Pathway to the PhD
The 2026 P2P program will run from Monday, January 5 to Friday, January 23.
The Pathway to the PhD (P2P) program is a 3-week mentored, hands-on, research-intensive experience for juniors and sophomores that runs during the January break and is open to UMass-Boston undergraduates interested in careers in biomedical research.
The program is designed to provide students with their first biomedical research experience outside of lab classes and/or to gain exposure to a range of research areas such as microbiology, immunology, neuroscience, and cancer biology.
Information on the application process can be found here.
For information on the application process, contact Kimberley Burke, Program Administrator or Marlene Jreaswec, Program Manager
What You Do in P2P
Participants work with graduate students from the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS) at approximately a 3:1 ratio. The graduate students design experiments for the undergraduates that are based on the graduate students’ thesis or lab's research.
In previous years, undergraduates have worked on how heart failure affects the recruitment of immune cells to the heart and how glucose affects the ability of the causative agent of cholera to form bacterial biofilms.
Participants also learn how to:
- Think critically about their data and experimental set-up;
- Apply to summer research internships, post-baccalaureate programs, PhD, and MD/PhD programs;
- Present their work effectively;
- Prepare for careers in biomedical research.
For information on the P2P program, contact Aimee Shen, PhD, Program Director.
Application Process
Information on the application process can be found here.
For information on the application process, Kimberley Burke, Program Administrator or contact Marlene Jreaswec, Program Manager.
Contact Information
Aimee Shen, PhD
Program Director
Kimberly Burke
Program Administrator
617-636-2469
Marlene Jreaswec, MEd
Program Manager
617-636-0992