergrad@utoronto.ca, their last name, first name, student number and the name of supervisor who has agreed to supervise them.

For the final presentation, each student is given a 30-minute time slot with Professor Michal Opas, your Project Supervisor and your third examiner.  

During this time, your third examiner must attend. A third examiner should be selected by your supervisor - a faculty member, a research associate or a senior trainee (e.g., a postdoctoral fellow) familiar with your area of research.

Dr. Opas, your supervisor and the third examiner comprise your examination Committee.

Please review the time and date of your presentation with your supervisor and the third examiner. 

Students are expected to present their research for 10-minutes using Power Point or overhead transparencies. The presentation will be followed by a brief question session with your Committee.

Submit a copy of your written report to your Committee at least seven days prior to your scheduled presentation. Detailed instructions regarding the written report will be provided in due time.

The expectation for the course is to work on a project for the equivalent of at least one day per week during the academic year.  

Marks are based upon three components: 

• 40%  Assessment of Laboratory Performance, based on the supervisor's assessment.  Supervisor will be asked to provide this information after the student’s final oral presentation and a question period that follows.
• 30%  Assessment of Written Report, based on the evaluation of the Committee.
• 30%  Assessment of 10-minute oral presentation. Attendance is mandatory for student and the Committee of three.

Students are advised to end the laboratory work by mid-March, so that the lab report can be written in good time.  

Hand the report in to the Committee members at least seven days before the oral examination.

Communication

We communicate through e-mail: hence ensure that the department has your most current e-mail address, as well as the addresses of your supervisor and the third examiner.  

Failure to provide an accurate address may result in missed information.

Academic integrity is essential to the pursuit of learning and scholarship in a university, and to ensuring that a degree from the University of Toronto is a strong signal of each student’s individual academic achievement.

As a result, the University treats cases of cheating and plagiarism very seriously.  

The University of Toronto’s Code of Behaviour on Academic Mattersoutlines the behaviours that constitute academic dishonesty and the processes for addressing academic offences. 

Potential offences include, but are not limited to:

In papers and assignments:

• Using someone else’s ideas or words without appropriate acknowledgement.
• Submitting your own work in more than one course without the permission of the instructor.
• Making up sources or facts.
• Obtaining or providing unauthorized assistance on any assignment.  

On tests and exams:

• Using or possessing unauthorized aids.
• Looking at someone else’s answers during an exam or test.
• Misrepresenting your identity.

In academic work:

• Falsifying institutional documents or grades.
• Falsifying or altering any documentation required by the University.

All suspected cases of academic dishonesty will be investigated following procedures outlined in the Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters.

If you have questions or concerns about what constitutes appropriate academic behaviour or appropriate research and citation methods, you are expected to seek out additional information on academic integrity from your instructor or from other institutional resources such as Academic Integrity at U of T.