The University of Chicago was recently awarded a $500,000 R25 grant by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to fund a new summer research program that will encourage and support the research and career development of students interested in basic, clinical, and translational neuroscience.
Launching in Summer Quarter 2022, the Dynamic Experiences in Neuroscience to Diversify Research Internship Training Exposures for Students (DENDRITES) program will allow visiting undergraduate students to participate in an intensive nine-week research program under the direction of faculty mentors, introducing them to cutting-edge research methods and solidifying their commitment to pursuing research careers.
The program aims to support students from diverse backgrounds, specifically individuals from groups historically underrepresented in academia. DENDRITES will collaborate with the Leadership Alliance Summer Research – Early Identification Program (SR-EIP), co-sponsored by the Office of the Provost, to offer students professional development workshops aimed to improve their skills and qualifications to make them more competitive candidates when applying to graduate schools. DENDRITES will serve as a recruitment tool for the University’s graduate programs. The NIH grant award will fund 40 students over the next five years.
The program will be led by Shyam Prabhakaran, MD, MS, Professor of Neurology and Chair of the Department of Neurology, and Victoria Flores, Associate Director in the Office of the Provost.
“We are honored and excited to start this program and see this is as an investment in the future,” Prabhakaran said. “It will help diversify the neuroscience workforce by creating a pipeline for young minds to take initial steps towards careers in the field and hopefully one day make significant contributions to neuroscience discoveries.”
