Participants at last year's UAB Summer Research Academy (SRA). The SRA is a platform for undergraduate students at UAB to advance their research.
A platform for undergraduate students to advance their research, the UAB Summer Research Academy (SRA) launched its seventh installment of the program on June 3, 2024. This competitive research program provides summer scholarships for students in the joint health sciences while preparing them for advancement to graduate or medical scientist training programs.
The program started in 2017 with just five neuroscience students. This year’s program includes 28 students, each supported by a faculty mentor. Students are sponsored by a department and/or center at UAB. This year’s scholarships are generously funded by the UAB Honors College Enrichment Fund, the Comprehensive Neuroscience Center, the Immunology Institute, the Civitan International Research Center, the Center for Addiction and Pain Prevention and Intervention (CAPPI), The O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Office of Biomedical Programs, and the Departments of Psychology, Neurobiology, Psychiatry, Genetics, Microbiology, Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, and Neurology.
“We’ve had tremendous support from groups across the university to help the program to grow,” said Cristin Gavin, Ph.D., associate dean for Biomedical Programs, associate professor of Neurobiology, and co-director of the UAB Summer Research Academy. “We started with a couple of sponsors, and now have participation from multiple departments, centers, and schools. This allows us to serve a significant number of students who in turn go on to pursue research-focused careers.”
Program participants will spend 25 to 30 hours a week for eight weeks in research labs on campus and attend development sessions throughout the summer. The program concludes with an expo in July featuring oral and poster presentations.
According to Gavin, the goal of the Summer Research Academy is not only to advance students’ research, but also to put them in a position to be able to secure grants, author and publish works, and advance their future careers.
Poster presentation at last year's UAB Summer Research Academy.
“The students who participate in the SRA are primed to advance their careers upon completion of the program,” Gavin said. “Many go on to receive Goldwater and Fulbright Scholarships, present at national and international meetings, publish first-author publications, and secure positions in competitive doctoral and MD-PhD training programs. The protected time for research and intensive mentoring the program provides are impactful.”
The UAB Summer Research Academy 2024 participants include:
Juliana Boyett
Major: Genetics and Genomic Sciences
Department: Biology
Sponsor: Genetics
Lucas Herron
Major: Cancer Biology
Department: Cell Development and Integrative Biology
Sponsor: Cell Development and Integrative Biology
Olivia Decker
Major: Genetics and Genomic Sciences
Department: Genetics
Sponsor: O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center
Lillian Hodges
Major: Neuroscience
Department: Psychiatry
Sponsor: Genetics
Angel Varghese
Major: Neuroscience
Department: Psychiatry
Sponsor: Office of Biomedical Programs
Theo Hines
Major: Chemistry; Biochemistry Concentration
Department: Microbiology
Sponsor: Microbiology
Hannah Sterndorf
Major: Immunology
Department: Microbiology
Sponsor: Microbiology
Trisha Sivam
Major: Genetics and Genomic Sciences
Department: Nephrology
Sponsor: Office of Biomedical Programs
Olivia Henderson
Major: Neuroscience
Department: Neurobiology
Sponsor: Honors College Enrichment Fund
Victoria Landar
Major: Neuroscience
Department: Neurobiology
Sponsor: Comprehensive Neuroscience Center
Peter Shen
Major: Neuroscience; Spanish
Department: Neurobiology
Sponsor: Neurobiology
Melissa Mercer
Major: Bioinformatics
Department: Neurobiology
Sponsor: Center for Addiction and Pain Prevention and Intervention
Emily Grace Dolan
Major: Neuroscience
Department: Neurobiology
Sponsor: Honors College Enrichment Fund
Aisha Mesco
Major: Neuroscience
Department: Neurobiology
Sponsor: Center for Addiction and Pain Prevention and Intervention
Kurt Sarner
Major: Neuroscience
Department: Neurobiology
Sponsor: Center for Addiction and Pain Prevention and Intervention
Lauren Assaf
Major: Neuroscience
Department: Neurobiology
Sponsor: Neurobiology
Narcy Amireddy
Major: Neuroscience
Department: Neurology
Sponsor: Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology
Eli Berry
Major: Neuroscience
Department: Neurology
Sponsor: Neurology
Ria Sethi
Major: Neuroscience
Department: Neurology
Sponsor: Center for Addiction and Pain Prevention and Intervention
Jenna Hooper
Major: Neuroscience
Department: Neurosurgery
Sponsor: Civitan International Research Center
Zoey Swalley
Major: Immunology
Department: Nutrition
Sponsor: O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center
Emma Doucet
Major: Neuroscience
Department: Psychiatry
Sponsor: Psychiatry
Kate Miller
Major: Neuroscience
Department: Psychiatry
Sponsor: Office of Biomedical Programs
May Rudd
Major: Neuroscience
Department: Psychiatry
Sponsor: Immunology Institute
Abigail Nolan
Major: Neuroscience
Department: Psychology
Sponsor: Psychology
Corinne Crawford
Major: Biomedical Engineering
Department: Radiology
Sponsor: O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center
Pratheek Reddy
Major: Biology
Department: Radiology
Sponsor: O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center
Samanvi Vootukuri
Major: Neuroscience
Department: Psychology
Sponsor: Psychology