Undergraduate Summer Program
The Gene Lay Institute sponsors three students each year to participate in the Harvard Immunology Undergraduate Summer Program.
This 10 week internship program integrates faculty lectures, workshops, and Immunology laboratory research to deliver an intensive Immunology training experience.
Please see the Harvard Immunology Undergraduate Summer Program Website for more details and how to apply.
Participating in the Harvard Immunology Undergraduate Summer Program was an incredibly fulfilling experience that introduced me to a vast array of immunology-focused research. In my lab this summer, I received amazing mentorship that I know will last many years into my career and learned so much about the immune system and assays critical to immunology research. Furthermore, living and learning with my program peers provided a truly unique opportunity to connect with and learn from student researchers from institutions across the country and even overseas. This experience not only confirmed my interest in participating in immunology research in graduate school in the future but also provided me with extremely valuable resources and guidance that will help me make that dream a reality.
This summer, I had the incredible privilege of working with Dr. Christopher Garris at MGH's Center for Systems Biology. His research concerning dendritic cells provided exposure to a branch of Cancer Immunology which I was wholly unfamiliar with, but ultimately ended up being enthralled by. While at the CSB, I was afforded the opportunity to learn the trade from incredibly accomplished postdoctoral fellows and graduate students. Through these connections, I began to understand the traits required to produce effective research and the importance of persistent imagination when faced with setbacks. Further, the programming provided by the Immunology Summer Program was truly one-of-a-kind, granting students the opportunity to learn from experts throughout the spectrum of Immunological research. Being a part of the high-energy, constantly innovative Harvard Medical School environment was an amazing experience, and one that will continue to be fundamental during my progression in the Sciences.
Working and learning from immunology faculty during the Harvard Immunology Summer Program granted me an understanding of the field that I didn’t imagine a summer program could offer. During the program I worked in Dr. Ana C. Anderson’s lab on a project aiming to prime T cells for anti-PD-1 therapy via altering the gut microbiome. With the help of my supportive lab, I persevered through the inherent difficulties that comes with any type of research and was able to produce publishable data. During this process my lab members, especially Dr. Young-Jun Ju, the postdoc I was working with, enriched my understanding of immunology experimentation and theory that I will carry with me into my future lab work. Additionally, the lectures from Harvard faculty and the workshops with Dr. Stephanie Dougan were world-class. I particularly appreciated that both the lectures and workshops helped me understand the current landscape of immunology research, which is not information undergraduate students are often exposed to in such detail. The Harvard Immunology Summer Program is a wonderful way for undergraduate students to be exposed to the vast field of immunology, and I am grateful to the Gene Lay Institute for giving me this opportunity.