About PBRC PREP
Applications ARE now OPEN!! PLEASE APPLY NOW!!
UIC PBRC PREP is a program for recent, or soon to be, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) baccalaureate graduates who aspire to enter PhD programs and wish to pursue a research career in the biomedical sciences.
UIC PBRC PREP helps undergraduate students augment and strengthen their research skills and laboratory experience, builds on a foundation of academic skills, critical thinking, written and oral communication, and prepares the student for GRE testing. Students first engage in early June 2024 in a 8-week summer "Boot Camp" course to broaden their skills in preparation for graduate school programs, and work in a major research laboratory in the final ten months of the program. Students are financially supported through the program with a $31K salary. The program ends on May 31, 2025.
Campus housing is provided during the initial month of the program. This gives the PREP Scholars time to learn more about living in Chicago and find suitable housing in the city for the remainder of the year. The "boot camp" course involves daily presentations and discussions on various topics of interest to the Scholars. Scholars review three manuscripts, each from a different faculty investigator. They then prepare three short oral presentations in consultation with each of the three laboratories by interviewing the principal investigator (PI) and research lab fellows. Thus, the Scholars learn more about the individual faculty and their lab research, and the faculty interact with the Scholars. Scholars and faculty submit a ranking of preferences, and the Program Directors then help in the assignment of a Scholar to a research laboratory for the remainder of the program. Scholars present posters at national conference, like ABRCMS, during the year.
Program eligibility: (1) U.S. citizens, nationals, or permanent residents; (2) Graduated with a biomedically-related baccalaureate degree from an accredited U.S. college or university with the past three years; (3) Not currently enrolled in a graduate degree program; (4) Belong to a group underrepresented in biomedical research, including those from racial or ethnic minorities, those with disabilities, and those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Application deadline is FRIDAY, MARCH 1, 2024. Applications typically open up again in January of the following year for the next round of PREP Scholar selection.
UIC PBRC PREP is supported through a generous R25 grant from the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, GM121212. Program Directors: Professors Michael Federle and Aixa Alfonso. Program Coordinator: Dr. Bernie Santarsiero (Confidential Email Address: pbrcprep@uic.edu).
So who could you potentially work for? Here is a list of participating faculty mentors for the program. UIC-PBRC-PREP-FacultyMentors.pdf