ATRI Student Summer Research Program
The Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute (ATRI) Summer Research Program at the University of Southern California’s Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute (ATRI) is an eight-week, full-time, in-person, immersive, mentor-guided summer research training program. Students accepted to the program will work closely with and learn from an internationally renowned, multi-disciplinary team of scientists, researchers, and staff members at ATRI. In addition, students will participate in AD clinical trials focused lecture series, workshops, and team meetings to develop competencies in AD clinical trials research and trials operations, professionalism, effective science communication and presentation skills.
The overarching goal of the program is to increase the number of highly motivated students who are interested in considering a career in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) clinical trials.
Class of 2024
2025 Program Dates coming soon.
Students have the opportunity to gain direct experience through two program tracks.
Trials OperationS Track
This track is open to graduate students only. This track aims to introduce graduate students to career opportunities in AD clinical trials operations and further their professional experience. Students will be asked to complete a summer project with their assigned mentor from one of the following functional areas: Biostatistics, Informatics & Data Management, and Recruitment, Engagement & Retention.
Research Development Track
This track is open to undergraduate students, in their Junior and Senior years only. Students will engage in AD clinical trials research under the supervision of a faculty member, learning how to develop and investigate a specific research question in the field of Biostatistics or Recruitment & Retention Science.
Program Details
Summer of 2025 Program Dates TBD.
Curriculum/Schedule & Logistics
Students of both tracks will be fully integrated into the ATRI network and community, via meetings and other relevant activities. Both tracks will attend all faculty seminars, ATRI Lunch Seminars, and workshops by guest speakers.
Application Process & Program Requirements
Applications are currently closed. Interested students are welcome to contact us for future program dates and/or opportunities.
Program Requirements
- Must be legally authorized to work in the United States.
- Must be currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program.
- Additional eligibility criteria for particular student positions are listed inside of the application.
- Only complete applications will be reviewed.
- A complete application will require the following attachments:
- Personal Statement (download prompt here).
- Resume/CV
- In-person attendance is required for the entirety of the program.
- Students must comply to San Diego County’s COVID-19 and general safety and health regulations.
Application Tips
- The application will not save partially completed sections and will not allow you to make any corrections once submitted.
- Please review all the section descriptions and eligibility criteria carefully before selecting your preference.
- Based on eligibility criteria, you are welcome to select multiple student positions.
- Applications will not be reviewed until after the application deadline has passed.
- Admission decisions will be released in early April 2024.
Please direct all questions regarding the Program to the Program Coordinator, Maggie Mastrolorenzo (mastrolo@usc.edu).
Alumni
Class of 2024
Runhan Chen
Project: Beyond Numbers: A Comprehensive Analysis and Visualization of MIND Study Enrollment Data
Annie Sun
Project: Building the Infrastructure for Final Analyses of an AD Randomized Clinical Trial: A Framework for the MIND Study
Zihang Yu
Project: Building the Infrastructure for Final Analyses of an AD Randomized Clinical Trial: A Framework for the MIND Study
Jason Lavoe
Project: Cognitive Clicks: Enhancing Online Efficacy Through Website Evaluation
Christian Navarro
Project: Can the Type of Trial Site Affect the Conduct of a Preclinical Randomized Controlled Trial?
Zara Kotadiya
Project: Can the Type of Trial Site Affect the Conduct of a Preclinical Randomized Controlled Trial?
Class of 2023
Khary Lewis II
Project: Identifying Recruitment Strategies for Hospice-eligible Population Utilizing Personas and Multi-Media Strategies.
Sri Manvith Vaddeboyina
Project: Data Visualization of Clinical Study Management Activities
Naga Harshita Marupaka
Project: Machine Learning – Speech Recognition for Cognitive Sciences
Winnie Mei
Project: Data Standardization and Statistical Visualization for Study Oversight and Management
Akash Patel
Project: Operationalizing Study Management through Site Performance Metrics, Risk Mitigation, and Clinical Trials Training
Youlan (Cassie) Shen
Project: Data Standardization and Statistical Visualization for Study Oversight and Management
Seda Shirinian
Project: Increasing Recruitment of Underrepresented Groups Through Webpage Optimization
Class of 2022
Silvestre Cortes
Project: Site Metrics Database & APT Webstudy Newsletter
Zhuolun Huang
Project: Data-Driven Approach to Clinical Trial Recruitment (DART) Recruitment Reports
Nikhil Nagarapu
Project: Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for Case Report Forms
Jiayi Nie
Project: Interactive Web-based Visualization Platform for AHEAD 3-45 Enrollment Data
Ashok Reddy
Project: Designing and Canvasing for a Comprehensive Vendor Database
Momtaza Sayd
Project: Development of Study Recruitment Metrics Database
