The CIRM- STAR High School Summer Research and Creativity Program is an 8-week summer science research experience. CIRM-STAR Program is conducted at the USC Health Science campus and is integrated with USC’s existing STAR Summer Research Program. The CIRM-STAR Program focuses on stem cell and developmental biology. In the first week of the program, students engage in a 5-day stem cell course that prepares them for conducting leading edge stem cell research. CIRM-STAR summer interns join research teams of the CIRM USC Broad Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Here CIRM-STAR interns conduct ground breaking research as a member of a scientific team that includes USC faculty,CIRM pre-doctoral, postdoctoral and clinical fellows and CIRM Bridges to Stem Cell Research interns. In addition to their research endeavors, CIRM-STAR interns participate in weekly forums including:
Week 1 Stem Cell Techniques course Ethics and oversight of stem cell research
Week 2 Bioinformatics and literature assessment
Week 3 Developing a professional science career, communication skills, networking
Week 4 Intellectual property, biotech industry, regulatory affairs
Week 5 Stem cell therapies, the media, public policy and perception
Week 6 Scientific writing and presentation skills
Week 7 CIRM-STAR Colloquium: CIRM-STAR Intern research presentation to parents, mentors and research teams.
Week 8 CIRM-sponsored Poster Day at Stanford Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine.
CIRM/STAR summer intern projects:
Elivia Ahmed, Allopregnanolone Analog Regulation of Neural Stem Cell Proliferation.
Mahuya Barua, Examination of the Ability of Gbx2 to Convert Epiblast Stem Cells to Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells.
Brian Tom, Gene Influence on the Development of Germ Layers in Mouse.
Wisia Wong, Xeno-free Cyropreservation of Human Amniotic Epithelial Cells.
Elton Zhou, Presence of Oct-4 Expressing Cells within Fetal Mouse Amnion.
Yinh Li, Epithelial – Mesenchymal Transition and Cancer Stem Cells in Squamous Cell Carcinoma.
Jung Min Lee, Epigenetic Regulation of NANOG in Tumor-Initiating Stem Cells.
Stephanie Felix, The Effects of Cell Culture Medium on HESC-Derived RPE Cell Differentiation.
Jennifer Lam, Differentiation of Alvelolar Epithelial Cells.
Nicole Thach, Generation of Transgenic Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator Rats.
CIRM-STAR 2012 Interns have been accepted into prestigious research universities including University of Southern California (USC), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT),Princeton University, Williams College
UCLA, UC San Diego, UC Irvine and UC Berkeley.
Several CIRM-STAR students received Questbridge Awards and are finalists for the Gates Millennium Scholars Program
Reporting Period:
Year 2
The CIRM-STAR High School Summer Research and Creativity Program is an 8-week summer science research experience that takes place at the USC Health Science Campus. This program is integrated with USC's existing STAR Summer Research program. CIRM-STAR focuses on stem cell and developmental biology. During week 1, students complete a 5-day course on stem cells which prepares them to conduct stem cell research. Each CIRM-STAR summer intern then joins a research team at the CIRM USC Broad Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Once the students are placed in their respective labs, they conduct research as a member of a scientific team which includes USC faculty, CIRM pre-doctoral, postdoctoral and clinical fellows, as well as CIRM Bridges to Stem Cell Research interns.
Weekly forums:
Week 1: Training Course on Stem Cell Research
Week 2: Ethics and Oversight of stem cell research
Week 3: Journal Club I: Bioinformatics and Literature Searching
Week 4: Developing a professional science career, communication skills and networking opportunities
Week 5: Intellectual property, biotech, regulatory affairs relevant to stem cell therapies
Week 6: Stem cells, media and public perception
Week 7: Journal Club II: Critiquing Scientific Articles
Week 8: Colloquium and Poster Presentation
CIRM-STAR Summer Intern Projects:
Ariana Gonzalez: Epigenetic Regulation of NANOG in Tumor-Iniating Stem Cells
Bryan Ruiz: Embryonic Stem Cell Self-Renewal Pathways Converge on the Transcription Factors Klf2 and Tfcp2l1
Chisom Onyea: Oligodendrocyte Progenitor Cells: Promoting Regeneration in Aging and Alzheimer's Brain.
Lisa Yanuaria: iPSC Derivation from Mucopolysaccharidosis type 1 (MPSI) disease mouse model
Omar Lopez: Relative Amount of Oct4 Expressing Cells in Fetal Murine Amniotic Epithelium with Age
Philbert Mach: Site Directed Mutagenesis of the Gene PHF6: A Study of Borjeson-Forssman-Lehman Syndrome
Shapatur Badhur: Identification of LGR5 as a Potential Stem Cell Marker in the Tongue
Viraj Bhakta: Impact of Allopregnanolone Analogues on Proliferation and Differentiation of Rat Neural Stem Cells
Yevheniya Shevchenko: The Role of BS69 in Maintaining Pluripotency
Aimee Mendoza: Elucidating the Function of Heregulin Signaling in Human Embryonic Stem Cells and Human Embryonal Carcinoma Cells
Reporting Period:
Year 3
The CIRM STAR High School Summer Research and Creativity Program is an 8-week summer science research experiences that takes place at the USC Health Sciences Campus. This program is integrated with USC's existing STAR Summer Research Program, which just celebrated its 25th anniversary since the program's inception. CIRM STAR focuses on stem cell and developmental biology research. During week 1, students complete a 5-day training course at the USC Stem Cell Core Facility which prepares them to conduct stem cell research. Each CIRM STAR intern then joins a research team at the USC CIRM Broad Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Once the students are placed in their labs, they conduct research as a member of a scientific team which includes USC faculty, CIRM pre-doctoral, postdoctoral and clinical fellows. Throughout the CIRM STAR internship, students attended weekly forums on various topics in order to teach students the important realities and responsibilities surrounding a career in scientific research.
Week 1: Stem Cells Techniques Course
Week 2: Science Writing and Fundraising
Week 3: Bioinformatics and Literature Searching
Week 4: Ethics, Oversight and Public Policy in Stem Cell research
Week 5: Journal Club
Week 6: Career Development, Networking and Communication Skills
Week 7: Translating Stem Cell discoveries into Therapeutic Applications
Week 8: CIRM STAR Colloquium and Poster Presentation
CIRM STAR Summer Intern Projects:
Jose Garcia: Defining the Localization and Molecular Characteristics of Tongue Label Retaining Cells
Rizwan Choudhury: Genetic Approaches to Uncover Regulators of the Stem Cell Microenvironment.
Peter Guan: Function Characterization of Mutants of PHF6
Aleck Sun: Constructing Synthetic Positive Feedback Loops to Reinforce Motor Neuron Fate Commitment
Cody Lim: Optimizing DNA Donor Template Delivery for Site-Specific Gene Therapy in Hematopoietic Stem Cells
Rebecca Sine: Allopregnanolone Site of Action for Promoting Regeneration of
Human Neural Stem Cells
Garnier Mani: Site Directed Mutagenesis of PHF6: A Study on Borjeson Forssman Lehmann Syndrome
Ashley Haong: Functional Dissection of Alcohol-Mediated Self-Renewal of Liver Tumor-Initiating Cells via TLR4 Signaling
Reporting Period:
Year 4
The CIRM STAR High School Summer Research and Creativity Program is an 8-week summer science research experience that takes place at the USC Health Sciences Center. This program is integrated with USC's current STAR Summer Research Program, in existence for 26 years. CIRM STAR focuses on stem cell and developmental biology research. Each CIRM STAR intern joins a research team at the USC CIRM Broad Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Once students are placed in their labs, they conduct research as a member of a scientific team which includes USC faculty, CIRM pre-doctoral, postdoctoral and clinical fellows. Throughout the CIRM STAR internship, students attended weekly journal club meetings, seminars, and weekly group discussions to learn about the various research projects their peers were working on.
CIRM STAR Summer Intern Projects:
Divya Patel: The Role of SOX9 Positive Cells in Bone Repair
Claudia Arenas: In Vivo Gene Modification by CRISPR/Cas9 System
Joanna Maddela: Functional Dissection of Alcohol-Mediated Self-Renewal of Liver Tumor-Initiating Cells via TLR4 Signaling
Krishna Bhakta: Functional Dissection of Alcohol-Mediated Self-Renewal of Liver Tumor-Initiating Cells via TLR4 Signaling
Esmeralda Lugo: 3D Micro CT Analysis of Tooth Development
Gerry Williams: Allopregnanalone Differentially Potentiates Mitochondrial Gene Expression In Human Neural Stem Cells
Leslie Dominguez: Wnt8b Gene Knockdown to Determine if Wnt8b is Essential for Forebrain Pericyte Development
Mirna El-khalily: Developing Novel Therapies for Gliomas
Harsheta Patel: Developing Novel Therapies for Gliomas
Megan Makabali: Developing Novel Therapies for Gliomas
Grant Application Details
Application Title:
CIRM STAR High School Summer Research and Creativity Program
Public Abstract:
Our CIRM High School Summer Research and Creativity Program will be an 8-week hands-on inquiry based mentored research experience integrated with our existing High School Summer Research Program. Our Summer Research Program for high school students has been in existence for 22 years and has a proven track record of success in mentored scientific research and literacy, communication and advancement to top tier research universities. The programmatic components include a week-long hands-on stem cell biology workshop followed by the 10 interns joining a research team within the Stem Cell Center or one of the 50 Associate laboratories, biweekly progress update meetings, a mid-program social event to create a CIRM student network, and a program-end research seminar by all CIRM high school student interns. Using the rich resources of our institution, the local community and the CIRM network, a forum entitled “Stem Cells, Creativity and the Public” will serve as a platform to integrate stem cell biology research conducted at the bench with expression in the humanities, communication to the public and public policy decision-making. Anticipated near-term programmatic outcomes include literacy in stem cell biology, communication strategies (media, art, literature) and public policy development. Anticipated long-term outcomes include creating a pipeline of stem cell scientists, educators, clinicians and stem cell literate public policy decision makers for California.
Statement of Benefit to California:
The CIRM High School Summer Research and Creativity Program will be an 8-week hands-on inquiry based mentored research experience integrated with our existing High School Summer Research Program. Our Summer Research Program for high school students has been in existence for 22 years and has a proven track record of success in mentored scientific research and literacy, communication and advancement to top tier research universities. In addition to research, the program will include creation of a CIRM student network. Using the rich resources of our institution, the local community and the CIRM network, a forum entitled “Stem Cells, Creativity and the Public” will serve as a platform to integrate stem cell biology research conducted at the bench with expression in the humanities, communication to the public and public policy decision-making. Anticipated near-term programmatic outcomes include literacy in stem cell biology, communication strategies (media, art, literature) and public policy development. This program will thus benefit the State of California and its citizens in multiple ways: by training a new generation of future stem cell scientists, and in increased public literacy and public policy development.
