Summer Research Institute

The ASCEND Summer Research Institute (SRI) was an eight-week program that was held in the summers of 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018. It introduced students to health topics and disciplines pertinent to health research, with the goal of implementing critical thinking, principles of scientific investigation, and proposal writing.

Twenty to thirty students each summer participated in a series of innovative seminars and workshops that provided them with:

1. An overview of health and biomedical disciplines.
2. Training in the scientific method and basic research methodology.
3. Skills for developing a team-based research proposal.
4. Field trips and visits to public health sites and clinics.
5. Exposure to a variety of different health-related research projects and environments.

Activities were designed to foster collaborative learning and engagement and peer-to-peer learning. Students worked in teams and were encouraged to adopt an "each one, teach one" attitude.