Description

The Biology Mentorship Program (BMP) is a 6-week summer program that provides high school students the opportunity to develop areas of research interest within neuroscience.

This free and accessible program is a valuable tool for aspiring biologists (like you!) to explore science with resources that have been, and will always be, available. These include open-source softwares, open-access papers, volunteer mentors, among others. Students will use these resources to pursue an independent project that will culminate in a presentation and a write-up by the end of the summer.

Requirements

Students participating in BMP are expected to dedicate around 10-20 hours per week on the program, but this requirement is flexible. In addition, students must be available for most of the program dates: July 1st - August 10th. There are absolutely no other requirements. We currently expect to be able to accommodate all interested students. However, if spots do become limited, preference will be given to:

Students underrepresented in science or higher education;
Older students who have never had the opportunity to participate in formal scientific projects; and
Students who are not taking part in another summer internship or are unable to participate in enriching summer activities (e.g. those who have to take care of siblings or family members for an extended period of time, have summer work commitments that bars one from taking part in career-oriented activities, among others).

Program Structure

This program will have one weekly journal club and one weekly lecture for all students, which will be recorded. Every week, during journal clubs, groups of students will present a research paper that they find intriguing to a group of students participating in BMP. If you are a synchronous student, you will have a mentor to help you create this presentation and provide weekly check-ins on the progress of your independent research project.

During the last week of the program (August 9-10 for summer 2024), each student will present their individual project in a 10 to 15-minute presentation. In conjunction with the presentation, each student will submit--and keep--a project paper that can be used as a research supplement in college or other applications. Some students in the past have submitted their papers into student journals, which is great! However, keep in mind that the central focus of this program is first and foremost on enabling students to think carefully, deeply, and playfully as a scientist.