ANA 498Y1

ANA498Y (Honor Research Project) is a 4th year level course designed to give students experience in a research laboratory. Students can cover a broad range of specialties including histology, cellular and molecular biology, developmental biology, neuroscience, and gross anatomy under a research supervisor.   This course is full credit and offered in Fall/Winter and Summer Semesters.  Three written assignments, a documented progress meeting with the supervisor, and an oral platform style presentation (in person and recorded virtual presentation) are required.

The course is designed to provide practical wet-lab experience.  

The projects were assessed on a case-by-case basis before approval was given. 

Prerequisite: No specific prerequisite required. However, potential supervisors have the latitude to accept students according to individual criteria, including academic background.

How to Apply: 

1.    Contact and be approved by a supervisor. 
2.    Fill out Ballot and submit the completed and signed ballot to anatomy@utoronto.ca 

Note: All prospective students must provide a brief summary of the proposed work on the ballot. Successful applicants will be registered into ROSI by the division. You are responsible for ensuring that you have been successfully registered in the course.

Expectations and Assessment Information:

It is required that you will spend a minimum of 8-10 hours per week in the lab working on the project.
The project must be hypothesis driven and related to Anatomy in the broadest sense. This includes studies in cell biology, molecular biology, systems biology, developmental biology, neuroscience, anatomy and histology.

The mark will take into account the following:

• Understanding of the project and its relationship to the relevant literature
• Hours and effort invested in the project
• Technical skills
• Quality of the data and data analysis
• Written assignments and oral presentation (see below)
• Overall “ownership” of the project (are you contributing to the development and progress of the project or just waiting to be told what to do next?)

Assessments:

You will be required to submit the following documents to remain in good standing in the course:

• Fellowship Application - (1000 words or less). Submit to your supervisor and the Anatomy Undergraduate Administrator at anatomy@utoronto.ca. This should outline the background and project rationale, specific hypothesis and objectives. Put emphasis on WHY YOUR RESEARCH IS IMPORTANT. 
• Methods - (2 pages or less; 12pt font, single spaced, margins minimum of 2 cm). Submit to your supervisor and the Anatomy Undergraduate Administrator at anatomy@utoronto.ca. This should outline the methods that you are using for completion of your project, including statistical analyses to be used. It should be written according to journal standards. 
• Progress Report – (3-4 pages; 12pt font, single spaced, margins minimum of 2 cm). Submit a progress report to your supervisor and the Anatomy Undergraduate Administrator at anatomy@utoronto.ca.  This report should include your results to date (data and appropriate statistical analyses), interpretation, and the steps you will take during the remainder of the course to address your hypothesis/aims (i.e. experiments, data acquisition, data analyses etc).   
• Oral presentations - You are required to give an in-person 10 minute “platform style” oral presentation of your project. The target audience for the oral presentation is your peers (non-experts in your field of research).  These presentations will take place during tutorial sessions near the end of the course.

Finding a Supervisor:

Choose a field of research that is of interest to you then contact potential supervisors working in your area of interest. Arrange a meeting to discuss your interests. The prospective supervisor does not need to be a member of the Division of Anatomy however, they must be a faculty member at the University of Toronto. Student and supervisor should discuss an appropriate research project, and review the general terms of supervision.

There are hundreds of faculty members conducting a wide variety of research activities, who can serve as potential supervisors for an ANA498Y project. The Division of Anatomy posts a short list (below) of faculty who have previously supervised ANA498Y1 project students for you to get an idea of the scope and breadth of research that is considered relevant for an ANA498Y1 project. Notably, this is not an exhaustive list of labs willing to work with students on a research project.

Contact Information: 

Division of Anatomy office: 
Medical Sciences Building, 
1 King's College Circle, Room 1156 
Email: anatomy@utoronto.ca 
Phone: 416-978-2690