DISCOVER Program

Students are paired with  faculty mentors who provide guidance to complete a summer research project culminating in presentation of their work at the annual MD Anderson Summer Student Symposium. Faculty mentors also provide insight into career paths in laboratory animal medicine and comparative pathology and research. The role veterinary medicine plays in biomedical research will be highlighted throughout the program. Students also have the opportunity to learn hands-on skills such as animal handling, common procedures (e.g. injections, blood collection, ear tagging, genotyping oral gavage, necropsy, tissue collection, etc.), and other specialized procedure training such as aseptic technique, surgery, and suturing .skills during rounds and wet labs. Students engage in didactic coursework by auditing graduate level courses(GS04 1011 Workshop for Experimental Training in Mouse Cancer Biology and GS12 144 Principles of Experimental Mouse Pathology) led by veterinary faculty and offered through MD Anderson’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.. Students will also attend scientific lectures, seminars, and career development events. Significant opportunity for networking with other pre-doctoral students exists through engagement with other regional and MD Anderson summer research programs.

Applications Open: November 18, 2024

Applications Close: January 15, 2025, 11:59pm CST.

2025 Program Dates: June 2, 2025- August 8, 2025

Incomplete applications will not be considered and purged after the deadline has passed.

The DISCOVER Program is designed for veterinary medical students in their first or second years of veterinary school. Pre-veterinary undergraduate students are also eligible to apply. However, limited positions are available and veterinary medical students are given first priority, although exceptional pre-veterinary undergraduate applicants may be considered. Pre-veterinary undergraduate students are strongly encouraged to apply for all summer undergraduate research programs for which they are eligible on the CATALYST site.

Participants receive a stipend of up to $6,800 for the 10-week program.

Additional allowances for housing, living expenses, and travel are not available. 

Students will be matched with -mentors based on interests stated in the application to the extent possible. If you have a specific interest in laboratory animal medicine or pathology, or specific research interest, please make this clear in your personal statement or description of research experience and areas of interest on your application.