Learn how LEAH pivoted in COVID-19 while providing a hands-on program, virtually! Check out the case study in the Journal of STEM Outreach's COVID-19 issue: https://doi.org/10.15695/jstem/v4i3.08
Cheers to LEAH Summer 2021!
LEAH's 15-year Anniversary and Graduation Celebration Event June 3rd!
You’re invited! Join your LEAH peers, alumni, family, funders, and supporters as we reflect on the last fifteen years at LEAH Project, celebrate the completion of our first (and hopefully last) virtual school year program, and congratulate our graduating seniors. Register here to get your ticket for the event!
If the link above doesn’t work, click here:
Summer 2021 Applications are OPEN!
The LEAH Project has TWO paid high school summer internship programs. Applications for both can be found here: https://form.leahknoxscholars.org/
LEAH Knox Scholars: Summer 2020 in Review
LEAH Knox Scholars: First Year Virtual Lab Experience
In spite of very unusual and unprecedented circumstances leading up to the fourth summer of the LEAH Knox Scholars (LKS) program, LEAH staff, in conjunction with our partners at MIT’s Biology Department, made an important decision in early April:
If we can’t bring the youth to the lab, we have to find a way to bring the lab to the youth. In this spirit, we hired 24 LEAH Knox Scholars, a group of bright, motivated, and scientifically curious young people from the Boston area.
LEAH Knox Scholars carrying out biomedical research experiments in their homes using their kits developed by MIT instructors.
Each Knox Scholar received an at-home lab kit, enabling them to set up their own experiments at home. Some procedures they did included using food dyes to simulate DNA samples, practicing bacterial streaking using toothpaste, and creating their own gel electrophoresis equipment using cardboard and batteries. LKS also partnered with MIT’s Edgerton Center to provide youth with a hands-on foundation in molecular biology. Each Knox Scholar received their own molecular modeling kit, which they used to understand the processes of DNA and RNA replication as well as protein translation.
In addition to learning basic lab skills, youth also participated in virtual workshops to enhance their college and career readiness skills. Workshop topics included: discovering one’s identity, creating a resume, using LinkedIn, practicing self-care and conflict resolution, and refining their public speaking and scientific presentation skills.
The summer ended with a virtual symposium where Knox Scholars presented their excellent “virtual” posters to friends, families, and other supporters of the program. We are looking forward to the next steps for our LEAH Knox Scholars! Above you’ll find pictures from their summer experience.
LEAH Knox Scholars Second Year Virtual Internship Experience
MIT Cohort of LEAH Knox Scholars updating one another on their projects.
This summer, 19 of our second-year Knox Scholars were in a variety of virtual internships with organizations across the Greater Boston Area. Area labs who graciously agreed to host and mentor second-year Knox Scholars included Bentley University, Boston Children’s Hospital, the Broad Institute Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals.
The young people worked in areas such as genetics, artificial intelligence, neurobiology, and data analytics, among others, and were supervised by research mentors. Above you’ll see a subset of the LEAH Knox Scholars interning at MIT discussing their projects with one of their mentors Mandana Sassanfar.
Massachusetts Life Sciences Center: On the LEAH Knox Scholars Program
The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center developed an article about the LEAH Knox Scholars program as a part of their high school apprenticeship program. Click here to learn more!
LEAH Knox Scholars Kick-Off June 24, 2020
The LEAH Knox Scholars Program hosted a virtual kick-off for the newest cohort of LEAH Knox Scholars and their families on July 24th, 2020:
Read more about it at the link below!
https://biology.mit.edu/news/news-leah-knox-kick-off/
Summer Internships are OPEN
The LEAH Project has TWO summer internship programs open.
LEAH Knox Scholars – Lab Research Internship
Info: The LEAH Knox Scholars Program runs in partnership with Massachusetts Institute for Technology (MIT). It is a five-week paid summer research experience designed to give rising high-school juniors the skills needed for biomedical research. It is also an opportunity for them to network with scientists and learn about the excitement of scientific discovery.
Eligibility:
· Must be at least 16 years old by July 6th, 2020
· Cambridge/Everett/Boston High School youth
· 10th graders and 11th graders (rising juniors and seniors) only
Deadline: Applications open February 7th and close March 15th.
Website: https://www.leahknoxscholars.org/
ACCESS THE BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH APPLICATION HERE!
LEAH Project - STEM Teaching Internship
Info: The STEM Teaching Internship is a paid 6 week summer program that trains and supports high school students, called LEAH Mentors, to teach STEM lessons to elementary school students at summer camps. LEAH Mentors receive college and career readiness support; learn career readiness skills like professionalism, communication, public speaking; and act as junior camp counselors while teaching at summer camp programs. Youth will also take coding classes (no experience needed) and SAT classes!
Eligibility:
Must be 16 years old by June 1, 2020
Boston high school students (priority given to rising sophomores and juniors)
Students of color (Black/African American, Latinx, Asian American, Native American, Multi-Racial etc.) are encouraged to apply
Selected students will have to pass a background check and complete fingerprinting to be placed at summer camp programs
Deadline: Application open on February 7th and close on March 15th.
ACCESS THE STEM TEACHING INTERNSHIP APPLICATION HERE!
Fall 2019 Debrief
End of Year Debrief
The days may be shorter in this winter season, but there’s been no shortage of activity in the LEAH Knox Scholars program. In transitioning from the summer to the fall, we have plenty of exciting news, events, and updates to share!
Visit to LabCentral
The LEAH Knox Scholars program and LabCentral partnered to introduce LEAH Knox Scholars (LKS) youth to the possibility of pursuing a career in STEM entrepreneurship. LabCentral is a nonprofit organization that helps budding biomedical scientists begin their own lab-based start-ups in Cambridge. Youth were able to explore this lab space and observe some of the best and brightest in the biochemistry and microbiology at work.
After this exciting tour, several entrepreneurs at LabCentral spoke with our youth about their respective educational and career journeys. The LEAH Knox Scholars asked questions about careers in lab sciences as well as a career in entrepreneurship. Below you’ll see our youth talk to members of the LabCentral team.
Visit to Novartis Labs
LKS continued its partnership this year with Novartis’ Community Exploration and Learning Lab which provides youth with the opportunity to gain hands on lab experience. This visit enabled LKS youth to reinforce the skills they learned at MIT over the summer including conducting polymerase chain reaction, gel electrophoresis, and quantitative analysis of their results during this visit. It wasn’t all business though. Below, you’ll see the scholars at work and play.
Application for 2020 LEAH Knox Scholars Program
The time is approaching. Applications for the LEAH Knox Scholars program is approaching. The application will be released February 15, 2020. More information can be found on the flyer below.
Snapshots of Summer
From lab placements to symposiums at MIT, our LEAH Knox Scholars had a very busy summer! Looking back upon the LEAH Knox Scholars summer program, we wanted to share our successes and highlights from the summer:
Getting a “Handle” on DNA and Protein: 2019 Cohort
The 2019 Cohort of LEAH Knox Scholars hit the ground running in lab work after introductory molecular biology workshops. They delved into laboratory tests as they successfully identified an unknown bacteria from the Charles River. Youth extracted water samples from the Charles River, and began an in depth analysis of the microorganisms they found in the water. From the extraction process, they ran a number of experiments such as polymerase chain reaction, gel electrophoresis, and pipetting to discover what kind of bacteria they had. At the end of the summer, the youth presented their results at a symposium at a symposium at MIT. Youth enjoyed the process and the autonomy in the lab they as they were working on their research question.
This program is significant to the youth because many of these youth don’t have the opportunity to conduct independent research projects, much less access to labs in the schools they go to. The LEAH Knox Scholars program enables them to become the scientists they have the potential to become.
Check out our pictures to see these amazing young people in action, presenting their findings on what they learned all summer!
Melissa Gonzalez, one of our LEAH Knox Scholars is presenting on her bacteria from the Charles River.
Jonathan and Adriana, two of our scholars, are “all smiles” with laboratory instructor, Mandana Sassanfar.
Expansion for Second Year Internships:
We witnessed great gains this past summer as we nearly tripled the number of LEAH Knox Scholars in labs around the Greater Boston Area. Our lab partners included a mixture of leading hospitals in the state, innovative pharmaceutical companies, and top tiered universities such as: Broad Institute, Boston Children’s Hospital, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Vertex, and University of Massachusetts, Boston. Our youth worked on projects ranging from cancer research to environmental microbiology, all the way to engineering probes inserted into the brains of birds. Two of our LEAH Knox Scholars at labs said after their experience and career direction:
“I feel like we were able to put everything to the test… not only what we learned last year in the lab, but also the professional development workshops… We were able to do that in a more professional setting.”
“Before (LKS), I was really undecided. I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but now, after these two years, I feel like it definitely influenced me a lot on what I wanted to do.”
This program exists to expose students to STEM and empower them to pursue careers in related fields and it is great to hear from our young people that we’re doing just that.
Kathleen Wei (left), Angelys Matos (center), and Talia Marc (right) sharing good times after presenting on their second year lab internships at the symposium.
Seniors:
100%. We are so proud to announce that 100% of seniors in the LEAH Knox Scholars program not only graduated from high school (compared to 75.2 from Boston Public Schools), but all of them have been admitted to colleges, most with scholarships. For our young people in college now, we’re already seeing great things. Below, you’ll see one of our LEAH Knox Scholars alumni Hubert Galan at his new professor’s office at Dartmouth College: We can’t wait to see what else is in store for our alumni!
