Summer of Discovery for Future Leaders in Healthcare Research

Undergraduate students from North Carolina and Alabama spent their summer on the West Coast, gaining hands-on experience in laboratory and clinical research at the UC Irvine School of Medicine.

For eight weeks this summer, undergraduate students from Historically Black Colleges/Universities (HBCUs) in North Carolina and Alabama enjoyed living in California while working on in-depth research. The intensive curriculum of the HBCU Summer Research and Clinical Program at the UC Irvine School of Medicine, organized through the Office of Belonging, Equity and Empowerment (BEE), involved collaborating with faculty on a real-world study and gaining hands-on experience conducting laboratory and clinical research.

The 18 students — visiting from North Carolina A&T State University (NCAT), Winston-Salem State University (WSSU), and Tuskegee University — were matched across 17 clinical departments in the School of Medicine. As they designed studies, developed models and conducted experiments, met with patients, and analyzed data, their worksites included UC Irvine, the UCI Medical Center in Orange, Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC), the UCI Health Family Health Center in Santa Ana, and the new UCI Health-Irvine medical campus. The program helped prepare the students for medical school admissions and future careers in healthcare.

“Our UC Irvine School of Medicine colleagues are not fair-weather friends!” says Raymond E. Samuel, MD, PhD, a biology professor at North Carolina A&T State University. “Their commitment to the professional development of North Carolina HBCU scholars is consistent with the longstanding, sustained partnership between UC Irvine faculty members and faculty from several HBCUs. The primary aim of these partnerships has been the recruitment of the most talented HBCU undergraduate scholars to pursue graduate or professional school training at UC Irvine.”

Samuel was with the students on the final day of the program, August 15, 2025, as they showcased their expertise at the UC Irvine Undergraduate Summer Research Symposium. They discussed, for example, examining “the role of exosomal cargo in tumor growth and metastasis,” and investigating “propofol injection pain recall and awareness of induction.” Some deftly talked about “high perimenopausal estrogen levels and acute stress in terms of the impact on aging-related cognitive decline,” while others shared “dementia risk factors in subacute-chronic cognitive outcomes in traumatic brain injuries.”

Throughout the summer, the visiting students collaborated with several other HBCU summer programs housed throughout various schools and departments across UC Irvine, including Translational Research in Vision Summer Program (TRAVIS), which hosted 4 students from NCAT and WSSU.

TRAVIS, which started in 2022 as a single summer internship, has since expanded, now offering multiple research internship opportunities through the Gavin Herbert Eye Institute and Brunson Center for Translational Vision. Furthermore, it served as a model for the HBCU Summer Research and Clinical Program, which started in 2024 and continues to grow.

“The summer HBCU program really shows how committed the UC Irvine School of Medicine is to building a better future in medicine,” says Dorota Skowronska-Krawczyk, PhD, an associate professor of physiology & biophysics and ophthalmology who started the TRAVIS internship. She was thrilled to see other faculty and departments show an interest in creating similar research and mentorship opportunities. “Knowing that the summer research and clinical program has support from school leaders, departments and the Office of BEE gives me real confidence in where it’s headed and makes me incredibly proud to be part of this School.”

Learn more about Medical Education Programming for Pre-Med Students at UC Irvine.