Student Summer Research Program

Education & Training

EPSTEIN FAMILY ATRI Student Summer Research Program

Program Application Dates: January 5 – January 31, 2026 | faculty hosts Apply here

Program Dates: Monday, June 15 – Friday, August 21, 2026

Program Overview

The Epstein Family ATRI Student Summer Research Program offers a 10-week immersive experience at USC’s Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute. Students gain hands-on exposure to clinical trials, biomarker science, and translational research—mentored by leading investigators in the field.

All accepted students receive a stipend and work directly alongside ATRI faculty. The program cultivates the next generation of Alzheimer’s researchers through structured mentorship, professional development workshops, and participation in active research projects.

Program Tracks

Undergraduate

Junior & Senior Year Students

Hands-on apprenticeship with a faculty member’s ongoing research. Students contribute to real investigations while building foundational research skills.

Graduate

Master's & Doctoral Candidates

Advanced mentored projects customized to your area of interest, with exposure to clinical trial operations at scale.

How to Apply

Eligibility

Legally authorized to work in the U.S.
Currently enrolled or accepted at an accredited institution
Cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher
Available for the full 10-week program
Must pass USC background screening

Required Materials

Note: The application takes approximately 45–60 minutes and cannot be saved mid-session. Have all materials ready before starting. Decisions are released by March 1. Accepted students are responsible for travel and housing.

We are excited to announce the second year of the Epstein Family ATRI Student Summer Research Program at the University of Southern California’s Epstein Family Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute (ATRI). Over the past years, there are an ever-growing field of Alzheimer’s research offering programs and access to expand the important work already well underway in our nationally recognized, leading degenerative disease research centers, and all branches of research in nearly 100+ studies, so there will be participation in a broad range of clinical research areas, conferences, and more research in diverse settings in an ATRI clinical trials context and basic research areas, including effective science communication and professional skills.

The overarching goal of the program is to mentor the families of highly motivated students who are interested in careers in science and healthcare by enhancing choice tools.

All accepted students will receive a stipend for the duration and be expected to work in the ATRI. Students have the opportunity to grow their careers through the following program tracks:

Undergraduate Students Track

This track is open to undergraduate students in their junior or Senior year only. Students will engage in and attend a hands-on research project, as an apprentice at a faculty member’s ongoing research investigation. Specific research experience, applicable coursework or responsibilities include:

Biomarker research
Enrollment, retention and subject recruitment in clinical research and development research areas
Data management

Graduate Students Track

This track is open to graduate students only. This track aims to expose graduate students to apprentice-level skills for clinical science, lab work, and major clinical trial projects. Students will participate in a mentored project that will be customized to one of the following focus areas:

Biomarker science
Clinical research
Data management
Behavioral science
Advanced biostatistics in clinical trials/research

Application Process & Program Requirements

Program Requirements:

Must be legally authorized to work in the United States
Must be currently enrolled in an accredited college or university, or must have been accepted to one
Students applying for a post-bac track, as well as all other tracks, may apply for the program
Have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 on a scale of 4 and show a track record of academic and community leadership
Program attendance is required for the entirety of the program
Students must comply with all USC background screening and pre-employment testing requirements

Submitting an Application:

Only complete applications will be reviewed
A complete application will require the following documents:
- Personal Statement (2-3 pages) Download Prompt Here.
- Resume/Curriculum Vitae
- Unofficial transcripts
- Two professional and/or academic reference letters, ready before starting an application
Applications will not be reviewed until after the application deadline has passed
Acceptance decisions will be released by March 1st

Application Tips:

Please review all the sections below prior to and after applying, to carefully review your material of interest
The application is expected to take 45–60 minutes to complete for most applicants
The application will not save your progress across sessions, so all materials are complete and ready to submit in one session
If your circumstances have changed and you wish to withdraw your application, please notify the Program Coordinator as soon as possible

Accepted students must cover personal travel to/from and accommodations in San Diego.

Students will be responsible for their own housing arrangements.

Accepted students will be given access to the USC Keck campus in San Diego.

Please direct all questions regarding the Program to our Program Coordinator, Maggie Marrapode, at mmarrapo@usc.edu.

Alumni

Class of 2024

Ruthee Chen

MS NYU ’25
Section: Data Management

Project: Beyond Numbers: A Comprehensive
Analysis and Visualization of MIND Study
Enrollment Data

Annie Sun

MS UCLA ’25
Section: Biostatistics

Project: Building the Infrastructure for Final
Analyses of an AD Randomized Clinical Trial: A
Framework for the MIND Study

Zihang Yu

MS University of Washington ‘25
Section: Biostatistics

Project: Building the Infrastructure for Final
Analyses of an AD Randomized Clinical Trial: A
Framework for the MIND Study

Jason Lavoe

BS Boston College ’25
Section: Recruitment, Engagement, and Retention

Project: Cognitive Clicks: Enhancing Online
Efficacy Through Website Evaluation

Christian Navarro

BS UCSB ’25
Section: Biostatistics

Project: Can the Type of Trial Site Affect the
Conduct of a Preclinical Randomized Controlled
Trial?

Zara Kotadiya

BS University of Virginia ’26
Section: Biostatistics

Project: Can the Type of Trial Site Affect the
Conduct of a Preclinical Randomized Controlled
Trial?

Class of 2023

Khary Lewis II

MS USC ’24
Section: Recruitment & Retention

Project: Identifying Recruitment Strategies for
Hospice-eligible Population Utilizing Personas
and Multi-Media Strategies.

Sri Manvith Vaddeboyina

MS USC ’24
Section: Data Management (Clinical Research Informatics/Imaging Informatics)

Project: Data Visualization of Clinical Study
Management Activities

Naga Harshita Marupaka

MS USC ’24
Section: Clinical Research Informatics/Imaging Informatics

Project: Machine Learning – Speech Recognition
for Cognitive Sciences

Winnie Mei

MS University of Washington ’24
Section: Biostatistics

Project: Data Standardization and Statistical
Visualization for Study Oversight and
Management

Akash Patel

PharmD
Section: Clinical Operations

Project: Operationalizing Study Management
through Site Performance Metrics,
Risk Mitigation, and Clinical Trials Training

Youlan (Cassie) Shen

MSPH Columbia ’24
Section: Biostatistics

Project: Data Standardization and Statistical
Visualization for Study Oversight
and Management

Seda Shirinian

MPH UCLA ’24
Section: Recruitment, Engagement, and Retention

Project: Increasing Recruitment of
Underrepresented Groups Through Webpage
Optimization

Class of 2022

Silvestre Cortes

BS UCSD ‘23
Section: Recruitment, Engagement, and Retention

Project: Site Metrics Database & APT Webstudy
Newsletter

Zhuolun Huang

MS Columbia ’23
Section: Biostatistics

Project: Data-Driven Approach to Clinical Trial
Recruitment (DART) Recruitment Reports

Nikhil Nagarapu

MS USC ‘23
Section: Clinical Research Informatics/Imaging Informatics

Project: Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for
Case Report Forms

Jiayi Nie

MS USC ’23
Section: Biostatistics

Project: Interactive Web-based Visualization
Platform for AHEAD 3-45 Enrollment Data

Ashok Reddy

BS UCLA ‘23
Section: Recruitment, Engagement, and Retention

Project: Designing and Canvasing for a
Comprehensive Vendor Database

Momtaza Sayd

MS SDSU ’24
Section: Biostatistics

Project: Development of Study Recruitment
Metrics Database

Nina Suh-Toma

BS UCSD ‘22
Section: Recruitment, Engagement, and Retention

Project: Designing an Evidence-based Digital
Campaign for the Alzheimer’s Prevention Trial
(APT) Webstudy

Sanjana Vasireddy

MS USC ‘23
Section: Clinical Monitoring

Project: Clinical Monitoring Metrics