Are you a high school student ready to go from learning science to doing science?
Do you want to do research but don’t know where to start? Are you ready to build the fundamental skills needed to succeed in a biomedical engineering lab? Do you want a glimpse into the life of a research lab and learn how biomedical engineers study cardiovascular disease?
Then your journey begins with HeartQuest!
The Edwards Lifesciences Foundation Cardiovascular Innovation and Research Center (CIRC) has recently established the Engineering eQUITable Innovations Summer Undergraduate Research Program (EQUITI-SURP) to provide training on the contributors to and consequences of cardiovascular health disparities as well as a hands-on, mentored summer research experience. With funding from the American Heart Association and the Edwards Lifesciences Foundation, this program is designed to serve as a vehicle for your professional development and stimulate your interest in graduate school and pursuit of a career in cardiovascular science and engineering.
EQUITI-SURP is a 10-week summer training program with three goals: to build general research skills; to provide an individualized, hands-on, mentored research experience; and to educate regarding structural racism and discrimination, social determinants of health, and the ways in which these societal factors affect to cardiovascular health.
The Edwards Lifesciences Summer Undergraduate Research Program (E-SURP) provides training for UCI undergraduates who are conducting summer research projects under the guidance of UCI faculty mentors who are associated with the Edwards Lifesciences Cardiovascular Innovation and Research Center (CIRC). The program offers students the opportunity to become immersed in a cardiovascular-related research topic for a full-time ten-week period, or the equivalent of 400 hours.
Do you love science? • Have you ever wanted to see and work with a live cell? • Do you find yourself asking questions beyond the scope of your classes? • Would you like to know what it is like to work in a tissue-engineering laboratory? • Do you want to experience the awe of discovery? • Then you are the right person for the CardioStart program!
Our newly developed online workshops with interactive assessments will enrich students’ knowledge of tissue and cardiac engineering. The workshops and assessments will be available 24/7 making this enhanced learning platform convenient for all students. To supplement the workshops, graduate students will be available to answer questions throughout the duration of the program and will be holding weekly office hours via Zoom to facilitate discussion and interaction between students. Students who have participated in the CardioStart Program have been accepted to universities such as UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC San Diego, UC Irvine, Pepperdine, University of Chicago, and Rice University.
First launched in December 2010, the “Heart-to-Heart” training club was designed as a mechanism to enhance knowledge, communication, and collaboration amongst the cardiovascular labs on campus through a formal presentation followed by informal discussion and networking. The club also serves to improve oral communication and presentation skills, and stimulate cohesion within the training program between the pre-doctoral and cardiology fellow tracks. Every month, either a trainee from a Center lab presents stumbling blocks of their project and receives suggestions on how they might progress through these obstacles, or faculty member presents a new project idea to get feedback from the trainees and faculty in the other cardiovascular labs.
