Transforming curiosity into scientific discovery
Research fellowships, hands-on STEM camps, community workshops, and international science education. A student can start anywhere and leave with work of their own.
Research · Mentorship · Publication · Hands-on STEM
Our programs
Nine programs across three tracks. Every one of them ends in something a student made.
Research track
Four programs · Grades 6 to 12
Cancer Biology Research Fellowship
From a single mutated cell through immunotherapy and precision medicine, then ten weeks building an independent capstone.
- 20 weeks
- Independent capstone
- Certificate
Neuroimmune Sciences Research Initiative
What happens when the immune system starts influencing the brain, ending in a collaborative publication written by the cohort.
- 10 weeks
- 40 students
- Publication
Computational Biology Scholars
Genomes, protein structures and biological datasets, with a mentor guiding each student through a computational project of their own.
- 20 weeks
- Independent project
- Real data
Population Health Research Collaborative
Epidemiology, biostatistics and health equity, applied to a question the student chooses and investigates themselves.
- 20 weeks
- Independent project
- Epidemiology
Education track
Four programs · Grades 2 to 8
Young Explorers Academy
Five weeks and twenty camp days, a different corner of science every weekday, closing with a showcase every camper presents.
- 5 weeks
- 20 camp days
- Final showcase
Junior Scientists Academy
Thirty-minute daily workshops across medicine, the human body, engineering, artificial intelligence and environmental science.
- 4 weeks
- Daily sessions
- Virtual
Virginia STEM Education Initiative
Ten community workshops at Deep Run Recreation Center, from strawberry DNA extraction to gel electrophoresis and pH chemistry.
- 10 workshops
- In person
- Hands-on
Rise RVA Community STEM Workshops
More than thirty hands-on STEM workshops delivered in Richmond, building sustained, repeated exposure to science rather than a single event.
- 30+ workshops
- In person
- Repeated exposure
Global outreach track
Two initiatives · Ongoing
Global AGE Science Network
Advanced glycation end products explained to the people living with them, through live workshops with partner organizations on four continents.
- Ongoing
- Live workshops
- Patient education
Kenya STEM Education Initiative
Interactive science and health education for students across Kenya, from human biology and infectious disease to research fundamentals.
- Ongoing
- Interactive STEM
- Health education
What students say afterwards
I actually really liked how interactive everything was. It wasn’t just someone talking at us the whole time, we got to ask questions and actually try things ourselves.
I came in knowing basically nothing about research, so I was nervous at first. By the end I understood how to actually come up with a research question and start building a project around it.
The one-on-one meetings were probably the most helpful part for me. I had a lot of ideas but didn’t really know what to do with them, and my mentor helped me narrow everything down into an actual project.
I thought cancer biology was going to be way too complicated for me, but everything was explained in a way that actually made sense. I ended up getting really interested in immunotherapy.
I didn’t even know bioinformatics was a thing before this. Seeing how you can use computers and data to study biology was honestly really cool.
I was honestly really proud of what I made at the end. At the beginning I didn’t think I’d be able to do a whole project like that.
The outcome that matters is a student leaving a program thinking “I can actually do this.”
Find your next scientific experience
Whether you are running your first experiment, exploring medicine, or ready to develop an independent research project, there is a place to start.