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Summer Undergraduate Research Program

The Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) is a 10-week program that offers hands-on experience in biomedical, translational or clinical research. Students who have completed at least two years of college-level courses in one or more science programs (biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics or computer science) and are in good academic standing are eligible to apply. Students who are considering pursuing an advanced degree (Ph.D., M.D. or both) and are interested in scientific investigation would benefit most from the program.

Students are matched with a mentor from MD Anderson’s research or clinical faculty. Participants work alongside the mentor in a lab or clinic on projects designed by faculty to reflect current research. Workshops and lectures provide opportunities to connect with faculty, residents, postdoctoral and clinical fellows, and other participants. Through the program, students assess goals related to careers in oncology research and patient care. The program culminates with a symposium in which participants present talks and posters on their research projects to peers and faculty.

The program includes the following activities:

Hands-on investigative scientific research directed by MD Anderson faculty
Clinical observation in interventional radiology, radiation oncology, breast and melanoma medical oncology, nuclear medicine, and IPCT (Institute for Personalized Cancer Therapy)
Lectures and workshops designed to expand students' knowledge of scientific fields and medical disciplines
End-of-program presentation of research projects

In addition to working in labs and shadowing faculty members, students in the Summer Undergraduate Research Program take part in a variety of academic and networking activities.

Learn and Network With Colleagues at SURP Events

In addition to working in labs and shadowing faculty members, students in the Summer Undergraduate Research Program take part in a variety of academic and networking activities.

Sample event schedule Opens a new window

Learning Objectives

The laboratory and clinical environment at MD Anderson provides a broad range of challenging basic research and clinical projects. Students learn lab safety practices and techniques for gathering, analyzing and presenting scientific data.
Emphasis is placed on the importance of basic principles that form the foundation for scientific investigation. Students learn about a broad range of subjects in biomedical research.
MD Anderson faculty mentors design projects that reflect the ongoing research efforts of the institution's laboratories. Students actively participate in the technical aspects of their projects and the interpretation of experimental data.
Clinical observations expose the students to various areas in oncology for future career decision-making.
At the conclusion of the program, participants present their summer research project as an academic poster. Students also are eligible to participate in an elevator speech competition.

Eligibility & Requirements

Students who have completed at least two years of college-level courses in one or more science programs (biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics or computer science) and are in good academic standing are eligible to apply. Applicants must currently be enrolled in an undergraduate program in the United States and be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or international student on F1 or J1 visa to apply.

Students who are considering pursuing an advanced degree (Ph.D., M.D. or both) and are interested in scientific investigation would benefit most from the program.

Dates & Work Schedule

Summer Experience 2023 will take place June 5-August 11, 2023.
MD Anderson's normal hours of operation are Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Exact work schedules are subject to the mentor’s needs and expectations.

Mentor Matching

Students who have interest in a specific scientific research project should include this information in the Personal Statement area of the application. While we attempt to match students with mentors in accordance with declared interests, this is based on faculty availability and may not be feasible in all circumstances.

Stipends

SURP trainees receive a stipend of $6,000 for the 10-week program. The stipend may change based on actual days worked in a week. Students are expected to pay for housing, living, and travel expenses from these funds. Paychecks are issued on the 5th and 20th of each month, deducting the required federal tax.

Application Information

The following information will be required on the application:

Personal information, including contact information and mailing address
Transcripts from high school and undergraduate universities
Personal Statement
Two letters of reference with contact information (At least one reference should come from a science or math professor. The other may be from an advisor, counselor or health care advisor/mentor with whom you worked in a prior program during the past four years.)

Applications must be completed and submitted before the above deadline. Incomplete applications will be purged after the deadline has passed.

If the information found here did not provide the answers you need, check with us to find out the answers to your questions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently asked Questions (FAQs): Application Tips, What to Expect, and More

Summer Experience Survival Guide

SURP Activities

Image of students in Summer Undergraduate Research Program

What Our Students Say

2019 Summer Undergraduate Research Program

2019 SURP - Nadia Samaha

It was a wonderful program that allowed me to expand my knowledge in science and in the laboratory. Well organized program with fantastic mentors.

Alumnus

Summer Undergraduate Research Program

Summer Undergraduate Research Program Alumni

SURP Alumni

Alumni of the Summer Undergraduate Research Program play an essential role in furthering MD Anderson’s mission areas of research and education. The highly competitive 10-week program began in 2013 and has grown to include numerous students each year.

Trainees work under the guidance of a faculty mentor and engage in a project related to cancer research while exploring opportunities to share their findings in publications and presentations. Summer Undergraduate Research Program alumni leave MD Anderson with training in research practices and leadership, preparing them for careers in academia, cancer research, patient care, health care communications and public health.

Students from universities across the United States take part in the Summer Undergraduate Research Program. The following list is a roster of Summer Undergraduate Research Program participants.

2022 SURP Alumni

Name	Institution	Department	Mentor
Taylor Carpenter	University of Texas - Austin	Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis	Nidhi Sahni, Ph.D.
Amanda Chiaha	University of North Texas	Genomics Medicine	Kunal Rai, Ph.D.
Derek Chien	University of Rochester	Cancer Biology	Jian Hu, Ph.D.
Joelly Cortes	Yale University	Genetics	Sadhan Majumder, Ph.D.
Anna DeBruine	Milwaukee School of Engineering	Experimental Radiation Oncology	Di Zhao, Ph.D.
Joseph Jansen	University of Alabama	Experimental Therapeutics	Gabriel Lopez-Berestein, M.D.
Bao Le	University of Massachussets	Cancer Systems Imaging	Chun Li, Ph.D.
Akhil Marupudi	Texas A&M University	Leukemia	Michael Andreeff, M.D., Ph.D.
Laura Nguyen	Harvard University	Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine	Anil Sood, M.D.
Sneh Patel	Emory University	Translational Molecular Pathology	Krishna Bhat, Ph.D.
Kyle Tsai	Princeton University	Bioinformatics and Computational Biology	Ken Chen, Ph.D.
Grace Waterman	Rice University	GI Radiation Oncology	Eugene Koay, M.D., Ph.D.
Yining Zha	University of California – Santa Barbara	Imaging Physics	Kristy Brock, Ph.D.

2021 SURP Alumni

Name	Institution	Department	Mentor
Baleigh Cavalier	University of Texas San Antonio	Hematopoietic Biology and Malignancy	Pappanaicken Kumar, Ph.D.
Jaime Chen	University of Illinois	Radiation Oncology	Clifton Fuller, M.D., Ph.D.
Mansi Diwanji	University of Texas Austin	Gynecologic Oncology & Reproductive Medicine	Samuel Mok, Ph.D.
Travis Dowd	Rice University	Experimental Radiation Oncology	Junjie Chen, Ph.D.
Hector Gonzalez	Elon University	Breast Medical Oncology	Chandra Bartholomuesz, M.D., Ph.D.
Yannie Guo	Rice University	Cancer Biology	Jian Hu, Ph.D.
Johanna Michelson	Colorado State University	Melanoma Medical Oncology	Vashisht Yennu Nanda, Ph.D.
Amy Mu	Rice University	Interventional Radiology	Marites Melancon, Ph.D.
Alexandria Roy	Purdue University	Gynecologic Oncology & Reproductive Medicine	Melinda Yates, Ph.D.
Dylan Salters	Howard University	Pain Medicine - Research	Patrick Dougherty, Ph.D.
Adam Warren	Columbia University	Gynecologic Oncology & Reproductive Medicine	Terri Woodard, M.D.

2019 SURP Alumni

Name	Institution	Department	Mentor
Michael Adjei-Mosi	Brown University	Genetics	Bin Wang, Ph.D.
Emily Aller	Austin College	Radiation Physics	Gabriel Sawakuchi, Ph.D.
Clemens An	Cornell University	Clinical Cancer Prevention	Guang Peng, Ph.D.
Kendall Gibson	Texas A & M University - College Station	Pediatrics - Research	Shulin Li, Ph.D.
Keith Kyewalabye	Caldwell College	Investigational Cancer Therapeutics	Timothy Yap, M.B.B.S., Ph.D.
Olivia Liu	Duke University	Interventional Radiology	Marites Melancon, Ph.D.
Alexander Perry	Texas A & M University - College Station	Imaging Physics	Kyle Jones, Ph.D.
Alex Tan	College of William & Mary	Breast Medical Oncology	Chandra Bartholomeusz, M.D., Ph.D.
Theresa Vanderventer	Rice University	Thoracic Head & Neck Medical Oncology	Alexandre Reuben, Ph.D.
Jaewon You	Columbia University	Experimental Therapeutics	Shuxing Zhang, Pharm.D., Ph.D.
Ana Zaldivar	Florida International University	Cancer Systems Imaging	Steven Millward, Ph.D.

2018 SURP Alumni

Name	Institution	Department	Mentor
Lauren Bagneris	Louisiana State University - Baton Rouge	Gynecologic Oncology & Reproductive Medicine	Samuel Mok, Ph.D.
Paul Behlau	Mississippi State Univ.	Interventional Radiology	Marites Melancon, Ph.D.
Dwayne Bragg	University of Texas - El Paso	Translational Molecular Pathology	Krishna Bhat, Ph.D.
Shamrez Haider	University of Texas - Austin	Cancer Systems Imaging	Steven Millward, Ph.D.
Kamran Kelly	Carleton College	Genetics	Bin Wang, Ph.D.
Debora Kim	Rice University	Diagnostic Radiology – Breast Imaging	Rosalind Candelaria, M.D.
Carla Merveille	University of Houston - Main Campus	Gynecologic Oncology & Reproductive Medicine	Kathleen Schmeler, M.D.
Jessica Rao	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	Pulmonary Medicine	Scott Evans, M.D.
Nadia Samaha	Cornell University - Ithaca	Radiation Oncology	Erik Sulman, M.D., Ph.D.
Lily Sandbloom	Baylor University	Breast Surgical Oncology	Jessica Suarez Colen, M.D.
Sruthi Sivabhaskar	Texas A & M University - College Station	Radiation Physics	Gabriel Sawakuchi, Ph.D.
Carla Villardo	University of Pennsylvania	Imaging Physics	Richard Bouchard, Ph.D.
Isaiah Yim	Boston College	Breast Surgical Oncology	Isabelle Bedrosian, M.D.

2017 SURP Alumni

Name	Institution	Department	Mentor
Divya Bhansali	University of Miami	Imaging Physics	Richard Bouchard, PhD
Kathryn Boom	Washington University	Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine	Kathleen Schmeler, M.D.
Hannah Butterfield	Austin College	Cancer Systems Imaging	Florian Muller, Ph.D.
Shandel Chang	University of Oklahoma	Pulmonary Medicine	Scott Evans, M.D., FCCP
William Deaderick	Rice University	Bioinformatics and Computational Biology	Arvind Rao, Ph.D.
James Feng	Duke University	Interventional Radiology	Marites Melancon, Ph.D.
Arsalan Kamran	Loyola University of Chicago	Stem Cell Transplantation - Research	Qing Ma, Ph.D.
Ana Lima	University of Dallas	Genetics	Andrew Gladden, Ph.D.
Arjun Menta	University of Texas - Austin	Genetics	Bin Wang, Ph.D.
Joel Reyes	University of Texas - El Paso	Pathology - Research	Krishna Bhat, Ph.D.
Christian Sidebottom	Union University	Radiation Oncology	Erik Sulman, M.D., Ph.D.
Victoria Yan	Mount Holyoke College	Cancer Systems Imaging	Steven Millward, Ph.D.

Summer Undergraduate Research Program

The program includes the following activities:

Summer 2023 Applications

Learn and Network With Colleagues at SURP Events

SURP Activities

What Our Students Say

Summer Undergraduate Research Program Alumni

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