The first cohort of 12 students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) across the state arrived June 3 at HudsonAlpha for the Summer Undergraduate Research Experiences in Genomic Medicine (SURE-GM) program, a four-year collaboration between UAB and HudsonAlpha.

SURE-GM is an NIH training grant funded, two-year summer program for traditionally underrepresented students, aiming to increase diversity in the STEM workforce. These trainees will spend their first summer here at HudsonAlpha, learning everything from best practices in the lab to professionalism in the workplace. The following summer, they will begin a mentored-research experience at either UAB or HudsonAlpha. A continuity program during the intervening academic year will maintain engagement through regularly scheduled meetings.

Jenifer Ferguson, PhD, at HudsonAlpha will serve as the project manager. Ferguson comes to the Institute as a lifelong resident of Huntsville, only leaving the Rocket City to get her PhD at Vanderbilt University. She returned to the Tennessee Valley to teach biology at Calhoun Community College and joined HudsonAlpha’s Educational Outreach team in Spring 2019.

Any program questions or suggestions can go to jferguson@hudsonalpha.org.
To learn more about the program visit SUREGM.org.