UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland (BCH-Oakland) is a non-profit hospital affiliated with UCSF but located in Oakland, CA in one of the most socially and ethnically diverse areas of the country. Since 1981, the Summer Student Research Program (SSRP) at BCH-Oakland has provided research training to over 1000 high school and undergraduate students from groups who are underrepresented in the STEM workforce. Our curriculum provides hands-on immersion into working laboratories, structured activities designed to stimulate interest in science, and support to pursue careers in biomedical research. The long-term goal of the program is to increase the diversity of bioscience researchers.
Since 2012, SSRP has receiving funding from CIRM through the SPARK program to help train under-represented high school students in stem cell biology. The SPARK interns participate in a 9-week, basic science, one on one mentored program designed to achieve the following objectives:
• Deepen their understanding of stem cell biology and gene therapy
• Connect with other like-minded and motivated STEM students
• Develop a basic understanding of research design and methodology
• Practice critical review the scientific literature
• Broaden their appreciation of careers in the biomedical sciences
• Create a detailed scientific proposal under the guidance of their mentor
• Foster a professional relationship with a scientific mentor
• Present a scientific topic effectively and succinctly
Our dedicated mentors and thoughtful programming have made the summer internship experience valuable to the students and a worthwhile investment for residents of California. We have found that students who complete our program have the tools to compete more effectively in the workforce. Moreover, these students add to the gender, racial and cultural diversity that is needed in the growing biomedical sector of regenerative medicine. Including the interns who participated in the 2022 program, 67% of our CIRM-funded interns identified as female, while 15% identified as African American, 37% as Latinx and 15% as more than one race. For our 41 CIRM alumni who have matriculated to college and declared a major, 98% are majoring in or have graduated with a degree in a STEM field. Of those students who have graduated from college, while 29% are enrolled in graduate education (MD or PhD programs). We continue to be encouraged by these successful youth and look with excitement to their future career paths.
