The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Program at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center offers undergraduates the chance to explore clinical, translational, and basic science research in laboratories in the Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. The primary goal is to provide students with a foundation for making career choices in the biomedical sciences. Students have the opportunity to work with one of more than 700 faculty members at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, many of whom have active research programs that cover all areas of pediatric medicine, including the study of developmental biology, congenital disorders, genetic diseases, cancer, cardiology, neurology and immunology.
The program is 10 weeks long, depending on the start date. Students are paid a salary of approximately $4,000 (before taxes). Students start the program on either May 24th or June 1st, depending on their availability and the approval of their mentor. In addition to hands-on laboratory experience, students participate in various academic and social activities with students from other summer programs at the University of Cincinnati. The SURF Program includes two scientific writing classes, an ethics in research seminar, an introduction to bioinformatics and a career day. At the end of the summer, students present their research in a poster session, and a lecture is presented by a distinguished keynote speaker.
Currently, the 2021 SURF program is being planned as an onsite program according to schedule. Due to the ongoing circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic the ability to have an onsite program may change at any time. Thus, please be aware that depending on the circumstances, it may be necessary to shift the 2021 SURF program from onsite to voluntary online programming.
Program Director
Sherry Thornton, PhD