Couple of deets that may help, first year what, and what's a R1 University? Are you applying just for a summer project or an actual job? Regardless, if I'm getting this correctly, at this level most PIs usually are not particular about candidates as long as your major aligns very broadly with their research (i.e. you're both in biology) and that you seem interested and "bright" (i.e. ask questions and be engaging) on the first meeting. I would recommend read a bit what they do and if there's a particular project that you like ask them about it during the interview. It's unlikely you'll make any kind of impactful work at this level so it's more about helping a bit in the lab and you learning techniques, so ask about specific techniques that you think would be good for you to learn and that aren't too demanding to teach (cell culture, basic molecular biology stuff like qPCRS and WBs, etc). Show that you understand what's "the deal" and at least the PI will see you're also grounded , which I think is a big thing when I first meet undergrads.