Summer Research Program for High School and Undergraduate Students

Welcome to the Summer Research Internship Program webpage! We are excited that you are interested in our program. 

The Summer Research Internship Program was started in 2003 by Dr. Paula Gregory. For 17 years, Dr. Gregory together with Dr. Fern Tsien, directed the program which has provided more than 400 research experiences for medical, college, and high school students. The current directors of the program are Dr. Tsien, Ms. Martha Cuccia, and Dr. Jovanny Zabaleta.  The program works to cultivate students’ interest in pursuing medical and research careers in the basic or clinical sciences, or public health. 

For eight weeks in the summer, student interns usually work with the mentors in laboratories or clinics at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, University Medical Center, or Children’s Hospital, all in New Orleans. Interns learn techniques used in the health sciences laboratories, gain research study skills, and experience professional development and career preparation through weekly program seminars. Additionally, they receive training in presentation skills, including how to prepare a presentation for a scientific meeting.  At program end, all interns present their research findings at a poster session or oral symposium.

Since its inception, more than 400 students from throughout the United States have participated in the Summer Research Program. Because of this program, some of Louisiana’s best and brightest undergraduates, some who have attended school within the state and other who have enrolled in universities elsewhere, have been introduced to the opportunities available here in Louisiana. After completion of the internship, many interns have presented their research at medical or scientific conferences, have had their research published in medical or scientific journals, have had received acceptance to medical and graduate schools, and/or have gained employment in STEM fields. 

Funding is provided by LSU School of Medicine for research in the basic and clinical sciences; National Institutes of Health's National Cancer Institute (NIH-NCI) - for research on cancer health disparities; National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) - for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) research; and the Entergy Foundation - for local high school and college students to prepare for the future Louisiana workforce.

 

2021 LSUHSC Summer Research Internship Poster Session

 

2020 LSUHSC Virtual Summer Research Internship Poster Session

 

Click here to see a video from 2019 Poster Day 
 

                                    (Mark Fisher)

 

          (From Left to Right: Dr. Li Li, Joussette Alvarado)
 

                           (Sci-Fly Mentoring Event)

 

              (From Left to Right: Samuel Martin, Dr. Ches'que Phillips)

 

                                              (Jordyn Fong)

 

(From Left to Right: Dr. Lisa Harrison-Bernard, Dr. Angela Amedee, Faith Miller, Dr. Allison Augustus-Wallace, Dr. Paula Gregory, Martha Cucia, Dr. Fern Tsien)

 

2019 Postbaccalaureate Winner

(From Left to Right: Dr. Fern Tsien, Diego Vargas, Dr. Allison Augustus-Wallace)

 

2019 Undergraduate Category Winners

(From Left to Right: Dr. Paula Gregory, Amber Sylvain, Brian Washington, Ethan Nicklow, Haley Hill, Claudia Rodriguez, Dr. Fern Tsien)

 

2019 High School Category Winners

(From Left to Right: Dr. Paula Gregory, Corinne Martin, Jasmin Elnaggar, Shaeera Rahman, Naija Nelson, Dr. Fern Tsien)

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