SURF Attracts Record Number of Undergraduate Students
As 30 fellows graduate from the 2024 NCI-sponsored program, more than 200 new applicants applied for this year’s incoming class.
The word is out about SURF.
Thirty fellows graduated from the 2024 National Cancer Institute (NCI)-sponsored Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program and, according to SURF Director Priyamvada Rai, Ph.D., the incoming class is the most competitive ever.
“We had a record number of applicants for 2024, with more than 200 undergraduates from stellar institutions nationwide applying for this year’s fellowship,” said Dr. Rai, co-leader of the Tumor Biology Program at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and professor of radiation oncology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
Building First-rate Research Skills
The 10-week program invites Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers and Miller School faculty to give young scholars laboratory research experience and networking and mentoring opportunities.
“SURF fellows have a passion for science, impressive GPAs and inspiring stories,” said SURF Assistant Director Claude-Henry Volmar, Ph.D., director of the research laboratory in the Center for Therapeutic Innovation and associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Miller School. “The selection process is rigorous, similar to what one would have to go through to get an NIH fellowship.”
SURFers develop into aspiring intellectual leaders in the biomedical and health fields through exposure to cutting-edge, wet-bench and computational techniques. This year’s program emphasized artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to analyze research data and prepare SURF fellows for careers in the nation’s top labs.
The program exposes SURFers to research best practices and oral and written presentation skill building, as well.
“Students might enter SURF unable to comprehend a scientific paper,” Dr. Volmar said. “By the program’s end, they’re talking like a scientist and can dissect a very complicated scientific paper.”
Building a Research Pipeline
SURF is comprised of 20 students interested in oncology research in the NCI-funded Comprehensive Research Experiences to Advance Training and Education (CREATE) program, plus 10 students who want to pursue non-oncology biomedical research funded by the Office of Graduate Studies.
“We are starting to see the success of the pipeline we’ve built, as many SURF alumni are entering prestigious Ph.D., M.D./Ph.D. and M.D. programs, including those at Miller School,” said Dr. Rai, principal investigator of CREATE.
SURF scholar Eduardo Melendez will start his senior year as a neuroscience and psychology major at University of Texas at Austin with new insight.
When Melendez was asked what he wanted to be when he grew up, he’d joke, “A mad scientist.” Melendez, who moved from El Salvador to Texas when he was 13, said his SURF colleagues only intensified his goal to be a physician-scientist.
“Meeting participants from various parts of the U.S. offers perspective, makes you want to explore the world and gives you confidence to be open to more experiences,” he said.
Melendez’s SURF research project on advanced care planning and palliative care for minority women with cancer inspired him to make a meaningful impact.
“As an immigrant, you sometimes don’t have anyone to point out resources or guide you in the right direction,” Melendez said. “I hope to help people through my work, especially Hispanic people.”
SURF reiterated to Melendez that a goal and a strong will are a recipe for success.
“You Have to Have Perseverance to Keep Going”
SURF scholar Nya Allen will be a junior at Dillard University in New Orleans. Her goal is to be a physician specializing in pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology or internal medicine. She also wants to work in a lab and SURF gave her the opportunity.
“This is my first time doing research and it has honestly been one of the best experiences of my life,” said Allen, who spent time with mentor Laura Bianchi, Ph.D., investigating the role of serotonin in the sense of touch.
“I always had so many different questions and wanted to figure out a way to find answers to those questions,” Allen said.
A lifelong Louisiana resident, Allen said being on her own for the first time gave her a sense of independence. SURF connections and networking opened her eyes to new possibilities.
“My P.I. said that, just because your experiment fails, it does not make you a failure. You have to have perseverance to keep going,” Allen said. “That’s a big thing for me to learn in the medical field.”
Applications for the 2025 SURF program open in November 2024.
Tags: CREATE, Dr. Claude-Henry Volmar, Dr. Priyamvada Rai, medical education, Office of Graduate Studies, student research, Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, SURF fellowship, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center