Summer Research 

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How does the Summer Research Intensive compare to other summer research programs in the country?

The Summer Research Intensive uses projects of societal significance to develop independent research skills such as: formulation of research question and hypothesis based on scientific literature; experimental design, implementation & troubleshooting; data collection, analysis & reproducibility; and technical skills in molecular biology.

Students will receive feedback on their projects from experts and they will have the opportunity to make a contribution to a larger professional project, including but not limited to submitting data for publication.

Students also have the opportunity to use and understand state-of-the-art technology such as Polymerase Chain Reaction and CRISPR gene-targeting.

2024 Summer Research Program: 10 June to 5 July

2. What are examples of student research from the Summer Research Intensive?

Click on this link to look at a summary of the most recent student summer research, including published data and student commentary on the research experience.

3. What is the relevance of the Summer Research Intensive relative to the other tracks of the Poly Research Initiative?

Students have preferred the format of the Summer Research Intensive for two main reasons: 1) the freedom the summer offers them in terms of its dissociation from the school year and its workload and 2) the three hour workday allows for long experiments to be run more smoothly than trying to fit it into the one hour school periods.

4. If I’ve taken PE Biological Research, will the Summer Research Intensive be repetitive?

No, because the Summer Research Intensive builds on the research skills developed during PE Biological Research and gives students the opportunity to apply those skills within the context of two distinct research projects.

5. If I’ve taken AP Biology or Biology, can I take the Summer Research Intensive? Will I have to prepare independently to be ready for the program?

The prerequisite for the Summer Research Intensive is one year of biology. Prior to the start of the program, all students will have pre readings and activities to engage with in preparation for the program and they will also have the opportunity to check-in individually to clarify any questions they might have and plan for their independent research tracks.