ASPIRE
Advancing Student Participation in Research Excellence (ASPIRE) is a program for rising high school seniors with a passion for medicine and research and focuses on biomedical research in pediatric and adult medicine. This six-week program is held over the summer at Saint Louis University's Doisy Research Center.
The dates for this program are flexible and are set between May 26 and Aug. 15, 2025. The application deadline is March 14, 2025.
Discover the awe of science, and prepare for college and life success.
Program Benefits
- One-on-one mentorship
- Live the life of a scientist at work
- Opportunity to attend and present at weekly lab meetings
- Prepare an abstract and possibly a manuscript
- Present at departmental research colloquium
- Prizes for top scoring presentations
- Mid-rotation evaluation
- Certificate of completion
Program Components
- Introduction to research methodologies
- Rigor and reproducibility in science
- Hands-on experience in internationally recognized labs
Project Examples
- Learn ELISA, qPCR, H&E, immunohistochemistry, serum chemistry analysis, and microbiota transplantation
- Explore homeostatic pathways in gastroenterology, rheumatology, immunology, hepatology, neonatology, pulmonology, cardiology, allergy, endocrinology, neurology, and many others
- Assessing heart and liver injury
- Observe basic science animal and cell culture work
- Understand enzyme replacement and gene therapy for rare diseases like mucopolysaccharidosis
- Understand iron metabolism and its modulation
- Use of novel PROTECT system to assess Ischemia-reperfusion injury
- Novel therapeutics for alpha 1 antitrypsin deficiency
- Lung injury prevention strategies
- Help understand and prepare organoids