The course begins with a spring semester seminar (STEM Research Part I) that provides the foundational scientific knowledge and analytical skills needed for a summer internship. During discussion-based classes, students learn how to read primary scientific literature, analyze and critique raw data, and work as a productive member of a research team. The core of the program takes place during the summer, when students are matched with research mentors for full-time, six-week internships. In the fall, the program concludes with a semester-long seminar (STEM Research Part II) in which students prepare a poster about their summer research and design and deliver a formal scientific talk. Most placements are in labs at either UCSF or UC Berkeley.
Past STEM research topics include:
- Characterizing Autism Spectrum Disorder-associated microtubule dynamics during telencephalon development in the western clawed frog
- Analyse des communautés microbiennes pour améliorer la projection de carburant à partir de la biomasse
- Experimental analysis of ISG15 antiviral gene expression in early-onset Alzheimer’s disease patients
- La conception de dispositifs microfluidiques destinés à être utilisés dans la détection des cellules cancéreuses métastatiques
- Investigating the impact of skin pigmentation on the accuracy of pulse oximetry
- Building a portable cryoablation device to treat
cervical pre-cancer
- Estrogen regulates of the Sonic Hedgehog gene signaling and neural progenitor cell biology in the embryonic forebrain
- Discovering the roles of Pou family pluripotency factors in neural, skin, and muscle development in the African clawed frog