The UMass Boston – DF/HCC Partnership is an active advocate for student training. We have several training programs for students to develop skills needed to excel in scientific research, specifically in the area of cancer and cancer health disparities. Programs target students from undergraduates to postdocs and focus on critical areas to develop to become successful and innovative cancer researchers.
Partnership research training opportunities
Community-based research
The Outreach Core offers paid summer research and outreach opportunities for high school, undergraduate and postbaccalaureate students—particularly those from underrepresented minority backgrounds—who are interested in cancer/cancer disparities, public health, and community outreach. OC interns will be selected and matched with an internship site, depending on interest, and can be placed at DF/HCC community-based research labs, community-based organizations, or faith-based organizations in the Boston area or Lawrence, MA. Interns will be required to attend professional development workshops and the Annual Education Day, as well as present a poster of their research at the end of the summer.
Applications are no longer being accepted. Contact Ashley.Lazarre001@umb.edu for program details.
Lab-based research
The Research Education Core (REC) offers paid summer research opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students—particularly those from underrepresented minority backgrounds—who are interested in cancer/cancer disparities research. Trainees are matched, depending on interest, and placed at a UMass Boston or DF/HCC research lab. Trainees are required to participate in professional development activities and present their work at local and national conferences.
Applications for summer 2024 programming are no longer being accepted. Contact U54REC@umb.edu for more information.
Summer Program to Advance Research Careers (SPARC)
The Summer Program to Advance Research Careers (SPARC) is a 12-week intensive research experience focused on emerging technologies (ET) in cancer and cancer disparities. First or second-year undergraduates will engage in full-time mentored cancer research experiences across DF/HCC and UMass Boston. Program activities will provide the intellectual, technical, and personal foundations essential for developing and implementing cutting-edge research.
Applications are no longer being accepted. Visit the SPARC website for more program details.
Young Empowered Students for Continued Research Engagement (YES for CURE)
YES for CURE is a two-and-a-half-year training program for high school and undergraduate students from underrepresented populations interested in a career in science or research. Students engage in hands-on, mentored research with basic, clinical, or population science or nursing research investigators at DF/HCC.
Applications are no longer being accepted. Visit the YES for CURE website for more program details.
Continuing Umbrella of Research Experiences (CURE) Summer Program
The CURE program introduces high school and college students from underrepresented populations to the world of cancer research by placing them in real research settings at local cancer research institutions. The goal is to encourage students to pursue careers in cancer research and to expand their interest in basic, clinical, and/or population science research.
Applications are no longer being accepted. For more program details, visit the CURE Program’s website.
Non-Partnership research training opportunities
- Initiative for Maximizing Student Development, UMass Boston, is a year-round, research-intensive, skill-building, mentoring program for undergraduates interested in the biomedical sciences
- McNair Program, UMass Boston, offers undergraduate students in STEM the opportunity to participate in research and scholarly activities under the supervision of a faculty member and a graduate student mentor from the areas in which they hope to pursue graduate studies
- Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Integrative and Evolutionary Biology, UMass Boston, is a 10-week summer program for biology majors to participate in a variety of enrichment activities and work as a part of a research team under the guidance of a faculty advisor
- Intramural Continuing Umbrella of Research Experiences (iCURE) encourages research experiences for underrepresented students and scientists in the NCI intramural research community
- Summer Student Research Program, Harvard Program Neonatology, provides a program for students interested in the research and clinical aspects of Newborn Medicine
- Summer Training as Research Scholars Program (STaRS), Boston University, is a program to enhance skills required for successful entrance and completion of a graduate program or an MD/PhD program in the biomedical sciences
- Summer Honors Undergraduate Research Program (SHURP), Harvard Medical School, is primarily for students belonging to an underrepresented minority group who are interested in the sciences
- Summer Research Trainee Program (SRTP), Mass. General Hospital, for underrepresented students who are interested in careers in academic medicine
- Summer Undergraduate Research Program, Tufts University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, provides mentored research experience for students interested in pursuing PhD or MD/PhD studies
- Summer Undergraduate Research Opportunity, UMass Medical School, is designed to provide participants in-depth exposure to actual biomedical research