Announcing the Rising Stars Program: A New Collaboration Between the IGI and Historically Black Colleges and Universities
The University of California’s Office of the President is supporting a pilot program to bring talented undergrads to IGI labs at four UC campuses to set them up for success in STEM careers.
The Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI) is proud to announce the Rising Stars Program, a 3-year pilot program to bring talented undergraduate students from historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to IGI labs at UC Berkeley, UC San Francisco, UC Davis, and UC Los Angeles for summer research experiences. This one-of-a-kind program builds off of the success of the IGI-Hampton Summer Research Program in Genome Engineering, part of the UC-HBCU Initiative, which has brought students from Hampton University in Virginia to the lab of Chemistry Nobel Laureate Jennifer Doudna at the IGI in Berkeley for research experiences in the summers of 2023 and 2024.
“At the University of California, we recognize that diversity and excellence are fundamentally linked,” says Doudna, the lead investigator on the Rising Stars Program. “Research confirms that diverse teams drive the most innovative breakthroughs. As advances in STEM — particularly in genomics and CRISPR genome editing — expand our ability to shape the future, it is essential that researchers from all backgrounds contribute to this progress, ensuring that scientific advancements address the needs of diverse communities.”
A Wrap-Around Program Designed for Success
The Rising Stars Program is a wrap-around program, designed to ensure meaningful research experiences and set up students for successful STEM careers. Rising Star Scholars will have the opportunity to do research in different areas of genomics depending on their UC campus location, each of which offers a unique specialization. Scholars at UC Berkeley will be involved in fundamental genomics research, uncovering the secrets of the genome. At UCSF and UCLA, Scholars will be involved in translational biomedical research, applying genomics knowledge to create cures for genetic diseases like sickle cell disease and severe genetic immunodeficiencies. And at UC Davis, the Scholars will apply genomics knowledge to creating climate-friendly solutions in agriculture. Together, these schools represent UC’s deep investment in the enormous potential of genomics to solve humanity’s greatest challenges.
To ensure student success during the program and for the long-term, the Rising Stars Program features mentorship that starts before students arrive on campus for the summer and continues after, as well as professional skills development workshops and social events. It also provides funding for the students’ mentors at their home universities to visit UC campuses at the end of summer to see their students’ research presentations and give talks on their own research, encouraging collaboration between UC and HBCU researchers. Further, the program sponsors students to present their research at a fall conference such as the Annual Biomedical Conference for Minoritized Students (ABRCMS) with their UC mentors. The program aims to not only build students’ research skill set, but connect them with a professional network of world-class researchers as mentors, allies, and role models.
The Rising Stars Program will deepen IGI’s relationship with Hampton University, as well as creating new relationships with additional HBCUs. Students will be selected for participation based on their record of academic excellence, participation in lab research at their home institutes, and their enthusiasm to pursue STEM Ph.D.s. The Rising Stars Program is a paid research experience and provides no-cost housing, ensuring that students are not excluded on the basis of financial status.
Ensuring Equal Opportunity in STEM
In 2011, the UC Office of the President (UCOP) started the UC-HBCU Initiative in part to address the low numbers of Black Americans in UC graduate programs — as off fall 2024, it was is 4.8%, versus 14.4% of the U.S. population as a whole. Black Americans are underrepresented in STEM, holding just 6% of all jobs versus 11% of the workforce as a whole, and the percentage of Black researchers declines with seniority. Bringing students from HBCUs into the UC family is one way to help create a STEM research community that reflects the diversity of our American community.
“The Office of the President is extremely pleased to support this multicampus effort to cultivate pathways and help ensure UC is leading on innovative breakthroughs in STEM, which requires diverse research teams,” said Pamela D. Jennings, Associate Vice Provost for Graduate Studies at UCOP, who leads the UC-HBCU Initiative.
“We appreciate the leadership and commitment across the IGI labs at UC Berkeley, UCSF, UC Davis, and UCLA and the leadership and commitment of the program’s outstanding HBCU partners. The foundation that Professors Doudna and Chakafana have built for this pilot, through the success of their initial UC-HBCU project, will be vital as they and others work to expand the effort. The potential of this research engagement and focus in genomics has uniquely important implications for all Californians and the nation.”
Bringing the UC-HBCU Program to the IGI
Erin Doherty, a postdoctoral researcher in the Doudna lab, was inspired to make IGI part of the UC-HBCU Initiative after seeing its success at UC Davis as a graduate student. After bringing the Initiative to Jennifer Doudna’s attention, they connected with Graham Chakafana, a professor at Hampton University, as a collaborator.
“When I was a graduate student at UC Davis, we hosted a summer student through the UC-HBCU Initiative. He did a fantastic job and ended up coming back to Davis for the graduate program. Over time we saw more students from his HBCU applying and getting accepted,” says Doherty. “And once we started to have an influx of students from underrepresented groups, that makes the program more appealing to future students from those groups. They know it’s a safe place where they can focus on the research and be supported. In my five years at Davis, I saw a shift in the demographic of students who were applying and starting in the program.”
Doherty has championed the program’s success at IGI and will serve as a consultant for the Rising Stars Program. In addition to Doudna and Doherty, IGI’s Madelyn Gelpi, Zilose Lyons, and Hope Henderson helped design and will implement the Rising Stars Program.
One of Doherty’s HBCU student mentees recently applied to UC Berkeley for graduate school. The other students who have participated in the IGI-HBCU Program also plan to apply to UC schools for STEM graduate degrees. The Rising Stars Program hopes to bring even more talented young scientists into the UC community.
The IGI-Hampton Summer Research Program in Genome Engineering will continue in 2025.
Learn more here >
By
Hope Henderson
