Basic Sciences Programs
American Heart Association Supporting Undergraduate Research Experience (AHA SURE) Program
Through a partnership with the American Heart Association (AHA), mentored summer research experiences are available to students from groups underrepresented in science. Awardees will be mentored by current AHA-funded scientists who are pursuing basic or clinical research in cardiovascular disease.
Aspirnaut™ – Undergraduate Discovery Science Experience in Renal Biology and Disease
The Aspirnaut™ Summer Research Internship Program is a 10-week hands-on and mentored basic science research laboratory experience for undergraduate students interested in a career in biomedical research. The program features a holistic approach that augments the discovery science experience with professional skills development and guided self-discovery. The program is supported by the division of Kidney, Urology, and Hematologic Diseases (KUH) in the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) of the National Institutes of Health. Recruitment is targeted to underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, Native Americans, and those from geographically-, economically-, and educationally diverse backgrounds.
BP-ENDURE Program
The BP-ENDURE connects identified research-intensive institutions to institutions that have substantial enrollments of neuroscience majors from traditionally underrepresented groups. The current programs that interface with Vanderbilt include consortiums from: New York (Hunter College and NYU), Georgia (Agnes Scott College, Spelman College, Emory University and Georgia State University), and Texas (University of Texas Health Science Center). The program supports a range of activities to increase undergraduate student’s interest in the neurosciences, including research experiences, curriculum development, seminars and journal clubs.
Chemical Biology REU Program
The Vanderbilt Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) in Chemical Biology program is a ten week hands-on course designed to introduce chemistry, biochemistry and biology students to the research processes and the interdisciplinary nature of contemporary research. Students participate in a mini-symposium on drug discovery, attend seminars given by VICB faculty working across disciplinary lines and participate in weekly discussions on topics such as ethics.
Leadership Alliance
The Leadership Alliance Summer Research Early Identification Program (SR-IEP) offers undergraduates, interested in pursuing a Ph.D. or M.D./Ph.D., the opportunity to work for eight to ten weeks under the guidance of a faculty or research mentor at a participating Alliance Institution.
MSTP Summer Research Program
The Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) – Summer Research Program offers undergraduate students with interests in pursuing MD/PhD dual degree training an opportunity to conduct summer research in the lab of a physician-scientist at Vanderbilt University. In addition to gaining valuable research experience, students will participate in a variety of formal and informal mentoring activities and will gain clinical shadowing experience.
RISE-UP: The Research Initiative for Scholar divErsity to UPhold Veteran Health
The Research Initiative for Scholar divErsity to UPhold Veteran Health program is designed to provide an 8 week full-time summer research experience for undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds (including Veterans and children of Veterans). This employment opportunity will foster clinical and scientific research experiences in laboratories which conduct research relevant to Veteran’s health. This program is funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Research and Development. Compensation will be provided following onboarding as a temporary Biological Science Trainee at the VA-TVHS in Nashville, TN. To be eligible for employment, scholars need to have US Citizenship and successfully complete onboarding through USAJobs (including background checks). Application link posting is expected in November.
Vanderbilt Summer Diabetes Research Program
This program provides undergraduate students who are interested in diabetes the opportunity for a research experience in one of the many laboratories associated with the Vanderbilt Diabetes Center.
VBISP: Vanderbilt Biomedical Informatics Summer Program
The Vanderbilt Biomedical Informatics Summer Program is designed to provide students from diverse backgrounds with a high quality Biomedical Informatics research experience, thereby encouraging students to consider pursuing PhDs and research careers in the field.
VVC: Vanderbilt Vaccine Center
The Vanderbilt Vaccine Center is committed to impacting global health through fundamental research that fosters development and testing of new vaccines for infectious diseases.
V-SURE: Vanderbilt-Sewanee Undergraduate Research Experience
The V-SURE program is designed to give aspiring MD and MD-PhDs students from The University of the South: Sewanee, both clinical and basic biomedical research experiences. This is a 2-yr program allowing students the opportunity to have depth in a particular field of research and medical discipline or breadth by exploring different research and clinical experiences each summer. The Billings-Spickard and Stoney-Merrill Internships help fund this program.