Yale Neuroscience Summer Scholars Program

Despite the rising number of undergraduate neuroscience majors in the US, only a small fraction of these students are from under-represented minority (URM) populations. In New Haven Public Schools, a socioeconomically disadvantaged district surrounding Yale University in Connecticut, over half of students are URMs and less than 64% of New Haven public high school students attend college within one year after graduation. Despite the many university, industry, and clinical jobs available in New Haven and the surrounding area, few New Haven students pursue careers related to neuroscience. In 2010, a college scholarship and career development program called New Haven Promise was created with funding from Yale University to address financial barriers to college attendance. Yale provides $5 million per year in scholarships for New Haven public high school students who meet certain grade point average, attendance, and volunteer requirements. To encourage New Haven public school students to consider careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM), Yale's Office of New Haven Affairs launched the Pathways to Science program, which provides over 150 free STEM-focused enrichment programs each year for students in middle school through high school. However, there is currently no formal route for students to obtain hands-on experience that will prepare them to pursue neuroscience related college degrees and research careers. Building on the strengths of these successful programs and addressing the unmet need, we propose to establish the Yale Neuroscience Summer Scholars (YNSS) Program. YNSS will provide research experiences in neurodegeneration, neuroinflammation, and neuroscience for high school students from New Haven Public Schools, which consist primarily of URM and economically disadvantaged populations. Rising high school juniors and seniors ages 16 and older will be recruited through the Yale Pathways to Science outreach program. Each summer, a cohort of four Summer Scholars will participate in an 8-week session that includes didactics, hands-on training in laboratory techniques, and completion of a supervised research project. Scholars will participate in scientific writing workshops and receive instruction on course selection and preparation for applications to college science programs. They will gain experience in reviewing scientific literature, conducting laboratory research, and writing and presenting research findings. Aim 1 will develop each participant's foundation in neuroscience through didactic training and demonstrations on brain anatomy, function, and pathology. Aim 2 will engage each participant in the full spectrum of laboratory-based neuroscience research, from conducting experiments through collecting and reporting data. In Aim 3, we will instruct participants in aspects of competitive college application development focused on applying for scientific majors in neuroscience and related fields. The YNSS Program will apply a holistic approach designed to provide high school students from an under-resourced community with research experience, understanding of neuroscience career options, and a clear path to the next step in their educational journey. Project Number: 1R25NS141167-01 | Fiscal Year: 2025 | NIH Institute/Center: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) | Principal Investigator: Chen Liu (+1 co-PI) | Institution: YALE UNIVERSITY, NEW HAVEN, CT | Award Amount: $56,603 | Activity Code: R25 | Study Section: Special Emphasis Panel[ZNS1 SRB-F (25)] View on NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11058761