MSK Computational Biology Summer Program

R25 MSK Computational Biology Summer Program: Project Summary / Abstract The Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) Computational Biology Summer Program (CBSP) is a cancer education research experience that will enable 15 computer science and applied math undergraduates per year to apply their computer science skills to cancer-based laboratory and clinical research under the mentorship of MSK faculty. Program participants will work with mentors in laboratories centrally involved in basic and clinical research, with a computational focus to their work. CBSP trainees will also attend educational lectures, journal clubs and a wide range of seminars, including several focused on professional development. They will learn how to blend these lessons to present their work in a capstone showcase of their work at the conclusion of the 10-week internship. We anticipate that for some of the CSBP participants, this summer experience will be their first exposure to cancer biology, biomedical concepts, and laboratory research. By providing them with a concentrated and intense exposure to cancer biology, we will ensure that they will have the proper understanding to apply their computational skills to help develop novel methods and mine data for insights toward mechanistic and therapeutic advances. A key goal of this program is to increase the students’ awareness of and interest in careers as computational biologists. Through strategic recruitment of computer science and computational biology undergraduates and exposure to carefully selected mentors and research topics, the CBSP will provide a path toward development of computational biologists capable of informing the vanguard of cancer biology. The CBSP will enhance the students’ knowledge about cancer, genomics, and academic biomedical research, and will foster interest in careers in oncologic fields by pursuing the following Specific Aims: 1. Engage computationally fluent undergraduate students with little previous exposure to biology in innovative scientific research projects that address cause, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of cancer 2. Provide CBSP students with additional mentorship to promote their professional development within computational oncology and biology in order to foster the trainees’ interest and engagement in academic computational cancer research Through the exposure that the CBSP will enable, we expect to shape the undergraduates’ perception of computational biology applied to cancer research such that many will pursue graduate studies in this field.