Biomedical Research Opportunities: Diversity and Training Programs

This philanthropically supported program established in 1993 takes one to two area high school students with specific interest in laboratory medicine and chemistry. Most students are recruited from private high schools in Washington, D.C., and Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia per the donor’s requirements.

The program lasts about eight weeks, generally June until early August (depending on school break timing). It is based in the clinical laboratory at Children’s National Hospital (111 Michigan Ave NW, Washington, DC 20010). Students get a chance to learn about medical laboratory testing, shadow physicians in the fields of pathology and pediatric hematology and participate in research projects within the division. About five pathologists and hematologists are involved with the summer program. A stipend is provided as part of the program. Participation in the program in contingent on successful hospital onboarding, which includes a background check and clearance by the occupational health program.

For more information about the Colaco Scholar Program, contact Cyril Jacquot, M.D., Ph.D. The application form for the summer 2025 period is now available. Applications will be accepted until end of business hours on Friday, March 28, 2025.

Apply now (PDF)

This STEM-focused program brings preventative health, science, mathematics and robotics to children and families for out of school time, using hands-on brains-on art-focused activities in the DC Public Library System (DCPL). This includes programming at 6 DCPL sites, family learning events and a one-week science camp at Children's National. This program is supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), under grant R25 GM129225-02.

For more information about the Discover Science with Dr. Bear Program, contact Naomi Luban, M.D.

This program provides high school students from underrepresented groups the opportunity to participate in an experiential research project at Children’s National and Children’s National Research Institute. This six-week summer experience is designed to encourage students to take the required steps toward careers in STEM and biomedical research. This program is supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), under grant R25 HD090722-02.

For more information about the METEOR Version 2.0 Program, contact Naomi Luban, M.D.

This program provides local high school students the opportunity to intern for 6-9 months during their senior year of high school and the summer following high school graduation at Children's National. Students are placed in departments across Children’s National and receive individual mentoring and support as well as complete a project in their designated department.

For more information about the Urban Alliance Program, please visit their website.

This program engages about 50 medical students each year in a longitudinal, in-depth research opportunity to form new mentors, explore new research areas, reinforce research skills and build new research competencies.

For more information about the Clinical and Translational Research Scholarly Concentration, contact Naomi Luban, M.D.

This program aims to recruit and retain outstanding pediatric residents that have demonstrated interest in pursuing research careers in sickle cell disease, congenital heart disease, pediatric lung disease, HIV/AIDS and immunology. It is led by Stephen J. Teach, M.D., M.P.H., An Massaro, M.D., and Robert J. Freishtat, M.D., M.P.H. The program supports 80 percent of the cost for six pediatric residents. These programs are supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), under grants R38 AI140298-01 and R38 HL143585-01.

For more information about the CNStARR Program, contact Lisa Sheehy.

This program is aimed at training postdoctoral fellows in research focused on understanding the physiology of skeletal muscle in health and disease (muscular dystrophy and tissue injury). It has an emphasis on physiological as well as genome-enabled approaches coupled with basic, preclinical and translational research. The program supports four postdoctoral trainees per year and is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), under grant T32 AR056993.

For more information about the Genetics and Genomics of Muscle Postdoctoral Training Program, contact Jyoti K. Jaiswal, MSc, Ph.D.

This community-based partnership brings pediatric residents to a local school during a monthly after-school food market program. Martha’s Table is an organization that runs monthly pop-up food markets at elementary schools in under-resourced neighborhoods in Washington, D.C. School-age children and their parents attend the Joyful Food Market Program, which provides 23 pounds of food per child (including fresh produce) and cooking demonstrations on-site. The “Meet the Pediatricians” table provides a space for parents and children to interact with pediatricians for health education on various topics.

For more information about the Joyful Food Market Program, contact Allison Waller, M.D.

This is an internally supported track via ERAS match allowing up to 9 months of dedicated research time during residency training.

For more information about the Pediatric Resident Research Track, contact An Massaro, M.D., or Dewesh Agrawal, M.D.

The program is a joint collaboration with the Office of Clinical Pharmacology at the FDA, T32 training program in Clinical Pharmacology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy in the discipline of Pediatric and Adult Clinical Pharmacology. The program will train four M.D.s, two Pharm.D.s, two Ph.D.s and an N.D. This program is supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), under grant T32 HD087969.

For more information about the Postdoctoral Training in Pediatric Clinical Pharmacology, contact Johannes Van den Anker, M.D.

This program provides internal funding for about 60 residents per year.

For more information about the REACH Program, contact An Massaro, M.D.

The purpose of this program at the Children's National Hospital/Children's National Research Institute is to facilitate the development of successful basic science and translational research careers for junior faculty members in pediatrics. The applicant must be a pediatrician whose future focus will be on bench research. One or two applicants are accepted each year. This program is supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), under grant K12 HD001399-17.

For more information about the K12 Child Health Research Career Development Award, contact Stephen J. Teach, M.D., M.P.H., or Robert J. Freishtat, M.D., M.P.H.

This program selects and trains two scholars per year, more when there is additional internal support. Besides the research and career development award, the KL2 program offers a variety of different programs throughout the year including a half-day retreat and multiple special interest group meetings and topics related to grant funding and career development. This program is led by Naomi Luban, M.D., and Catherine Bollard, M.B.Ch.B, M.D., and supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), under grant TR001877-03.

For more information about the KL2 Mentored Career Development Core Scholars Program, contact Rachel Smilow.

This program focuses on preparing trainees from diverse backgrounds for academic leadership and independently funded research careers. Trainees will be linked to physicians and basic/translational scientists whose work advances the diagnosis and management (including cell-based therapies) of blood, cardiovascular, pulmonary and renal diseases affecting infants and children, including cell-based therapies. Through this grant, two to three years of mentored training experience utilizing core resources of Children's National Research Institute will be offered. One or two applicants per year will be accepted. Funded by National Institutes of Health (NIH), under grant T32 HL110841-07.

For more information about the Pediatric Hematology and Transfusion Medicine Multidisciplinary Research Training, contact Naomi Luban, M.D., or Catherine Bollard, M.B.Ch.B, M.D.

Every year faculty from both Children's National Hospital and George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences participate in BNGAP's regional conference, which is committed to recruiting women and underrepresented minorities into careers in academic medicine.

The CTSI-CN award is a partnership between Children’s National and The George Washington University which offers unique resources in translating discovery to improved health and provides highly integrated, cost-effective investigator-focused resources designed to overcome research barriers, promote collaborative research and provide research training with a special focus on children’s health. Made of up eight cores, the CTSI-CN offers a variety of services that helps with designing, setting up, conducting and closing out studies through a variety of different databases including REDCap, PowerTrials, SPARC and a variety of other services. This program is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), under grant UL1TR001876.

This program aims to improve grant applications submitted by investigators. Senior investigators work with junior faculty to develop specific aims, review and provide feedback on the grant preparation process. Monthly facilitated group meetings are also held. This program averages 40-50 grant and foundation submissions per year with a 40 percent funding success rate.

For more information about the Grants Enhancement Program, contact Stephan Ladisch, M.D.

This ten-week online course details the complete process of research grant proposal development. This is a a 3-credit-hour, 30-CME course that accepts five registrants.

This one-day hands-on workshop is led by Heather Gordish-Dressman, Ph.D.