EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS | High School and Undergraduate Students

Summer Programs

We  have three summer programs for high school students with varying degrees of time commitment by students. Check timelines for applying carefully and contact the program coordinator if you have any questions.

► Allied Health Education and Discovery Program (AHEAD): This free, 5-day program is for Louisiana high school students interested in exploring the health career programs offered here in the School of Allied Health Professions. Participants will engage in full-day sessions that include hands-on, interactive activities within each discipline and field trips. Students will receive tips for success in college and guidance on how to pursue a professional career in healthcare. Our emphasis is on recruiting students from underrepresented backgrounds with the primary goal of contributing to a diverse educational environment. LEARN MORE about AHEAD >>

► Jumpstart Summer Enrichment Program: Designed to encourage students to pursue careers in medicine, research or allied health professions, the eight-week Jumpstart Summer Enrichment Program exposes students to intense hands-on research activities conducted by the Office of Diversity Affairs, LSUHS faculty serve as program mentors. The experience is in either a research laboratory or clinical setting for 40 hours per week. Students are also provided weekly supplemental enrichment activities, which include: library, hospital, and animal care tours, lectures by health care professionals and motivational films. At the end of the program, students present the results of their research projects at a poster session, which demonstrates their scientific writing skills and ability to evaluate scientific data. LEARN MORE about Jumpstart >>

Are you going to be a Senior in High School, who is looking for a program that lasts for the entire school year?

► Science & Medicine Academic Research Training Program (SMART): The Bobbie Cates Hicks SMART program provides academically advanced high school seniors who are interested in careers related to medicine, scientific research, and biomedical engineering opportunities to engage in intensive research with medical clinicians, researchers, and academic staff. Funded by the BRF since its inception in 1997, 217 students have been trained in this program. The students enter into the lab full-time over the summer before senior year (a stipend is provided), and then come to the lab for at least 10 hours per week for the entire senior year (they receive high school science credit). Based on tracking performed in 2012, all of the students attended undergraduate university, with 79% obtaining degrees with science majors. 80% of those employed worked in science/health related fields. LEARN MORE about SMART >>

Are you going to be a Senior at Southwood High School in Shreveport, who is looking for a research program?

► Biostart Program: Eight to Ten students participate each year from Southwood High School in the Biostart Program funded locally by the Biomedical Research Foundation. One of the goals of the program is to enhance the education of an underserved community in Shreveport. In addition to research time each morning during the fall semester, the students attend a lecture series on laboratory skills and responsible conduct in research. They also participate in a hands-on science day for 160 eighth grade students from our area to help promote STEM education. The program ends with a poster presentation. 
LEARN MORE about Biostart >> 

Summer Programs

► American Heart Association Supporting Undergraduate Research Experiences (AHA SURE)
The American Heart Association SURE is a unique summer research program that supports individuals from underrepresented groups who are interested in pursuing a career in the fields of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) and want to help address inequities in health care delivery and outcomes related to the mission of the AHA. The program at LSUHS takes place over 8 weeks during the summer and provides a valuable mentored research experience in cardiovascular disease to undergraduate students. Additional benefits include a $6,000 stipend, travel expenses and a stipend for housing, the opportunity to attend AHA Scientific Sessions with all expenses paid, and special programming events to network with other students and AHA scientific leaders. LEARN MORE about AHA SURE >>

► Cardiovascular Undergraduate Research Initiative fOr Underrepresented Students (CURIOUS)
The Center of Excellence for Cardiovascular Diseases and Sciences hosts the CURIOUS program, an NIH-funded 8-week summer research program in cardiovascular disease for undergraduate students who are interested in pursuing research as part of their scientific or clinical career goals. Our principle investigators, who will serve as mentors, lead research programs in several focus areas including: atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction, cardiomyopathy, peripheral artery disease, microvascular dysfunction in response to cardiovascular disease risk factors, stroke and the vascular/heart-brain axis. LEARN MORE about CURIOUS >>

► Pathogen-Host Interactions and Immunology Research and Education (PHIIRE) Fellowship
Through this competitive summer research program fellows will do hands-on biomedical research under the mentorship of nationally recognized faculty in infectious disease and immunology. Fellows will work with their mentors to create a scientific question to serve as the focus of their project and then use the 8-week period during the summer to find experimental answers to their question, culminating in a poster presentation to share their research findings. Stipends ($12/hour) will be provided to all Fellows.
LEARN MORE about PHIIRE >>

► Summer Undergraduate Pharmacology Experience in Research (SUPER)
The SUPER program, hosted by the LSUHS Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Neuroscience is geared specifically to students interested in pharmacology research. Students participate in an eight-week program that includes laboratory research experiments and weekly lectures on topics that will help prepare them for success in research-intensive doctoral programs. 
LEARN MORE about SUPER >>

► Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship Program (UGRAP)
This program is sponsored by the LSUHS Office of Diversity Affairs to attract students from undergraduate campuses throughout Louisiana and neighboring states, all of whom are Louisiana residents interested in medicine, biomedical research or allied health professions. It provides an 8-week research experience where students are placed in laboratories of research mentors and are exposed to different experiences related to both research and clinical careers. LEARN MORE about UGRAP >>