Overview

Our ten-week Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP), which begins on the first Monday in June, is designed for approximately 20 outstanding undergraduate freshmen, sophomores, and juniors interested in pursuing a career in biomedically related sciences. Applicants must have research experience.

Students in the program have the opportunity to:

• obtain hands-on research experience in cutting-edge laboratories
• interact with faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students
• attend a weekly luncheon/seminar series of presentations by faculty
• attend skills development workshops to hone presentation and interview skills
• attend and present at works-in-progress sessions with the cohort of SURP students

Students who are accepted into the program will be offered a stipend of $4,000 and housing. Housing accommodations are available in proximity to the school for the duration of the summer program. All students deliver research presentations at a poster session at the end of the program, and four exceptional students will be named “Rubin and Sarah Shaps Scholars at the end of the program.

Areas of Research

The current explosion in knowledge driving recent progress in diagnosis and treatment of human disease reflects the vitality of ongoing research within the context of laboratory science at the Sloan Kettering Institute.

Students will learn from scientists conducting research in:

• developmental biology and genetics
• signals and pathways involved in the control of cell proliferation
• cell-cell interactions, adhesion, and protein targeting
• tumor immunology, immunotherapy, and transplantation biology
• genomic integrity and human cancer genetics
• drug development, drug resistance, and clinical therapeutics
• chemical biology and structural biology
• computational biology

The SURP mentors are drawn from departments and research programs of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. These include the Sloan Kettering Institute’s eight research programs – Cancer Biology and Genetics, Cell Biology, Computational Biology, Developmental Biology, Immunology, Molecular Biology, Molecular Pharmacology and Chemistry, and Structural Biology – as well as the hospital’s departments of Medicine, Pathology, Pediatrics, Radiology, and Surgery, and the hospital-based Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program.

For more information, please email us at [log in to unmask].

How To Apply

We invite domestic and international undergraduate freshmen, sophomores, and juniors who are contemplating a career in biomedically related sciences to apply to the Summer Undergraduate Research Program. Students interested in applying can complete and submit our online application.

Applicants should have a minimum GPA of 3.0, have completed college-level general biology and/or introductory chemistry, have taken some advanced science courses, and have research experience.

In addition to the application form and admissions essay, students should submit an official transcript from their college. Transcripts can be e-mailed to [log in to unmask] or mailed to:

Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
1275 York Avenue, Box 441
New York, NY 10065

Two letters of recommendation must also be submitted via our online submission system. These letters should be written by faculty members who are familiar with the student’s academic progress and credentials. Students with research experience must submit letters from their research mentors/advisors.

The application opens in August, and the application and all supporting documents must be submitted by the February 1 deadline. Applicants generally receive an email message notifying them of a decision between March 1 and March 15.