Biomed Focus Program

By Megan Radyk Postdoctoral Fellow, Molecular & Integrative Physiology

BioMed Focus is an 8-week biomedical research internship program for high school students to get first-hand experience in a laboratory at the University of Michigan. BioMed Focus Scholars work full-time in a research lab with a mentor (a grad student, postdoc, or lab staff member) to complete a hypothesis-driven project. Importantly, participation in the program is free and Scholars are actually paid a stipend of $4,000! Over the summer, Scholars also complete three courses to complement their experience in the lab and prepare for the next step in their career. There is a 2-day Research Techniques Boot Camp to teach basic lab skills before joining a research lab. Scholars also take a College Prep Course, and a Science Communication Course, which teaches how to read, write, and present scientific research. At the end of the summer, Scholars complete a write-up of their project and present their research in a symposium to an audience of family, friends, and UMich scientists.

When I was a PhD student at Washington University in St. Louis, I was very involved in the Young Scientist Program (YSP), which is a student-founded and led program that aims to promote STEM in St. Louis public schools to grades K-12. I had such a great experience with YSP and learned a tremendous amount about mentoring and teaching. It was important for me to be involved in YSP because I participated in a precollege summer program myself. I was the first in my family to receive a Bachelor’s degree and didn’t know anyone who was in science, so my summer experience gave me a supportive network and the confidence to continue a career path in science. When I came to UMich, I knew I wanted to continue outreach in the pre-college space and began to develop BioMed

Focus based on some of the wonderful programming already in place with YSP.

I got a lot of support from my mentors, Drs. Yatrik Shah and Costas Lyssiotis, who encouraged me to pursue my plans. Dr. Shah was especially supportive, as he helped me form a lot of the networks with the Med School, who would later generously provide funding for the program. The Center for Educational Outreach was instrumental in facilitating a partnership with Lincoln Senior High School (Ypsilanti, MI) and building the foundation for our first year. Of course, we owe a lot of thanks to our program sponsors including, the Department of Molecular & Integrative Physiology, the Rogel Cancer Center, the Graduate Program in Cancer Biology, and the Elizabeth Weiser Caswell Diabetes Institute.

How was the first year of the program? Can you share some experience from BioMed Focus Scholars?

Our first year went very well! The 3 Scholars had an extremely productive summer and learned a ton! Excitingly, all of them are planning to pursue a STEM major and they have all been accepted to great universities for Fall 2023. They are all also planning to pursue graduate school or medical school following undergrad. Importantly, they want to continue being involved in biomedical research in the future. Based on pre- and post-program surveys, we also see that Scholars are more confident in lab techniques, in writing skills, in presentation skills, and in discussing scientific research. We also had a great turnout for the final symposium with ~50 people in the audience. We owe a lot of thanks to the volunteers who graciously gave their time over the summer and made the program such a success.

BioMed Focus Scholars shared their favorite parts of the program:

• I loved working in the lab with my mentor! It was interesting to be opened up to so many new concepts in the science field which makes me want to pursue this area of study even more.

• My favorite part was working in the lab and doing experiments with my mentor.

• My favorite part was learning research techniques. It was a great experience and completely new to me. I also loved the people in my lab. They were extremely friendly and always helpful!

What would you like to improve about the program?

Based on feedback from our first cohort, we are planning to improve the content in our College Prep Course. To do this, we are recruiting UMich undergrad students to run the course and develop new curriculum. This will also give BioMed Focus Scholars a unique opportunity to network with current undergrads and get their insight on the transition from high school to college/university. This summer we are also expanding our cohort size to 10. There was a lot of interest from students at Lincoln High School after our first year. We also know students from other schools are really excited for a first-hand experience in research. We are expanding the cohort size by accepting more Scholars from Lincoln High School and partnering with Belleville High School.

When is BioMed Focus 2023? How can a new volunteer get involved?

BioMed Focus will take place June 26 – August 18, 2023. We are looking for many volunteers! Specifically, we are recruiting Research Mentors, Instructors for the Science Communication Course, and volunteers for the Research Boot Camp. If you would like more info check our website: biomed-focus.medicine. umich.edu For other questions, please feel free to reach out to me (radykmeg@umich.edu) and coDirector Sarah Steiner (sarahnst@umich.edu).

If you would like to donate to this program, please go to victors.us/biomedfocus2023 or https://give.communityfunded.com/o/michiganmedicine/i/biomedicaldiscoveryresearch/s/biomedfocus