We are proud to announce "FUERZA"
an undergraduate training grant sponsored by the National Institutes of Health
The FUERZA program aims to expand the research pipeline by engaging undergraduate students from historically excluded backgrounds (i.e., racially/ethnically minoritized groups, disabled people, economically disadvantaged groups, women) who are interested in research related to the normal and disordered processes of hearing, balance, taste, smell, voice, speech, and language.
FUERZA students will have the opportunity to participate in an SLHS research lab for a paid rotation. During your rotation, you will learn about research and identify goals with your mentor. You will take part in mentoring activities outside your home lab (e.g., applying to graduate school; and learning about research as a career) and be part of the FUERZA cohort.
Students who successfully complete a FUERZA rotation will be eligible (and encouraged to) continue with other paid rotations throughout their undergraduate career. Rotations may be in different labs, or students may stay with the same mentor for multiple rotations. All mentors will receive training in mentorship.
Fall Application Deadline: August 31, 2025
Eligibility:
University of Arizona undergraduate student
U.S. citizen (due to NIH criteria)
Available/willing to participate in NIH RCR Certificate Program trainings (scheduled by FUERZA Resource Liaison)
Willingness to respond to FUERZA emails, even after graduation from the the program. (We need to follow up on your successes!)
Before you apply:
Before you start the application, use the table below to identify your 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choice labs to do a rotation in this semester. In the application, you will be asked to write about why you are interested in those 3 labs.
Please be aware of each lab's prerequisites. Click on each lab's link for more information about area of study, student roles, etc.
Current FUERZA Mentors (and their labs):
| Lab | Faculty Director | Prerequisites | Preferred Qualifications | More Information |
| Audiologic Rehabilitation Lab | Dr. Marrone | Contact for info | GPA above 3.4; Currently seeking bilingual or multilingual student applicants with Spanish and English language fluency for a project on a group audiologic rehabilitation program to be delivered in Spanish and English | More Info |
| Bilingualism and the Brain in Education and Language (BABEL Lab) | Dr. Arizmendi | Current lab members only | Spanish-English bilingual language skills (not required) | More info |
| Communication Participation and Adaptive Listening Support (P.A.L.S.) Lab | Dr. Darling-White | Sophomore status or higher | None | More info |
| Language and Cognition Lab | Dr. Kapa | Contact for info | None | More info |
| Language, Learning, Literacy, and Lexicon Lab (L4 Lab) | Dr. Alt | Current lab members only | Experience with children | More info |
| Language and Neuroimaging Lab (LAN) | Dr. Kielar | Interest in cognitive neuroscience & language | None | More info |
| Lifespan Language Lab | Dr. Maltman | None | REDCap (or willingness to learn); Data entry; Experiences with aging research; Experiences with individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions | More info |
| The Plante Lab | Dr. Plante | None | Language Science coursework (not required) | More info |
| Vestibular Research Lab | Dr. Kobel | None | MATLab, Python, or other coding experience | More info |
| Voice Research Lab | Dr. Samlan | Minimum grade of B in Anatomy, Physiology, and Acoustics | Interest in voice | More info |
Returning FUERZA students: You do not need to re-apply! Please contact cecilm@email.arizona.edu for more info!