| The purpose of the LA BioMed Summer Fellowship Program is to improve the science education of high school students and encourage them towards careers in the health sciences and research. This program benefits outstanding high school seniors by providing them with the opportunity to work in a scientific and medical research environment so that they can gain firsthand experience in biomedical research. Students who participate in this program are selected by a committee consisting of Harbor-UCLA Medical Center faculty members. The program was established in 1978, and is very competitive, with over 100 students applying every year. In the past few years, LABioMed has been able to accept 18 students each summer. Students who are selected for the LABioMED Summer Fellowship Program spend eight weeks assisting assigned mentors, who are accomplished medical scientists, in the study of such topics as the nature or progression of diseases, the efficacy of medications, and many other vital areas of scientific research. Students are exposed to ongoing research projects and participate in a well-defined protocol that can be completed during the summer program. Students also attend clinical conferences, medical Grand Rounds, and research seminars. Each week, a brown bag luncheon meeting is held. This gives the students the opportunity to share their research experiences, laboratory activities and what they are learning from their mentors. At these meetings, lectures are given on environmental safety, bioethics, study design, etc.
Tours of various specialized facilities are conducted, including the Magnetic Resonance Imaging Center, Emergency Room, nuclear medicine laboratories, Electron Beam Computed Tomography facility, and General Clinical Research Center core laboratory. Group activities such as sports and a picnic are organized by the students. At the end of the summer, student participants submit written reports and anonymous program evaluations. A Culmination Ceremony is held, which is attended by students, faculty mentors, parents and other family members, and guests. During the Culmination Ceremony, the students present posters summarizing their research projects. Selected students are chosen to present their research orally during the ceremony. At the conclusion of the Culmination Ceremony, certificates of achievement are presented to the students. Annual tracking surveys are sent to the former student participants. Some former students who have graduated from medical school or graduate school, have returned as post-graduate physicians or fellows at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. One of our former students is now a Professor in the Department of Surgery at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, and has been serving as a mentor in this program. |
