Based on 5 years of experience with this program, we further refined the infrastructure needed for high school teens to be integrated successfully into a highly professional and sophisticated stem cell research program during the summer months, now called the SPARK program. Stem cell related and clinically relevant educational programs and highly meaningful research activities during the summer were integrated into the internship. The CIRM requirement for the students to create weblogs ("blogs") or a video during the internship was also incorporated. First, the students were paired with their respective mentors and introduced to their research projects. All research projects were stem cell related, involving the development of treatments for diseases that affect the brain, heart, liver and and blood flow. However, not all students were directly culturing stem cells, some worked with DNA and markers for cell characterization, others constructed lentiviral vectors to gene modify stem cells. Through these projects the students were introduced to the wide variety of aspects that stem cell research offers, and also to scientific methods and techniques that are used to understand the workings of stem cells and their application in translational science and subsequent clinical medicine. In order for the interns to understand the theoretical aspects of their projects, they needed to gain understanding of the biology of the different kinds of stem cells used in the UC Davis Stem Cell Program, from adult to pluripotent stem cells, how they are cultured and manufactured in a controlled and reproducible way for safe administration into patients. The students were therefore enrolled into a formal class called "Stem Cell Biology and Manufacturing Practices", developed and taught by the program director. This class is a well refined 8 week seminar originally developed for the CIRM funded "Bridges to Stem Cells" program, spanning over the entire length of the internship during the summer. Although the class had been conceived as a graduate level course, it was found, during the previous summer internships, that with special adaptation to high school students, the interns were able to fully understand the subject matter, participate well in the class and pass the required exams. In addition to the formal theoretical lectures, this class also featured a highly unique practical part: Introduction to Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and cell culture inside the CIRM funded UC Davis GMP facility. Given this unique situation with the PI being the director of the facility and a national and international expert in GMP manufacturing of biologics, we thought it would be greatly advantageous for the interns to be introduced to GMP manufacturing, which will be a vital aspect to any future clinical application of stem cell therapies. For the required clinical involvement, students attended lectures specially prepared for them by clinical faculty. Dr. John Laird, Professor of Medicine and Medical Director of the UC Davis Vascular Center, introduced the students to vascular diseases and their treatments, particularly with stem cells, as currently being developed here at the Stem Cell Program at UC Davis. Dr. Vicki Wheelock, Clinical Professor, Director of the Huntington's Disease Clinic, lectured to the students about neurodegenerative diseases, and particularly Huntington's Disease. She discussed the current treatment options for this disease, which consist mainly of palliative treatments, and the hope for a novel stem cell therapy currently being developed also here at the Stem Cell Program. Finally, Dr. Nathan Kuppermann, Professor of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics, gave an outstanding lecture for the students on emergency medicine, and the possibility of treating traumas with stem cells. These lectures prepared the students well for their visit at Clinica Tepati, one of the UC Davis student run clinics, bringing treatments to underserved hispanic communities. The goal of the students' research activities was to put in a real effort during the summer to gather enough data so they could present a research poster at the CIRM Poster Day at a resort hotel in Berkeley. All students successfully accomplished this goal and were very excited to present their own stem cell related research in front of other high school student interns, faculty, CIRM officers and also parents. The CIRM poster day also gave the students a unique opportunity to participate in a day that could very well be called their first professional research symposium, since one presenter from each cohort was also chosen to give an oral presentation. We heard from our students that this was the most exciting day of their summer internship and that they had never experienced anything like it. After completion of the internship, here is what one of the students wrote me: "I just wanted to thank you for your time and effort to make this summer's SPARK experience amazing!"
Reporting Period:
Year 2
At the UC Davis Stem Cell Program, the CIRM SPARK Program fits well into our intention, to educate the future stem cell scientists of California. The CIRM SPARK Program is a novel internship program for high school students, based on the previous CIRM CREATIVITY Program. It allows for the interns to work side by side with noted researchers in cutting edge stem cell research facilities, and is motivating, stimulating, and can even be life changing for young people. Based on our previous successful summer internship program, 10 highly interested and also talented students from Northern CA high schools were selected from the winners of the UC Davis Biotech Challenge Program. The students had to create a website featuring and discussing cutting edge science in the biomedical field. Ten winners of the Biotech Challenge Program were then selected and paired up with individual scientist mentors from the UC Davis Stem Cell Program (we have 25 laboratories the students could choose from) and took on projects involving the development of cutting edge stem cell treatments for heart disease, diseases that affect the brain, liver, or kidney, bone disease, skin disease, eye disease, and other devastating inherited diseases. The summer project was structured so the students could complete a research project within the allowed time-frame and then generate a poster for the CIRM SPARK conference held in Southern California, at City of Hope, in August of 2017. In order for our interns to receive formal training in stem cell biology, they participated in a class called "Stem Cell Biology and Manufacturing Practices" taught over the summer by the PI of this grant. This class also called for hands on training in Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) (the production of clinical grade materials for stem cell trials) inside the CIRM funded UC Davis Good Manufacturing Practice facility. The students took two written exams and one practical exam, including an exam inside the GMP facility. They all earned a training certificate, which they truly deserved, as all of the student interns passed their theoretical and practical exams. The individual mentors and the PI supervised the students in creating their research posters, and also selected one student speaker who presented the summer research project in an oral presentation during the SPARK conference. Additionally, all students presented their posters in front of their peers, CIRM officers and noted researchers during the SPARK conference at City of Hope. All of our summer interns also participated in a second activity, a clinical activity. The students heard lectures from noted UC Davis clinicians, telling them about the pathology and the impact of incurable diseases such Huntington's disease, and other inherited diseases, and visited a UC Davis student run clinic. The presentation on Huntington's disease had a huge impact on the students, as they realized that treatments for such devastating neurological diseases are urgently needed, and stem cell therapies, which are currently being developed at UC Davis for this disease, may be a first step towards providing a glimpse of hope for the patients. The PI then took the students to see the Paul Hom Asian clinic. UC Davis has a number of student run clinics, the Paul Hom Asian Clinic is among the busiest. This clinic provides free medical services to the Asian community, however, many non Asian patients also frequent this clinic, due to its unique atmosphere and highly competent and compassionate staff. Through this visit, the students were exposed to the real world health care situation that patients, particularly without insurance, are facing and were very much moved by the compassion and excellent care provided by this student run clinic. Actually, one of the SPARK students was so moved that she donated a part of the stipend she received for her internship to the clinic. Here one can clearly see what an impact the clinic visit had on the students. In summary, the CIRM SPARK internship program truly inspired these young people who spent their summer with us; this could only be underlined by our interns expressing their desire to continue their education in the biological / biotech field and their desire to work toward the development of new treatments and cures for currently incurable diseases. Excellent researchers and highly skilled biotechnology laboratory personnel will be needed in the near and extended future to produce novel stem cell treatments in California and to move them into the clinic. These young people are the future of California's health and economy.
Reporting Period:
Year 3
At the UC Davis Stem Cell Program, the CIRM SPARK Program fits well with our intention to educate the future stem cell scientists of California. The CIRM SPARK Program is an internship program for high school students, based on the previous CIRM CREATIVITY Program. It allows for the interns to work side by side with noted researchers in cutting edge stem cell research facilities; it is motivating, stimulating, and may also be life changing for young people. Based on our previous successful summer internship program, 10 highly interested and also talented students from Northern California high schools were selected from the winners of the UC Davis Biotech Challenge Program. The students had to create a website featuring and discussing cutting edge science in the biomedical field, and present their work at the SPARK conference, a scientific meeting of all CIRM SPARK students, their program directors and CIRM officers. Ten winners of the Biotech Challenge Program were selected and paired up with individual scientist mentors from the UC Davis Stem Cell Program (we have 25 laboratories the students could choose from) and took on projects involving the development of cutting edge stem cell treatments for cardio-vascular disease, diseases that affect the brain, liver, or kidney, bone disease, skin disease, eye disease, and other devastating inherited diseases. The summer project was structured so the students could complete a research project within the allowed time-frame and then generate a poster for the CIRM SPARK conference, this time held at UC Davis, in August of 2018. In order for our interns to receive formal training in stem cell biology, they participated in a class called "Stem Cell Biology and Manufacturing Practices" taught over the summer by the PI of this grant. This class also called for hands on training in Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) (the production of clinical grade materials for stem cell trials) inside the CIRM funded UC Davis Good Manufacturing Practice facility. The students took two written exams and one practical exam, including an exam inside the GMP facility. They all earned a training certificate, which they truly deserved, as all of the student interns passed their theoretical and practical exams. The individual mentors and the PI supervised the students in creating their research posters, and also selected one student speaker who presented the summer research project in an oral presentation during the SPARK conference. Additionally, all students presented their posters in front of their peers, CIRM officers and noted researchers during the SPARK conference at UC Davis. All of our summer interns also participated in a second activity, a clinical activity. The students heard lectures from noted UC Davis clinicians, telling them about the pathology and the impact of incurable diseases such Huntington's disease, and other inherited diseases, and visited a UC Davis student run clinic. The presentation on Huntington's disease had a huge impact on the students, as they realized that treatments for such devastating neurological diseases are urgently needed, and stem cell therapies, which are currently being developed at UC Davis for this disease, may be a first step toward providing a glimpse of hope for the patients. The PI then took the students to see the Paul Hom Asian clinic. UC Davis has a number of student run clinics, the Paul Hom Asian Clinic is among the busiest. This clinic provides free medical services to the Asian community, however, many non Asian patients also frequent this clinic, due to its unique atmosphere and highly competent and compassionate staff. Through this visit, the students were exposed to the real world health care situation that patients, particularly without insurance, are facing and were very much moved by the compassion and excellent care provided, without discrimination or bias, by this student run clinic. As last year, the clinic visit had an enormous and lasting impact on the students. In summary, the internship program very much inspired the young people who spent their summer with us; this is also underlined by many interns expressing their desire to continue their education in the biological / biotech field and their desire to work toward the development of new treatments and cures for currently incurable diseases. Excellent researchers and highly skilled biotechnology laboratory personnel will be needed in the near and extended future to produce novel stem cell treatments in California and to move them into the clinic. The young people that interned with us during the summer are the future of California's health and economy.
Reporting Period:
Year 4
At the UC Davis Stem Cell Program, the CIRM SPARK Program fits well into our intention to educate California's future scientists, who will be bringing gene therapies, cellular therapies and particularly, stem cell therapies to patients. The CIRM SPARK Program is a novel internship program for high school students, based on the previous CIRM CREATIVITY Program. It allows for the interns to work side by side with noted researchers in cutting edge stem cell research facilities. It is highly motivating, stimulating, and can even be life changing for young people. Based on our previous successful summer internship program, 10 highly interested and also talented students from Northern CA high schools were selected from the winners of the UC Davis Biotech Challenge Program. The students had to create a website featuring and discussing cutting edge science in the biomedical field, and present their work to a jury composed of post doctoral researchers and graduate students in the field. Ten winners of the Biotech Challenge Program were then selected and paired up with individual scientist mentors from the UC Davis Stem Cell Program (we have 25 laboratories the students could be placed in) and took on projects involving the development of cutting edge stem cell treatments for heart disease, diseases that affect the brain, liver, or kidney, bone disease, skin disease, eye disease, and other devastating inherited diseases. The summer project was structured so the students could complete a research project within the allowed time-frame and then generate a poster for the CIRM SPARK conference held in Southern California, at The California Institute of Technology (Caltech), in August of 2019. In order for our interns to receive formal training in stem cell biology, they also participated in a class called "Stem Cell Biology and Manufacturing Practices" taught over the summer by the PI of this grant. This class also called for hands on training in Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) (the production of clinical grade materials for stem cell trials) inside the CIRM funded UC Davis Good Manufacturing Practice facility. The students took two written exams and one practical exam, including an exam inside the GMP facility. They all earned a training certificate, which they truly deserved, as all of the student interns passed their theoretical and practical exams. The individual mentors and the PI supervised the students in creating their research posters, and also selected one student speaker who presented the summer research project in an oral presentation during the SPARK conference at Caltech. Additionally, all students presented their posters in front of their peers, CIRM officers and noted researchers during the SPARK conference. All of our summer interns also participated in a second activity, a clinical activity. The students heard lectures from noted UC Davis clinicians, telling them about the pathology and the impact of incurable diseases such Huntington's disease, neurological diseases such as aneurysms and strokes, swallowing disorders other inherited diseases, and visited a UC Davis student run clinic. The presentation on neurological disease had a huge impact on the students, as they realized that treatments for such devastating diseases associated with neurological functions are urgently needed, and stem cell therapies, which are currently being developed at UC Davis for such diseases, may be a first step toward providing a glimpse of hope for the patients. The PI then took the students to see the Paul Hom Asian clinic. UC Davis has a number of student run clinics, the Paul Hom Asian Clinic is among the busiest. This clinic provides free medical services to the Asian community, however, many non Asian patients also frequent this clinic, due to its unique atmosphere and highly competent and compassionate staff. Through this visit, the students were exposed to the real world health care situation that patients, particularly without insurance or in fear of deportation, are facing and were very much moved by the compassion and excellent care provided by this student run clinic. In summary, the internship program truly inspired these young people who spent their summer with us; this could only be underlined by our interns expressing their desire to continue their education in the biological / biotech or medical field and their desire to work toward the development of new treatments and cures for currently incurable diseases. Due to the current expansion of cell and gene therapy caused by never before achieved cures for cancers, a large number of excellent researchers and highly skilled biotechnology laboratory personnel will be needed in the near and extended future to produce these novel cellular treatments in California and to move them into the clinic. These young people are the future of California's health and economy.
Reporting Period:
Year 5/6
At the UC Davis Stem Cell Program, the CIRM SPARK Program fits well into our intention to educate California's future scientists, who will be bringing gene therapies, cellular therapies and particularly, stem cell therapies to patients. The CIRM SPARK Program is a novel internship program for high school students, based on the previous CIRM CREATIVITY Program. It allows for the interns to work, side by side, with noted researchers in cutting edge stem cell research facilities. It is highly motivating, stimulating, and can even be life changing for young people. Unfortunately, the COVID pandemic in 2020 forced us to postpone the internship to 2021. 10 highly interested, and also talented students from Northern CA high schools who had been selected for the 2020 internship but could not participate at that time, were offered the opportunity to participate in 2021, although the internship would have to be conducted virtually. All of the previously selected students accepted. As in previous years, the selected students were winners of the UC Davis Biotech Challenge Program. The students had to create a website featuring and discussing cutting edge science in biomedical sciences and present their work to a jury composed of post-doctoral researchers and graduate students in the biomedical field. The students were paired up with individual scientist mentors from the UC Davis Stem Cell Program (we have 25 laboratories the students could be placed in) and took on projects involving the development of cutting edge stem cell treatments for heart disease, diseases that affect the brain, liver, or kidney, bone disease, skin disease, eye disease, and other devastating inherited diseases. This modified summer program was structured so the students could complete a mentored research project virtually, within the allowed timeframe, and then generate a poster for the CIRM SPARK conference, also held at UC Davis, albeit, virtually, in August of 2021. In order for our interns to receive formal training in stem cell biology, they also participated in a class called "Stem Cell Biology and Manufacturing Practices" taught over the summer by the PI of this grant. This class also called for training in Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) (the production of clinical grade materials for gene therapy, cellular therapy and stem cell trials); previously, it was conducted inside the CIRM funded UC Davis Good Manufacturing Practice facility, this year it had to be conducted virtually during BIO225. The students took two written exams to demonstrate their knowledge in stem cell biology, and also GMP related topics. They all earned a training certificate, which they truly deserved, as the student interns passed their exams with excellence. The individual mentors and the PI supervised the students in creating their research posters, and also selected one student speaker who presented the summer research project in an oral presentation during the SPARK conference. Additionally, all students presented their posters in front of their peers, CIRM officers and noted researchers virtually during the SPARK conference. In another part of the program, the students heard lectures from noted UC Davis researchers and clinicians, telling them about the pathology and the impact of incurable diseases such Huntington's disease, neurological diseases such as aneurysms and strokes, swallowing disorders other inherited diseases. The presentations had a huge impact on the students, as they realized that treatments for devastating diseases are urgently needed, and stem cell therapies, which are currently being developed at UC Davis for such diseases, may be a first step toward providing a glimpse of hope for the affected patients. In the past, the students were taken to see the UC Davis student run Paul Hom Asian clinic. However, the COVID pandemic prevented this part of the summer internship to be conducted. In summary, we tried our utmost to provide the students, in spite of restrictions put upon us by the COVID pandemic, with a meaningful and exciting summer program. The feedback we received was that the internship program truly inspired these young people who spent their summer with us, although it had to be virtual; this could only be underlined by many interns expressing their desire to continue their education in the biological / biotech or medical field and their desire to work toward the development of new treatments and cures for currently incurable diseases. Due to the current expansion of cell and gene therapy facilitated by never before achieved cures for cancers, a large number of excellent researchers and highly skilled biotechnology laboratory personnel will be needed in the near and extended future to produce these novel cellular and gene therapy treatments in California. These young people are the future of California's health and economy.
Grant Application Details
Application Title:
Internship at a Cutting Edge CIRM-funded Stem Cell Research Facility
Public Abstract:
The CIRM SPARK Program is a motivating, stimulating and rewarding experience encouraging young people from the State of California to enter the field of stem cell biology and research. This has been proven in our Stem Cell Program by five years of summer internships, starting with a pilot program conducted with four high school students in the summer of 2011 and then expanded to 10 students at our institution for four additional years, allowing highly motivated and talented students from Northern CA high schools a unique opportunity to develop skills in stem cell biology and research.
This opportunity will be available again through the new CIRM SPARK internship program. At our institution, as in the previous years, participants are selected from the winners of a highly competitive award program in the field of biotechnology, called the Teen Biotech Challenge. High school students are asked to create and design a public website in the field of biotechnology. Through the Teen Biotech Challenge Program, students gain skills in research and creative web design, while achieving recognition from peers, educators and members of the biotech community. This program attracts a pool of students from Northern California high schools who are interested and highly motivated, and is targeted toward high schools with high levels of diversity.
Ten winners of the challenge are then chosen for an intenship in our stem cell program. Guided by a mentor in the team that most closely matches their interests, they intern in one of our laboratories involved in developing cutting edge stem cell treatments for heart disease, diseases that affect the brain, liver, kidney, and bladder, bone, skin, eye disease, and others. Our state-of-the-art Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) Facility is an important part of this internship, which is a highly unique opportunity, as this facility manufactures stem cells for clinical applications.
Students will participate in a theoretical and practical class in stem cell biology and manufacturing practices, earn a certificate of GMP training, will experience clinical activities in our medical school’s student run clinics. The activities in the clinics will expose the students to the needs of medically under served communities and will allow them to contemplate the application of stem cell treatments in diseases not treatable by conventional medicine. The interns will prepare and present, in front of their peers and CIRM officers, a poster about their project.
This internship program will benefit the State of California greatly. Excellent researchers and tremendously skilled biotechnology laboratory personnel will be needed in the near and extended future to produce stem cell treatments in California which are currently developed and moved into the clinic by CIRM funded stem cell research laboratories. These young people are the future of California's health and economy.
Statement of Benefit to California:
The CIRM Creativity Program has provided five years of summer internships at our institution for high school students from diverse backgrounds throughout Northern California. The summer spent at a cutting edge stem cell research facility was not only a highly educational experience for the students, but also helped them shape their intentions for a future career in science and possibly stem cell research in the State of California.
Our previous experience and the new program planned for the coming years highlights the following areas of benefit to the State of California: Highly motivated and talented students are chosen from a large pool of applicants who may become California's future leaders in biotechnology and stem cell biology. The applicants are selected through our institution’s Teen Biotech Challenge Program, which in itself is already benefiting the state, as it develops a large number of students' interest in a career in biotechnology. High school students create and design a public website in the field of biotechnology, and the merits of the sites are judged by faculty members and biotech leaders in the field. This program attracts a pool of students from Northern California high schools who are interested and deeply motivated, and is targeted toward high schools with high levels of diversity.
For the SPARK internship program, ten of the best students from the Teen Biotech Challenge are selected. Selection criteria are based on their specific field of interest, the quality of their work, and their motivation. The success of our previous summer internships proves that this method of selection provides a student pool that is diverse, profoundly motivated and well qualified, with a great chance of succeeding in the summer program. Ethnic diversity of the selected students is another factor taken into account during selection, appropriately reflecting the ethnic composition of the state of California. Interested and motivated high school students are of extremely diverse backgrounds and may also be of under served status; they are shown a career path that may not have been available to them otherwise, and are often the first in their family to attend college, aided by their experience in the internship and our assistance with applying for prizes and scholarships.
A pool of excellent researchers and tremendously skilled biotechnology laboratory personnel will be needed in the near and extended future to manufacture stem cell treatments in the state of California, which are currently developed and moved into the clinic by CIRM funded stem cell research laboratories. These young people are the future of California's health and economy, and present the best possible investment for our state.
