undergraduate summer research programs biology

Summer Undergraduate Internship Program (SUIP)

Welcome to suip.

The University of Pennsylvania Summer Undergraduate Internship Program is a 10-week intensive summer research opportunity for undergraduate students, especially those who embrace and reflect diversity in the broadest sense, interested in pursuing careers in scholarly research. Interns will be matched with a Principal Investigator (PI) based on shared research interests. Throughout their time at Penn, interns will work with PIs and other lab mentors to develop laboratory and research skills essential for future graduate school experiences. In addition to laboratory work, interns will participate in seminars that will enrich their understanding of science, participate in professional development workshops, graduate school preparation seminars, and have the opportunity to present at the SUIP Symposium. SUIP is designed for students who aim to pursue a PhD or an MD-PhD in biomedical studies.

Summer Program Dates

The 2025 program dates are Monday, June 2, 2025 to Friday, August 8, 2025 (tentative move-in dates: Saturday, May 31, 2025 and Sunday, June 1, 2025). Participants can expect to engage in lab and program activities for approximately 40 hours during the week.

Participants must commit to participating for the duration of the program dates.

Eligibility

Residency requirement: The program is open to U.S. citizens and permanent residents only. We cannot accept applications from international students who do not meet residency requirements at this time. Applicants must be enrolled in a four-year college for the fall semester after the program ends. Graduating seniors are not eligible to participate. Although it is not required for applicants to have prior research experience, preference is given to applicants who will have completed their sophomore or junior year. Students must be able to attend the full 10-week program. Individuals from under resourced backgrounds that have been historically excluded from the biomedical sciences including but not limited to first generation college students, socioeconomically disadvantaged, attend small liberal arts colleges and universities with limited research opportunities, live with a disability, and/or who bring diversity to biomedical sciences by reason of their culture, class, background, work and life experiences, skills and interests are encouraged to apply for the program.

Compensation

Each intern receives:

• a competitive stipend ($5,500)
• On-campus housing,
• meal plans, and
• transportation costs for one round trip to the University of Pennsylvania.

SUIP Affiliated Programs

SUIP-CCI (Center for Cell and Immunotherapies), SUIP-CFAR (Center for AIDS Research), and SUIP-PERFORM-KUH (Scholars Kidney, Urology, and Hematology) are affiliated programs with SUIP. Students are selected to the affiliated programs based on their research interests. Applicants do not need to complete a separate application to be considered for these programs. All compensation is the same as the general SUIP. Applicants who apply to an affiliate program will also be considered for the general SUIP program.

If you would like to be considered for an affiliate program, please indicate which one in your personal statement. If admitted into an affiliated program, students still will participate in all SUIP activities and will be offered additional research specific content and activities based on the affiliate group.

SUIP-CCI (Center for Cell and Immunotherapies)

The Center for Cellular Immunotherapies hosts a Summer Undergraduate Internship Program in cancer and cellular immunotherapies. Participating laboratories have the general goal of understanding how the immune system interacts with cancer and developing interventions to improve anti-tumor immunity. This field of study represents an intersection of cancer biology, immunology, cellular and molecular biology, bioinformatics, and bioengineering.

Faculty Contact: Avery Posey ( [email protected] )

SUIP-CFAR (Center for AIDS Research)

SUIP-CFAR (Center For AIDS Research) Scholars will engage in mentored HIV/AIDS research. Research topics include HIV basic/translational science, clinical/behavioral science, implementation science, and HIV prevention research. SUIP-CFAR scholars will learn key concepts in the biological, clinical, behavioral, and community-based AIDS research and will build their professional skills.

Faculty Contacts:

• Kelly Jordan-Sciutto ( [email protected] ) 
• Florence Momplaisir ( [email protected] )

SUIP-PERFORM-KUH (Scholars Kidney, Urology, and Hematology)

The aim of the Philadelphia Program for Mentored Research Training in Kidney, Urologic, and Hematologic Diseases (PERFORM-KUH) is to create a comprehensive training program in Philadelphia that encompasses research training in science related to nephrology, urology, and hematology with a focus on kidney, genitourinary tract, and benign hematological diseases that are fundamental to addressing the personal and socio-economic burdens associated with these diseases. 

Faculty Contacts: 

• Lawrence B. Holzman ( [email protected] )
• Wei Tong ( [email protected] )

Application & Admissions

Application & Admissions Process:

Applications for SUIP 2025 open on October 1st, 2024 via the Penn application. All applications are due on February 1st, 2025 by 11:59 pm Eastern Time. All components of the application, including letters of recommendation, must be received by the deadline. Incomplete applications or applications submitted after this deadline will not be considered. 

Applicants who wish to apply through the Leadership Alliance, the application portal will open on November 1st, 2024 and will close on February 3rd, 2025 at 11:59PM.

Applicants can submit an application through Penn’s portal ( link ) or via the Leadership Alliance ( link ). Our holistic evaluation process considers all components of the application. The  research & personal statement  should describe your meaningful research experiences and career goals and be used to share how your personal history, identity, and experiences motivate your choice to pursue a PhD, and the challenges you have overcome to get to this point. The  letters of recommendation  should include at least one from a research mentor, preferably the most recent one. The  community statement  should describe how your personal perspectives will shape and be shaped by engagement with the Penn community.

Required Documents

• Completed online application form via Penn’s application ( link ), or via the Leadership Alliance ( link ). Applications are accepted through both platforms and are considered equally.
• Research & Personal Statement- A statement describing your interest in pursuing research, any meaningful research experiences you've had up to this point, your academic and career goals and that shares how your personal history, identity, and experiences motivate your choice to pursue a PhD, and the challenges you have overcome to get to this point.
• Community Statement- A statement describing how your personal perspectives will shape and be shaped by the engagement with the Penn community (150-200 words).
• Two letters of recommendation from academic faculty or advisors
• Most recent unofficial undergraduate transcript

Application Instructions

• SUIP applicants who apply through the Leadership Alliance should follow the instructions on the Leadership Alliance’s website ( link ).
• Create an account following the  link .
• Begin the application with your personal information.
• You will be prompted to select which “graduate” program you are applying to.
• Select “Biomedical Graduate Studies, Perelman School of Medicine”
• Select “SUIP” and “Summer 2025”.
• In the “Recommendations” section, please provide the contact information for two (2) recommenders. An automated email will be sent to the email address(es) provided for recommenders to submit their letters. All recommendation letters are due by 2/1/25 at 11:59PM.
• Applicants will be asked to select a graduate group of interest. Applicants can refer to the Biomedical Graduate Studies page for more information about graduate groups ( link ).
• If applicants are interested in an affiliate program, applicants can indicate their choice in this section. For those applicants interested in PERFORM-KUH the best spot to indicate this is where it asks for your major scientific interests. In that text box, please write SUIP-PERFORM-KUH. 
• Follow the remaining prompts.

Leadership Alliance

The University of Pennsylvania is part of the Leadership Alliance . We accept applications for SUIP that are submitted through the Leadership Alliance summer research program portal ( link ). We will consider all SUIP applications regardless of which application platform students use.

Research and Personal Statement

In a 2 page document (8.5”x11”) with a minimum of 0.5’ margins and at least 11 pt font, describe your academic interests and career goals. If you have had any research experiences, please describe them. State your specific scientific interests and any particular research areas or techniques you'd like to explore. We encourage applicants to share their lived experience to document their journey and story, which is valued and considered high priority for our reviewers. Please upload your statement with your application. Please upload your statement with your application.

Transcripts

Your transcript must include all semesters/terms attended at your primary institution. Please also include any study abroad transcripts. Unofficial transcripts will suffice.

Letters of Recommendation

Two letters of recommendation are required. Letters from academic faculty who know you personally and can comment on your academic abilities and your aptitude for research are highly encouraged. Requests for letters of recommendation will be sent through the application portal to the email that applicants provide.

SUIP Overview

Principal investigator (pi) matching.

Successful applicants will have the opportunity to preference mentors based on their research interests. SUIP interns' lab placements are determined with consideration for the mentor's availability and the student's interests.

Areas of Research

Mentors are drawn from a group of over 600 faculty associated with Biomedical Graduate Studies (BGS) at the University of Pennsylvania. The mentors we work with have a strong commitment to helping students and extensive experience mentoring, training, and teaching students, postdoctoral fellows, and staff.

Research areas available to SUIP students include:

• Biochemistry, Biophysics, Chemical Biology
• Cancer Biology
• Cell Biology and Physiology
• Developmental, Stem Cell, and Regenerative Biology
• Gene Therapy and Vaccines
• Genetics and Epigenetics
• Microbiology, Virology and Parasitology
• Epidemiology and Biostatistics
• Genomics and Computational Biology
• Neuroscience
• Pharmacology

IDEAL Research Fellows, who are current graduate students or postdoctoral fellows, will serve as mentors for summer interns. Fellows will lead programming, team building activities, and excursions to explore Philadelphia. Our Fellows are passionate about helping interns succeed and working towards the mission of diversifying STEM.

Seminar Series

SUIP sponsors the Summer Seminar Series, a sequence of talks about timely issues in biomedical sciences presented by distinguished Biomedical Graduate Studies faculty. The seminars provide interns with an opportunity to discover the breadth of research taking place at Penn and beyond.

Social Events

Interns enjoy a variety of events including concerts and performances, trips to local museums, visits to historical sites, and social events with current graduate students and program staff. The University of Pennsylvania has several summer programs and there are many free events on campus that are open to our interns. Philadelphia is a great city to visit, and an even better place to live.

Secondary Menu

Research & summer opportunities, duke programs:.

• BioScience Undergraduate Research Fellows Program (B-SURF) ( rising sophmores)
• Dean's Summer Research Fellowship
• Summer Biochemistry Undergraduate Research Fellowships
• Huang Fellows Program
• Duke Marine Lab REU
• Duke Scholars in Marine Medicine
• Summer Research Opportunities Program for Underrepresented Minorities
• Summer Scholars in Genome Sciences and Medicine
• Summer Neuroscience Program
• Undergraduate Research Support Office
• URS - Undergraduate Research Support Programs
• Bookhout Summer Research Internships - Duke Marine Lab
• Visible Thinking, Undergraduate Research Days

Non-Duke Programs:

Lists/directories of programs.

• National Science Foundation Biology Website - Info for Students
• National Science Foundation List of REU sites --Note: this list is typically one year out of date, but most sites are funded for multiple years so the list provides contacts for many active programs.
• Organization of Biological Field Stations - links to over 200 stations for research, internships, etc.

Plant Science

• Blandy Experimental Farm , University of Virginia
• Cornell University’s New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva Summer Research Scholars Program
• Plant Genomics REU at Michigan State
• Noble summer research scholars - internships in plant science (Oklahoma)
• Jobs in Horticulture and more jobs in horticulture
• Chicago Botanic Garden Internships

Biomedical Sciences/Biotechnology

• Albert Einstein College of Medicine Summer Program
• Keck Graduate Institute’s Summer Undergraduate Research and Internship Opportunities
• Department of Pharmacology at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) - Graeme Carnegie Fellowship
• Summer Urological Research Experience at Johns Hopkins
• University of Michigan SMART program for students interested in MD/Ph.D. programs
• CLIMB-UP at University at Buffalo
• Thomas Jefferson University-Research Program
• Eastern Virginia Medical School Summer Scholars Program
• Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Summer Undergrad Research Program
• The Jackson Lab-Summer Biomedical Research, Bar Harbor, ME
• Baylor College of Medicine - SMART Program
• Sackler Institute of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, NYU School of Medicine,Summer Undergraduate Research Program
• Summer Research Internship , University of Cincinnati, School of Medicine, Children's Hospital Medical Center
• Johns Hopkins Summer Research Internship Program
• University of Maryland Baltimore County (Honors College) Summer Biomedical Training Program
• Neurosci Summer Undergraduate Research Program , University of Texas Medical Branch
• Mayo Summer Research
• Translational Neurobiology Summer Research Fellowship at Virginia Tech: NeuroSURF
• University of Texas Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Program
• Summer Research at Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware
• The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) summer research program
• Amgen Summer Scholars at Columbia University
• Amgen Summer Scholars at Berkeley
• Amgen Summer Scholars at MIT
• St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Pediatric Oncology Education Program: POE program
• Summer Undergraduate Research Program at U of Pittsburgh
• University of Iowa Summer REU in Microbiology
• STEP UP program - Short Term REU for Underrepresented Persons
• Cancer-focused Summer Undergraduate Research (CanSUR) at Case Western
• Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute/New York Blood Center Paid Summer Internship

Ecology & Environmental Sciences

• Environmental Health Research Experience Program at University of Washington
• Internsips in Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge , eastern NC
• Smithsonian Internships, Environmental Sciences
• Sea Turtle Field Research Internships, Bald Head Island Conservancy
• Summer Independent Research in Ecology , Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, NY
• National Institute of Environmental Health Services (NIEHS)
• University of Colorado at Boulder Mountain Research Center
• Ecological Research Summer Internship, Cedar Creek Natural History Area , University of Minnesota
• University of Michigan Biological Station, Research Experiences for Undergraduates
• Student Conservation Association, Inc.
• Wetlands Institute, New Jersey
• REU in the Ecology of Human-Dominated Landscapes at Miami U (Ohio)
• REU in Conservation of the Tallgrass Prarie Ecosystem, Kansas State
• University of Notre Dame Field Biology Program

General Research in the Biological Sciences

• REU in Animal Behavior , Indiana University
• Training and Experimentation in Computational Biology REU (TECBio) at Pitt
• Harvard University Summer Internship Program in Biological Sciences in Public Health
• Stowers Scholars Program in Kansas City, Missouri
• University of Michigan Summer Fellowship in Molecular and Integrative Physiology
• Cold Spring Harbor Lab, Summer Undergraduate Research Program
• Argonne National Laboratory
• University of North Carolina - SURE Program
• Summer Programs in Undergraduate Research, Case Western Reserve University
• Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education
• University of California San Francisco Summer Research Training Program
• Summer Research Program in Biology at University of Wisconsin
• Howard Hughes J anelia Undergraduate Scholars
• MIT Undergraduate Summer Research Internships
• University of Illinois Summer Research Opportunities Program
• Rockerfeller University Summer Undergrad Research Fellowship Program
• Univ of Colorado Summer Multicultural Access to Research Training (SMART) Program
• Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center’s Summer Undergraduate Research Program
• REU Site in Raptor Research (REU-RR) at Boise State University
• REU Site “ Ecological & Evolutionary Dynamics in a Changing World ” at Michigan State University's Kellogg Biological Station
• Kansas State Summer Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program
• Marine Biology
• Shoals Marine Lab
• University of Maryland Sea Grant College
• Fort Johnson REU Program /Grice Marine lab, College of Charleston
• Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory , Summer Research Fellowship Program
• Pacific Whale Internship
• Oregon Institute of Marine Biology, Summer Programs
• Bamfield Marine Station
• Newfound Harbor Marine Institute Internships in Marine Environmental Education
• Mote Marine Lab REU in Sarasota, Florida
• Colorado Center for Biorefining and Biofuels REU
• Marine Physical Laboratory (MPL) Internship at Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO)
• Summer research in Germany - RISE program
• The Green Program
• The John Innes Centre and Sainsbury Laboratory in Norwich (U.K.) summer undergraduate research programme 
• Bamfield Marine Station , British Columbia, Canada
• Denmark's International Study Program (Biology, Arctic Biology, Geology, Medical Practice & Policy)
• School for International Training
• Institut Pasteur, Paris

Misc. Opportunities and Scholarships

• National Institutes of Health
• Hart Fellows Program
• The National Journal of Young Investigators
• Organization of Biological Field Stations
• Peace Corps
• National Science Foundation, Graduate Research Fellowships and additional link
• American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Science Education Award)
• Ferrell's Jobs in Horticulture - Website Listing of Internships & Summer Employment
• The Explorer's Club (Grants and Assistance for Field Research)
• Teaching opportunities through Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth
• School for International Training (runs study abroad programs)
• National Security Education Program, David L. Boren Scholarship to study abroad
• Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge : Volunteer Positions to work with Big Cats
• Alaska State Parks Volunteers Program , Internships and Field Experience
• The Academy of Natural Sciences
• The Horizons Fellowship
• Project Horshoe Farm
• Practice Makes Perfect Teaching Fellowship
• Global Health Corps
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• AJED Annual and Semester Reports
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• Biology Cultural Association (BCA)
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• Extremophiles and Systems Biology: Dr. Amy Schmid
• How Cells Manage Stress: Dr. Gustavo Silva
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• Cell Division's Missing Link: Dr. Masayuki Onishi
• Listening in to Birdsong: Dr. Steve Nowicki
• Biogeochemistry as Ecosystem Accounting: Dr. Emily Bernhardt
• Building a Dynamic Nervous System: Dr. Pelin Volkan
• Investigating a Key Plant Hormone: Dr. Lucia Strader
• Imagining Visual Ecology: Dr. Sönke Johnsen
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