STAR U Columbia University

Take a look at some of our 2022 scholars throughout their time in the program!

There’s still time to apply to STAR U! Please submit applications by Jan. 17th, 2023. Letters of reference due Feb 1st (extensions available)! For more info, see our website (link in bio!)

Interested in a fully-funded, mentored, summer research experience in brain aging at Columbia University this summer? There’s still time to apply to the STAR U Program! Submit your applications by January 15th, 2022! Letter of reference is due Feb. 1st (extensions available). More details to apply on our website: https://www.neurology.columbia.edu/education/additional-educational-programs/summer-translational-aging-research-undergraduates-star-u

⭐️ALUMNI HIGHLIGHT⭐️
Stella Garriga is a rising senior at Lehigh University, majoring in Cognitive Science on a Cognitive Neuroscience track and minoring in Psychology. At Lehigh, she works as a student coordinator in the Community Service Office and as a site leader at a homework club with elementary school students. She really enjoys leading and participating in service events. Having had the opportunity to do biological based research abroad and psychological research at Lehigh, Stella is fascinated by the intersection of the two areas. Her goal is to obtain her PhD in Clinical Psychology with a major area of study in Neuropsychology. She would like to specifically focus her research on the relationship between neural and cognitive changes in aging adults. Stella is excited for the STAR U program because she thinks it will help her refine the goals of her future research for graduate school. She is excited for the unique learning opportunities that this program will provide her with, and to be connected with students with similar interests from across the country that she likely would not have had the chance to meet otherwise.

Apply for STAR U Summer 2021! Deadline to submit application is January 15! 🧠⭐️

⭐️ALUMNI HIGHLIGHT⭐️

Jabari McGinnis is a rising Senior Biology major, Neuroscience minor from Atlanta, GA. He attends Morehouse College. His educational goals are currently to pursue either PhD or MD/PhD in Neuroscience specifically in the area of Alzheimer's or behavioral neuroscience. His short-term academic goal is to learn how to code in order to apply data science to Neuroscience. He envisions in the far future that he will be a physician scientist that applies data science and statistical model building to further understand aging of the brain. He would also like to study the effects it has on behavior. Hopefully one day he will be able to develop a predictive software that will be able to provide better treatments for the onset of aging and behavioral disorders. His interests include reading philosophy and psychology. His favorite philosophers currently are Albert Camus and Angela Davis. His favorite psychologists are B.F. Skinner and Abraham Maslow. He also enjoys playing video games like FIFA and Call of Duty with his friends. He enjoys watching different types of sports from the NBA to the Premier League. At Morehouse College he is a part of the RISE Program which is a research training program to prepare students in future careers as researchers. Sometimes in his spare time he volunteers making food boxes at the local food shelter. Something cool that he has done is taken a graduate course at Morehouse School of Medicine. The course was extremely difficult, but it gave him a glimpse into experimental design and the complexities of techniques like electrophysiology. He is excited about the STAR U program because it will allow him to meet great mentors and begin to further mold his mind to think critically in a curious manner at one of the best institutions in the world.

APPLICATION IS LIVE!
🧠Link in bio🧠

A Summer Research Program in Neuroscience and Aging for Students from Diverse Backgrounds

Program Overview:

The Summer of Translational Aging Research for Undergraduates (STAR U) Program is a 2-month fully-funded research training program designed to encourage students from diverse and underrepresented communities to pursue further studies and careers in aging and neuroscience related research.

STAR U is funded by a grant from the National Institute on Aging (link is external), Advancing Diversity in Aging Research (ADAR) through Undergraduate Education (R25). The program is based at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC), as part of the Department of Neurology and the Taub Institute for Alzheimer’s disease and the Aging Brain.

Through a semi-structured summer research program, STAR U will provide 10-12 students per year with:

Mentorship from Columbia faculty members on an individualized research project in the field of neuroscience and aging research
A range of additional learning opportunities including a seminar series, journal clubs, lectures, and shadowing opportunities
Professional networking and social events to foster a sense of community and mentorship that will extend beyond the STAR U program
Research experiences are augmented by training, lectures, seminar series, journal clubs, career development activities, and social events to provide an enriching and thought-provoking growth experience, culminating with a final research symposium in which students present their summer research projects. In addition to the summer activities, we strive to keep in touch with STAR U scholars throughout their academic and professional development through lasting mentorship and other collaborative, supportive relationships.

Failure doesn’t mean the game is over, It means try again with experience.

🧠STARU 2020🧠
This past summer, our second STAR U cohort participated in a virtual version of the program, which introduced STAR U Scholars to various faculty research, professional development workshops, and weekly check-ins with our STAR U program directors.

⭐️ALUMNI HIGHLIGHT⭐️
Hanaa Aldasouqi is a rising senior at Davidson College, where she is a Psychology major and Neuroscience minor. She was born in El Paso, Texas to Palestinian immigrants and proudly identifies as Palestinian-American. Her past research experience has been in cognitive aging, and she is currently interested in learning more about the neurological basis of metacognition, and awareness in healthy and unhealthy aging. She wants to pursue brain aging research because she believes older adults deserve more effective diagnostic tools for unhealthy aging, especially older adults of color. She is excited for the STAR U program to befriend new scholars, receive mentorship from current faculty in neuroscience research, and learn more about new research methodologies and tools for the neuroscience of aging. Overall, she hopes the STAR U program will empower her to pursue graduate school and a career in cognitive neuroscience or neuropsychology research. At Davidson, she is a QuestBridge Match scholar, a Resident Advisor, and an active member of the Muslim Students Association. She also has been collecting postcards for the past four years, and her collection is currently at about 200 postcards.

“The expert in anything was once a beginner.”

⭐️STAR U’s first journal club with Dr. Eleanna Burns. We reviewed two papers. One on cognitive aging (Drag & Bieliauskas, 2010) and the other was Dr. Burns’ published paper (Varangis et al., 2019) where she uses Dr. Stern’s lifespan neuroimaging data to ask questions about cognitive aging. She also shared with the cohort the process she uses to read and write journal articles.