Clinical and Research Undergraduate Summer Programs

The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Heersink School of Medicine (HSOM) specializes in clinical and research undergraduate summer programs that provide an enhanced scientific and professional preparation for students aspiring toward a career in medicine or biomedical sciences. The listed programs provide discipline-specific training and opportunities for smaller-scale connections within the overall community.

All Programs can be accessed through the following link:
• https://www.uab.edu/medicine/home/education/undergraduate-programs/summer-programs
You can apply to many of these programs through the common application:
• UAB Heersink SOM Common Undergraduate Summer Program Application

For more information about these programs, please email sibs@uab.edu.

• UAB Preparation for Graduate and Medical Education (PARAdiGM)
  • An NIH/NHLBI R25 funded 8-week program to introduce outstanding undergraduates from diverse and underrepresented
    minority backgrounds to the exciting career options of being both a scientific investigator and a practicing physician.
    Applicants must be US citizens or permanent residents
• UAB Summer in Biomedical Sciences (SIBS) Undergraduate Research Program
  • An 8-week program where undergraduate students are instructed in the techniques of modern biology while becoming integrated members of a vibrant clinical and scientific community. Applicants must be US citizens or permanent residents.
• UAB BLAZER Brain Summer Program in Neuroscience (Blazer BRAIN)
  • An 8-week program providing students with excellent scientific aptitude the opportunity to experience independent research in the neurosciences under the guidance of a UAB faculty member. Applicants must be US citizens or permanent residents.
• UAB RaCE for Pathology (RaCE4Path)
  • This 8-week program will blend both clinical and research training in the area of anatomical and forensic pathology for a shared-science approach to learning. Undergraduate students will be recruited for the Research and Clinical Experience in Pathology summer program through the common Application portal. Applicants must be US citizens or permanent residents.
•  Kidney, Urology, and Hematology Undergraduate Research Program (KUH KURE)
  • KUH KURE - Kidney, Urology, and Hematology (KUH) Undergraduate Research Experience program is an NIH funded Summer Research Program giving you the opportunity to learn about advances in kidney, urology, and non-malignant hematology research and be mentored in your own research project in a lab by the University of Alabama at Birmingham's renowned KUH community of investigators. This 12-week program (3 weeks are virtual) allows you an in-depth experience in the field of biomedical research.
•  Summer Undergraduate and Post-Baccalaureate Experiences in Research for Genomic Medicine (SUPER-GM)

  • SUPER-GM (formerly SURE-GM) is an 8-week summer program tailored for students from our partner historically black colleges and universities and other minority serving institutions. All students are welcome to apply as well as students who have faced challenging social, economic, educational, cultural, or other life circumstances. Upon completing the summer program, selected individuals will be invited to participate in an optional year-long postbaccalaureate experience for the following year.

• UAB Summer Health Professions Education Program (SHPEP), a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Funded Program
  • The Summer Health Professions Education Program (SHPEP) is supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. It is a free 6-week summer enrichment residential programs for first and second year college students, developed from a partnership between the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Medicine, School of Dentistry, School of Optometry, and School of Health Professions, home to the Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy programs.
• Future Surgeons and Scientists Investigating Oncology  (FUSSION)
  • The Future Surgeons and Scientists Investigating Oncology (FUSSION) program offered by the Department of Surgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) provides promising undergraduate students who are interested in a medical career with research experience and knowledge that 1) increases their competitiveness for admission to medical school and 2) encourages them to consider careers in academic medicine, particularly the field of surgery. The program builds on a solid foundation of undergraduate research that already exists at UAB.
• UAB Short Term Research Experience for Under-Represented Persons (STEP-UP)
  • STEP-UP program is a biomedical research experience for undergraduate students. This program is coordinated at UAB and two other coordinating centers. Students are linked with experienced research mentors at the institution they choose for the summer experience, which may be their home institution or one near their hometown. It is open to students across the country who are interested in exploring research careers.
• UAB Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF-SURP)
  • This is an 8-week program funded by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to introduce outstanding undergraduates from diverse, underrepresented minority, and disadvantaged backgrounds to basic and translational research that is impactful to CF. CF SURP students will be given the opportunity to learn a wide range of research and professional development skills, with the potential option of a clinical or clinical research shadowing experience.
• UAB Research in Aging through Mentorship & Practice Program (RAMP-UP)
  • RAMP-UP invites rising sophomore undergraduate students, degree seeking, from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), Tuskegee (TU), Alabama A&M University (AAMU), Alabama State University (ASU), Oakwood University (OU), or Stillman College (SC). RAMP-UP provides activities focused on mentored research experiences and education in research regarding senior adults, aging, and health disparities research for underrepresented students in MSTEM fields and combines it with structured career planning and guidance to increase the likelihood that students will complete graduate studies and enter the research workforce.
• Cancer Research Immersion Student Program (CRISP)
  • CRISP is a Partnership of Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM), Tuskegee University (TU), and the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). CRISP seeks to introduce underrepresented minority students at the undergraduate level to cancer research, including research on cancer disparities, via training, mentoring, and coursework. Through participation in designated seminars and workshops, research students will be able to enhance their knowledge, scientific techniques, and expertise in cancer and cancer research.
• Cancer Partnership Research Summer Training Program (C-PRSTP)
  • The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) invites honors-level undergraduate/post-baccalaureate students majoring, in a scientific discipline with an interest in cancer medicine, basic cancer research, cancer health disparities, or similar, to participate in its eight-week Partnership Research Summer Training Program (PRSTP). The overall goal of PRSTP is to establish a program that will encourage interest and facilitate student training in laboratory-based or translational cancer research. Through laboratory attendance and participation in designated seminars, research interns will be able to enhance their knowledge, scientific techniques, and knowledge of in cancer and cancer research. Participants in these programs will become stronger candidates for cancer-related masters, and PhD programs as well as medical school.
• UAB O'Neal ACS Diversity in Cancer Research Internship (DICR)
  • This is a 10-week program funded by the American Cancer Society to introduce outstanding undergraduates to in-lab cancer research. Up to 4 students will be accepted into this cancer research-focused, paid summer program to work with mentors affiliated with the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center. DICR students will be given the opportunity to learn a wide range of research and professional development skills and learn from mentors engaging in real-time cancer research in operational labs.