Dynamic Cells to Disease Cures: Using Stem Cells to Understand and Treat Rare Diseases (May 17, 2025 – August 4, 2025)
Meeting Time: Tuesdays and Thursday from 5:00PM – 7:00PM CST
Instructor: Sudiksha Rathan Kumar | View Instructor Bio

In 2012, Drs. Yamanaka and Gurdon were awarded the Nobel Prize for the discovery that mature cells can be converted back to stem cells. More than a decade later, these discoveries have revolutionized the world of science and medicine. Stem cells serve an essential role in development, starting as blank canvasses and differentiating into everything from the firing neurons in our brain to our beating hearts. Now, we can use these building blocks to not only understand development but also study diseases and potentially cure them. In this mentorship, you will learn about the world of stem cell biomedical research, starting from the laboratory, moving to clinical trials, and ending at the patient’s bedside. You will learn about the role of stem cells in human development, moving on to how they are created in the laboratory and how we use them for research. The mentorship will then progress to how we move these therapeutics to clinical trials and how they can be utilized in the hospital. You will also be exposed to various topics essential to research, including ethics, data, scientific literature, and more. During this mentorship, students will also conduct their own research on a rare disease of choice, proposing ways to study and treat it with stem cells and intertwining the worlds of science and medicine.

Note: Multiple perspectives (both popular and unpopular) will be examined and discussed for the purpose of building critical thinking skills and understanding or critiquing multiple viewpoints and data as well as incorporating and responding to classmates’ views and ideas. The ideas, readings and discussions are not necessarily the expressed views of the instructor, PTY, or VU. While we encourage students to engage in the orderly and civil exchange of diverse ideas and opinions, we expect that they will do so in a respectful way so that all participants feel welcome and safe.

Mathematical Physics: An Introduction to Special Relativity (May 17, 2025 – August 4, 2025)
Meeting Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:00PM to 6:00PM CST
Instructor: Brian Luczak | View Instructor Bio

What would happen if we boarded a rocket ship moving closer and closer to the speed of light? Do our physical notions of time, length, and simultaneous events break down? In the early 1900s, physicists such as Albert Einstein pondered these questions, but it was with the help of some clever mathematics that he was able to accurately describe the theory of Special Relativity. In this mentorship, we will develop these mathematical tools and focus on the intricate connections between math and physics. How does math help us explain our physical theories? And in turn, how do our physical theories lead to new questions in mathematics? By the end of this mentorship, you will use these tools to explain a new physical phenomenon and design a futuristic experiment to test your results. Come join us as we explore the universe and what it means to be a researcher in mathematical physics!

Note: Multiple perspectives (both popular and unpopular) will be examined and discussed for the purpose of building critical thinking skills and understanding or critiquing multiple viewpoints and data as well as incorporating and responding to classmates’ views and ideas. The ideas, readings and discussions are not necessarily the expressed views of the instructor, PTY, or VU. While we encourage students to engage in the orderly and civil exchange of diverse ideas and opinions, we expect that they will do so in a respectful way so that all participants feel welcome and safe.

People Do Have Power: Dynamic Strategies for Social Change (May 17, 2025 – August 4, 2025)
Meeting Time: Wednesdays and Sundays from 6:30PM to 8:30PM CST
Instructor: Rachel Underwood | View Instructor Bio

What do you care about most? What changes would you like to see in your community, our society, or across the globe? Do you think individuals have the power to create such change? TL;DR yes, you can create social change!

Using an interdisciplinary lens, we will examine the mechanisms driving social change at all ecological levels of society. We will dissect grassroots movements, organizational dynamics, and institutional strategies pivotal in shaping our world. With this foundational knowledge, we will begin to unpack the intricate interplay of organizational, structural, cultural, and political forces influencing social change. We will also investigate the connection between advocacy and policymaking, unraveling the profound impact of diverse advocacy approaches in steering policy decisions. Throughout this mentorship, you will equip yourself with the knowledge and skills to understand the multifaceted factors catalyzing social change, explain the symbiotic relationship between advocacy and policymaking, and analyze and evaluate current advocacy initiatives using robust theoretical frameworks. We will utilize a variety of tools to analyze current and historic approaches to social change, including discussions, readings, and diverse forms of media. Our time together will culminate in the creation of a personal “Strategic Plan” final project for a relevant initiative of your choosing. Your plans will be comprised of actionable components, like a policy brief and Op-Ed, as well as evaluative components using rigorous, current research. You will leave this mentorship empowered and prepared to be an active citizen within society, however that may look for you!

Note: Multiple perspectives (both popular and unpopular) will be examined and discussed for the purpose of building critical thinking skills and understanding or critiquing multiple viewpoints and data as well as incorporating and responding to classmates’ views and ideas. The ideas, readings and discussions are not necessarily the expressed views of the instructor, PTY, or VU. While we encourage students to engage in the orderly and civil exchange of diverse ideas and opinions, we expect that they will do so in a respectful way so that all participants feel welcome and safe.

The Psychology and Neuroscience of Happiness (May 17, 2025 – August 4, 2025)
Meeting Time: Mondays and Wednesdays from 5:00PM CST to 7:00PM CST
Instructor: Ashleigh Maxcey | View Instructor Bio

Positive psychology is the study of exceeding baseline human potential. In their academic pursuits, psychologists who study happiness might ask questions such as: How do we define and achieve happiness? What increases the human capacity for joy, meaning, and hope? What are the traits of a positive institution?

This immersion experience provides you the opportunity to explore positive psychology as an academic field of research while also allowing you the chance to understand and implement habits that can increase their personal joy, meaning, and hope in our post-covid world rich in anxiety and depression. By the end of the mentorship, you will have a better understanding of the academic field of positive psychology, including the peer-reviewed science behind the study of happiness. You will also learn about happiness tools that work based on research, the intersection of well-being and career paths, components of positive institutions, cultural differences in the pursuit of joy, and strategies to incorporate these lessons into college life and beyond. From successful leaders to compelling politicians to empathetic doctors, every future career path is enhanced using this science of happiness. This immersion experience will culminate in a professional presentation where you will select a particular institution or target population of interest and cater a Happiness 101 implementation plan on tangible directions, supported by empirical research, to introduce and implement positive psychology practices for their unique situation.

Note: Multiple perspectives (both popular and unpopular) will be examined and discussed for the purpose of building critical thinking skills and understanding or critiquing multiple viewpoints and data as well as incorporating and responding to classmates’ views and ideas. The ideas, readings and discussions are not necessarily the expressed views of the instructor, PTY, or VU. While we encourage students to engage in the orderly and civil exchange of diverse ideas and opinions, we expect that they will do so in a respectful way so that all participants feel welcome and safe.

Exploring the Unseen: Microscopy, Science, and Disease (June 7, 2025 – August 29, 2025)
Meeting Time: Tuesdays and Thursday from 6:30PM – 8:30PM CST
Instructor: Kai Bracey | View Instructor Bio

Ever wondered how scientists visualize the invisible world of pathogens? Or how we know exactly what a virus looks like, how it behaves, and how we fight it off? This mentorship will guide you through the fascinating, often unseen, world of disease and the cutting-edge technology used to study it. Through hands-on demonstrations (you can do at home), engaging discussions, and deep dives into microscopy and analytical tools, you’ll learn how modern science can capture and quantify the mysteries of life at the cellular level. In this course, we’ll explore how scientists visualize pathogens, how pathogens infiltrate and disrupt the body’s balance and how cutting-edge research is equipping us in fighting disease. Be ready to discover the technologies and strategies that help us combat infections, from vaccines to precision medications as well as explore the tools and techniques that allow us to measure disease progression, diagnosis, and treatment efficacy. By the end of this mentorship, you will have a deep understanding of how pathogens interact with the body and how we study them, hands-on experience with state-of-the-art microscopy and analytical tools, a clearer appreciation for the technologies driving modern medicine and disease-fighting efforts and a scientific perspective on how we visualize, measure, and combat disease. If you have ever been curious about the intersection of biology, technology, and disease—or if you simply want to understand how the invisible world around us is revealed through science—this mentorship is for you!

Note: Multiple perspectives (both popular and unpopular) will be examined and discussed for the purpose of building critical thinking skills and understanding or critiquing multiple viewpoints and data as well as incorporating and responding to classmates’ views and ideas. The ideas, readings and discussions are not necessarily the expressed views of the instructor, PTY, or VU. While we encourage students to engage in the orderly and civil exchange of diverse ideas and opinions, we expect that they will do so in a respectful way so that all participants feel welcome and safe.

Hacking the Human Brain: Neurosurgery in the Age of Brain-Computer Interfaces (June 7, 2025 – August 29, 2025)
Meeting Time: Mondays and Thursdays from 5:00PM CST to 7:00PM CST
Instructor: Anas Reda | View Instructor Bio

Have you ever wondered how we can harness the power of the human brain to control technology, or how neurosurgery is being transformed by brain-computer interfaces (BCIs)? In this mentorship, you’ll explore the cutting-edge convergence of neurosurgery and BCI technology, starting with a deep dive into the fundamentals of neuroscience and progressing into network neuroscience, where we’ll examine how altering neural networks can help treat conditions like epilepsy. You’ll then delve into the world of BCIs, discovering how these innovations are being implanted to restore function in individuals with severe neurological deficits. Along the way, you’ll confront the ethical questions that arise when interfacing with the brain, examining case studies and real-world applications of BCIs. By the end, you’ll grapple with the key question: “Just because we can manipulate the brain, does that mean we should?” This mentorship will culminate in a project in which you will identify a specific brain network of interest, develop a proposal on how you plan to modulate that network, and articulate the potential clinical benefits of such modulation. Additionally, you will be required to address the ethical concerns that may arise from your proposal.

Note: Multiple perspectives (both popular and unpopular) will be examined and discussed for the purpose of building critical thinking skills and understanding or critiquing multiple viewpoints and data as well as incorporating and responding to classmates’ views and ideas. The ideas, readings and discussions are not necessarily the expressed views of the instructor, PTY, or VU. While we encourage students to engage in the orderly and civil exchange of diverse ideas and opinions, we expect that they will do so in a respectful way so that all participants feel welcome and safe.

Nanomaterials: How the Smallest Materials Could Solve the Biggest Problems (June 7, 2025 – August 29, 2025)
Meeting Time: Wednesdays from 7:00PM – 9:00PM CST; Sundays from 2:00PM – 4:00PM CST
Instructor: Alyssa Nelson, Ph.D. & Jeremy Espano, Ph.D. | View Instructor Bio

Nanomaterials – A class of materials that have taken the world by storm! From commercial applications like TV’s, to life-changing implications in new and upcoming medical devices, nanomaterials are a hot topic. What are nanomaterials and why are they so powerful? Why are they so hot? How do we make these materials? What does a career in nanoscience look like? In this mentorship, we will look at a broad overview of nanomaterials and explore career opportunities involved in this large and ever-growing field. We will delve into the nanomaterial structure/property relationships, synthesis, characterization, nano-optics, nano-energy, nano-electronics, nano-computation, nano-biology and medicine. We will also learn how researchers find and fund these incredible projects. By the end of this mentorship each student will not only target a specific nanoscience career that interests them, but they will also have the opportunity to learn about and bring their own ideas into nanoscience research by writing their own research proposal.

Note: Multiple perspectives (both popular and unpopular) will be examined and discussed for the purpose of building critical thinking skills and understanding or critiquing multiple viewpoints and data as well as incorporating and responding to classmates’ views and ideas. The ideas, readings and discussions are not necessarily the expressed views of the instructor, PTY, or VU. While we encourage students to engage in the orderly and civil exchange of diverse ideas and opinions, we expect that they will do so in a respectful way so that all participants feel welcome and safe.

Neuropsychology & Behavioral Medicine: Understanding the Connection Between Health & Well-Being (June 7, 2025 – August 29, 2025)
Meeting Time: Mondays and Wednesdays from 6:00PM CST
Instructor: Pietra Bruni | View Instructor Bio

Physical and emotional health are not two separate systems, as many scientists previously believed but are closely intertwined. This interaction is known as the Mind-Body connection, a relationship so important that it’s responsible for impacting nearly all of our bodily experiences! Our memory, energy levels, behavior, mood, sleep, and even our appetite are controlled by this dynamic and ever-evolving relationship. This mentorship will address the link between neuropsychology and behavioral medicine, focusing on the exciting and complex work that happens at the intersection of mind and medicine. Clinical neuropsychologists focus on the relationship between the brain and behavior, frequently working in the medical field to promote health and wellbeing. This subspeciality often overlaps with Behavioral Medicine, a newly developing area of study that explores the interplay of biological, psychological, medical, and social factors. Since behavioral medicine encompasses a deeply interdisciplinary approach that pulls from various disciplines (such as biology, immunology, neurology, and psychophysiology), you will begin the mentorship by learning about the nervous system and related physiological structures. From there, you will expand your knowledge of the biopsychosocial model, synthesizing relevant literature from the field and learning more about cutting-edge health research. Specific topics that will be explored include the impact of stress on the body, the gut-brain connection, how neuroplasticity can re-wire our brain, the role of behavioral genetics, chronic pain, and more. This advanced content deep-dive will culminate in identifying your own research question (to be answered through data collection or advanced literature review) resulting in an independent research project that you design and execute yourself. Throughout this mentorship, you can expect advanced lectures, labs, extensive study, an introduction to clinical health resources used in the medical field, and guest lectures from fellow clinicians and research scientists. If you are interested in neuroscience, psychology, and medicine, this mentorship is for you! Together, we will bridge the gap between brain/ body relationships and explore the diverse fields of neuropsychology and behavioral medicine.

Note: Multiple perspectives (both popular and unpopular) will be examined and discussed for the purpose of building critical thinking skills and understanding or critiquing multiple viewpoints and data as well as incorporating and responding to classmates’ views and ideas. The ideas, readings and discussions are not necessarily the expressed views of the instructor, PTY, or VU. While we encourage students to engage in the orderly and civil exchange of diverse ideas and opinions, we expect that they will do so in a respectful way so that all participants feel welcome and safe.

Behavioral Medicine & Clinical Psychology: Understanding the Connection Between Health and Wellbeing [Status: full, waiting list only]
Meeting Time: Wednesdays, 7:00 to 9:30pm CST (January 25, 2025 to May 30, 2025)
Instructors: Pietra Bruni | View Instructor Bio

Physical and emotional health are not two separate systems, as many scientists previously believed, but are closely intertwined. This interaction is known as the Mind-Body connection, a relationship so important that it’s responsible for impacting nearly all of our bodily experiences! Our memory, energy levels, behavior, mood, sleep, and even our appetite are controlled by this dynamic and ever-evolving relationship. This mentorship will address the link between clinical health psychology and behavioral medicine, focusing on the exciting and complex work that happens at the intersection of mind and medicine. While clinical psychologists are primarily focused on causes, treatments, and prevention of different types of disorders, those with a clinical health specialty have particular expertise working in the medical field to promote health and wellbeing. Functioning as a member of an interdisciplinary treatment team, this subspecialty is known as Behavioral Medicine—a perspective that acknowledges the interplay of biological, psychological, medical, and social factors. Since behavioral medicine encompasses a deeply interdisciplinary approach that pulls from various disciplines (such as biology, immunology, neurology, and psychophysiology), you will begin the mentorship by learning about the nervous system and related physiological structures. From there, you will expand your knowledge of the biopsychosocial model, synthesizing relevant literature from the field and learning more about cutting-edge health research. Specific topics that will be explored include the impact of stress on the body, the gut-brain connection, how neuroplasticity can re-wire our brain, the role of behavioral genetics, and more. This advanced content deep-dive will culminate in identifying your own research question (to be answered through data collection or advanced literature review) and resulting in an independent research project that you design and execute yourself.

Throughout this mentorship, you can expect advanced lectures, labs, extensive study, an introduction to clinical health resources used in the medical field, and guest lectures from fellow clinicians and research scientists. For high school students with a dual interest in psychology and medicine, this mentorship is for you! Together, we will bridge the gap between brain/ body relationships and explore the diverse fields of clinical psychology and behavioral medicine.

Note: Multiple perspectives (both popular and unpopular) will be examined and discussed for the purpose of building critical thinking skills and understanding or critiquing multiple viewpoints and data as well as incorporating and responding to classmates’ views and ideas. The ideas, readings and discussions are not necessarily the expressed views of the instructor, PTY, or VU. While we encourage students to engage in the orderly and civil exchange of diverse ideas and opinions, we expect that they will do so in a respectful way so that all participants feel welcome and safe.

BioMacromolecular X-Ray Crystallography Drug Discovery and Design [Status: no longer accepting applications]
Meeting Time: Saturdays, 10:00AM to 12:30PM CST (January 25, 2025 to May 30, 2025)
Instructors: Alejandro Madrigal | View Instructor Bio

Why is the structure of biological matter important to understand its function? How can researchers and clinicians use this information to modify its function and develop clinically useful drugs? What are the most important interactions between pharmaceutical drugs and their targets? How is this achieved at all? To find answers to these questions, we need to delve into a very specific and interesting field of science. X-Ray Crystallography is a powerful technique in the field of biological science that depends on the obtention of well-ordered crystals of a protein of interest which then is subjected to a screening against thousands of chemical compounds that can be optimized for drug discovery. X-Ray Crystallography is aided by a constellation of techniques and fields that support each other in a unique ecosystem whose only objective is to detect, identify, and discover much-needed drugs in order to alleviate some of the worst and most challenging diseases known to humankind. By the end of the mentorship, you will understand the importance of the structure of biological matter in regard to its function, as well as how researchers use this information to modify the function and develop clinically useful drugs. As a part of your final project, you will survey real-life applications of X-Ray Crystallography for drug discovery and analyze the economical, technical, and experimental challenges associated with the discovery and development of novel drugs. This analysis will provide context for mapping potential career paths as well as the major labs and companies that are on the cutting edge of this exciting discipline.

Note: Multiple perspectives (both popular and unpopular) will be examined and discussed for the purpose of building critical thinking skills and understanding or critiquing multiple viewpoints and data as well as incorporating and responding to classmates’ views and ideas. The ideas, readings and discussions are not necessarily the expressed views of the instructor, PTY, or VU. While we encourage students to engage in the orderly and civil exchange of diverse ideas and opinions, we expect that they will do so in a respectful way so that all participants feel welcome and safe.

Corporate Law, Liability, and Legal Strategy [Status: full, waiting list only]
Meeting Time: Saturdays, 10:00AM-12:30PM CST (January 25, 2025 to May 30, 2025)
Instructors: Zach Richards | View Instructor Bio

In 1998, the four largest tobacco companies in the United States paid $206 billion to settle lawsuits claiming that these companies violated various consumer protection laws in marketing and selling cigarettes despite knowing of the medical harms associated with smoking. In 2014, a well-known oil and gas company paid over $20 billion to settle legal claims relating to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the environmental damage it caused to the Gulf Coast. In 2021 an established social media company paid $809.5 million to settle claims raised by its shareholders that the company had been over-reporting its user count since 2016. In the world of corporate law, it goes without saying that the stakes are high. In this course, you will learn about the legal infrastructure, laws, rules, regulations, and strategies that guide business leaders, lawmakers, and legal advocates in the world of business. You will read real cases, listen to oral arguments, and together, we will examine both hypothetical and real case studies invoking these laws and rules. Through these exercises, you will learn about subjects every first-year law student—or 1L—studies in American law schools. These include subjects like Separation of Powers, Civil Procedure, Property, Contracts, and Torts, but you will also learn about more advanced legal subjects like Antitrust, Consumer Protection, Fiduciary Duty, and Tax Law. We will answer questions like, “When is a company liable for monopolizing?” “When is an employer liable for their employees’ conduct?” “Can a business be sued in Florida if it is headquartered in Ohio?” Most importantly, however, you will walk away with an ability to recognize several issues impacting business and be able to propose informed legal solutions to address those problems. As a final project in this course, and with the guidance of the mentor, you will research and write an original piece of scholarship and an accompanying presentation on a legal issue of their choice which currently impacts the business world. This course is great for anyone who enjoys reading or writing, anyone interested in politics or law, or anyone who wants to better understand the rules and regulations surrounding business and commerce.

Note: Multiple perspectives (both popular and unpopular) will be examined and discussed for the purpose of building critical thinking skills and understanding or critiquing multiple viewpoints and data as well as incorporating and responding to classmates’ views and ideas. The ideas, readings and discussions are not necessarily the expressed views of the instructor, PTY, or VU. While we encourage students to engage in the orderly and civil exchange of diverse ideas and opinions, we expect that they will do so in a respectful way so that all participants feel welcome and safe.

From Atoms to Humans: Uncovering Biology and Experimental Design [Status: no longer accepting applications]
Meeting Time: Sundays, 6:30-9:00PM CST (January 25, 2025 to May 30, 2025)
Instructors: Jenna Mosier Poole | View Instructor Bio

Have you ever wondered how we know what we know about biology? What are the questions that drove some of the most important discoveries in our world, and how were those questions answered? In this mentorship, you will take a journey through life’s history to learn about the who, what, when, where, and why of the experiments that give us insight into the microscopic elements that make up your very cells, how your cells work together to keep you alive, and how we engineer and design therapeutics to treat diseases. We will critically engage fourteen foundational studies in biology and medicine, including those that showed us how life may have begun on Earth, how we determined what molecules carry genetic information and what those molecules look like, and more recently, how we discovered a biological, endosymbiotic event that may result in huge advances in agriculture and industry! Each week, we will discuss and analyze a key study that reveals an important building block in our understanding of biology and its implications on modern science. By the end of the mentorship, you will utilize your expanded scholarly toolkit as well as your knowledge of the scientific method, experimental design, and foundational biological and engineering concepts to create a mock research proposal presentation. In this project, you will create a hypothesis and design a series of experiments that answer your very own question about how life works!

Note: Multiple perspectives (both popular and unpopular) will be examined and discussed for the purpose of building critical thinking skills and understanding or critiquing multiple viewpoints and data as well as incorporating and responding to classmates’ views and ideas. The ideas, readings and discussions are not necessarily the expressed views of the instructor, PTY, or VU. While we encourage students to engage in the orderly and civil exchange of diverse ideas and opinions, we expect that they will do so in a respectful way so that all participants feel welcome and safe.

From Concept to Clinic: How Drugs are Made [Status: no longer accepting applications]
Meeting Time: Tuesdays, 6:30-9:00PM CST (January 25, 2025 to May 30, 2025)
Instructors: Christopher Hansen | View Instructor Bio

From basic science, like pathology and chemistry, to clinical work, like trials, the route by which new medication is made requires experts across various areas of science and business. The interdisciplinary expertise surrounding the field of drug development makes it a fascinating and ever-changing business for those who find their career in it. The drug development pipeline, the common route by which most medication is approved in the United States, is a wide concept where experts in medicinal chemistry, pathophysiology, molecular pharmacology, animal science, and medicine come together to tackle the world’s toughest problem – disease. Throughout the mentorship, you will “develop” a novel drug to treat a disease. You will learn about the scientific data, legality, and market strategies they need to get their “drug” off the benchtop and into the clinic. Lectures will cover topics like scientific vocabulary, FDA-approval processes, basic biology, chemistry, and anatomy, as well as research topics, techniques, and data types. You will be immersed in the development process through independent research on pathophysiology, current clinical progress, and medical needs pertaining to a disease of their choice. You will also learn how to read scientific literature, interpret common types of data, and convey complex ideas to the general public. By the end of the mentorship, you will appreciate the intricacies of the drug development process, the science needed to be successful in it, and the legal, economic, and sociological implications that confound it.

Note: Multiple perspectives (both popular and unpopular) will be examined and discussed for the purpose of building critical thinking skills and understanding or critiquing multiple viewpoints and data as well as incorporating and responding to classmates’ views and ideas. The ideas, readings and discussions are not necessarily the expressed views of the instructor, PTY, or VU. While we encourage students to engage in the orderly and civil exchange of diverse ideas and opinions, we expect that they will do so in a respectful way so that all participants feel welcome and safe.

Hacking the Human Brain: Neurosurgery in the Age of Brain-Computer Interfaces [Status: no longer accepting applications]
Meeting Time: Mondays, 5:30-8:00PM CST (January 25, 2025 to May 30, 2025)
Instructors: Anas Reda | View Instructor Bio

Have you ever wondered how we can harness the power of the human brain to control technology, or how neurosurgery is being transformed by brain-computer interfaces (BCIs)? In this mentorship, you’ll explore the cutting-edge convergence of neurosurgery and BCI technology, starting with a deep dive into the fundamentals of neuroscience and progressing into network neuroscience, where we’ll examine how altering neural networks can help treat conditions like epilepsy. You’ll then delve into the world of BCIs, discovering how these innovations are being implanted to restore function in individuals with severe neurological deficits. Along the way, you’ll confront the ethical questions that arise when interfacing with the brain, examining case studies and real-world applications of BCIs. By the end, you’ll grapple with the key question: “Just because we can manipulate the brain, does that mean we should?” This mentorship will culminate in a project in which you will identify a specific brain network of interest, develop a proposal on how you plan to modulate that network, and articulate the potential clinical benefits of such modulation. Additionally, you will be required to address the ethical concerns that may arise from your proposal.

Note: Multiple perspectives (both popular and unpopular) will be examined and discussed for the purpose of building critical thinking skills and understanding or critiquing multiple viewpoints and data as well as incorporating and responding to classmates’ views and ideas. The ideas, readings and discussions are not necessarily the expressed views of the instructor, PTY, or VU. While we encourage students to engage in the orderly and civil exchange of diverse ideas and opinions, we expect that they will do so in a respectful way so that all participants feel welcome and safe.

The Psychology and Neuroscience of Happiness [Status: full, waiting list only]
Meeting Time: Mondays, 5:30-8:00PM CST (January 25, 2025 to May 30, 2025)
Instructors: Ashleigh Maxcey | View Instructor Bio

Positive psychology is the study of exceeding baseline human potential. In their academic pursuits, psychologists who study happiness might ask questions such as: How do we define and achieve happiness? What increases the human capacity for joy, meaning, and hope? What are the traits of a positive institution?

This immersion experience provides you the opportunity to explore positive psychology as an academic field of research while also allowing you the chance to understand and implement habits that can increase their personal joy, meaning, and hope in our post-covid world rich in anxiety and depression. By the end of the mentorship, you will have a better understanding of the academic field of positive psychology, including the peer-reviewed science behind the study of happiness. You will also learn about happiness tools that work based on research, the intersection of well-being and career paths, components of positive institutions, cultural differences in the pursuit of joy, and strategies to incorporate these lessons into college life and beyond. From successful leaders to compelling politicians to empathetic doctors, every future career path is enhanced using this science of happiness. This immersion experience will culminate in a professional presentation where you will select a particular institution or target population of interest and cater a Happiness 101 implementation plan on tangible directions, supported by empirical research, to introduce and implement positive psychology practices for their unique situation.

Note: Multiple perspectives (both popular and unpopular) will be examined and discussed for the purpose of building critical thinking skills and understanding or critiquing multiple viewpoints and data as well as incorporating and responding to classmates’ views and ideas. The ideas, readings and discussions are not necessarily the expressed views of the instructor, PTY, or VU. While we encourage students to engage in the orderly and civil exchange of diverse ideas and opinions, we expect that they will do so in a respectful way so that all participants feel welcome and safe.

The Wonders of Electrochemistry: Powering the Future with Electrochemical Technologies
Meeting Time: Thursdays, 5:30-8:00PM CST (January 25, 2025 to May 30, 2025)
Instructors: Hannah Richards | View Instructor Bio

Why don’t we have phone batteries that can last a week? What is the Tesla Cybertruck Supercharger? What is the lithium-ion battery crisis and how can we solve it? This mentorship will explore the fundamentals and advancements of electrochemistry, a unique division of chemistry. The future of many modern technologies relies upon electrochemistry applications. We will discover electrochemistry basics including oxidation states, chemical reactions, metal activities, biomolecular interactions, and batteries. This will expand into uncovering the hidden electrochemistry within jewelry electroplating, electric vehicles, cell phone batteries, diabetes and medical sensors, water disinfection, space exploration, and more! In this mentorship, you will critically explore the commonly unknown electrochemical details present within well-known technologies and in your final project, analyze the electrochemistry behind the world’s leading electric vehicle manufactures. By the end of our time, you will have an in-depth understanding of electrochemistry principles and potential career paths in the field, be able to convey critical concepts, and be able to develop a scholarly presentation like a chemist!

Note: Multiple perspectives (both popular and unpopular) will be examined and discussed for the purpose of building critical thinking skills and understanding or critiquing multiple viewpoints and data as well as incorporating and responding to classmates’ views and ideas. The ideas, readings and discussions are not necessarily the expressed views of the instructor, PTY, or VU. While we encourage students to engage in the orderly and civil exchange of diverse ideas and opinions, we expect that they will do so in a respectful way so that all participants feel welcome and safe.

Psychological Science Research: Solving the Human Puzzle (7th-8th grades)
Meeting Time: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 5:30 to 7:30PM CST
Instructors: Zach Stuckelman | View Instructor Bio

Would you say yes if someone asked you to work on the world’s greatest, most perplexing puzzle for a living? Psychological science researchers have asked this question! What is this puzzle? Humans! Psychological researchers study how humans think, learn, feel, and why they act in a certain way. If the human puzzle intrigues you, you may be interested in studying psychology and becoming a psychological science researcher. This mini mentorship experience will allow you the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of researching within psychological science so that you have the knowledge to develop a research proposal that interests YOU the most (cognitive, social, or developmental) while receiving a personalized mentorship to make your introduction to psychological research successful and impactful. The final project will be your own research proposal that reflects what psychological researchers are asked to do at the career level. Together, we will learn how to view, interpret, and critique others’ research by studying existing scientific literature and studies. We will then use our budding understanding of psychological research to write research questions, form hypotheses, and design a novel study!

Molecular Magic: The Secrets of Cell Biology (7th-8th grades)
Meeting Time: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 6:00 to 8:00PM CST
Instructors: Julie Burkett | View Instructor Bio

Imagine a tiny factory inside every living thing! That’s what cells are. In this mini mentorship, you’ll embark on a journey as a cellular investigator, delving into the world of molecular machinery with a Vanderbilt molecular physiologist as your guide. From the smallest building blocks to the complex structures of our bodies, you’ll uncover the incredible order and efficiency that underlies life. How do we go from a single protein in a tiny microbe to a whole human? You’ll begin by examining cell theory and understanding why cells are organized as they are. Then you’ll dive deeper into the intricate processes that drive cellular function, such as gene expression, protein synthesis, and energy metabolism. Throughout this investigation, you’ll familiarize yourself with the tools and techniques used by real scientists to study these molecular machines. By the end of the mini mentorship, you’ll have the opportunity to identify and follow your favorite gene (YFG) through the cellular factory, from its DNA sequence to its final functional protein product. This research experience will help solidify your understanding of cellular processes and provide you with valuable skills for future scientific endeavors. Get ready to unravel the molecular magic within the body’s cells and discover the interconnectedness of all things!

Eco-Anthropology: Investigating Our Local Environmental Stories (7th-8th grades)
Meeting Time: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 6:00 to 8:00PM CST
Instructors: Kathryn Peters | View Instructor Bio

This mentorship will immerse you in the study of environmental anthropology by guiding your exploration of the complex relationships between humans and the natural environment. Using ethnographic research methods, you will investigate how environmental issues, such as waste management, pollution, water use, or access to green spaces, are understood, experienced, and addressed by different communities. Throughout the mentorship, you will apply rigorous data collection and analysis techniques, systematically documenting cultural practices, social norms, and power dynamics that shape local environmental challenges and responses. With this scholarly and theoretical foundation, you will design and conduct your own research project for the final assignment, learning to critically analyze the interactions between human behavior and ecological systems while fostering environmental awareness and advocacy.

Neuroscience and Psychology (8th-9th grades)
Meeting Time: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 7:00 to 9:00PM CST
Instructors: Pietra Bruni | View Instructor Bio

This mentorship will address the intersection between neuroscience and psychology, focusing on the exciting and complex work in research science. Psychologists are focused on causes, treatments, and prevention of different types of health conditions. This often involves understanding the most marvelous (and mystifying) component of the human body—the brain! We will begin by exploring how the brain works and interacts with other physiological systems to support life. We will learn about the most important neurotransmitters in our brain and investigate how they contribute to our emotions, learning, and overall health. This mini mentorship will provide a base of content knowledge crucial to the field, so you can begin the process of designing and developing your own research science project. Students will actively apply their new knowledge of brain function to develop hypotheses, analyze data, and draw conclusions based on their own empirical question. Throughout this mini mentorship, you can expect advanced lectures, labs, extensive study, an introduction to cognitive measures used in the field, and guest lectures from fellow psychologists and neuroscientists. This mini mentorship is designed to challenge you to see the world the way a neuroscientist does—pushing you to explore your interests in both creative and empirically meaningful ways. As research projects are an important part of every academic discipline, the skills learned will help prepare you for success in future science-focused coursework. Come ready to explore the diverse fields of neuroscience, psychology, and research science!

What’s in a Memory: Exploring the Intersections of the Brain, Memory and Biology (8th-9th grades)
Meeting Time: Mondays & Wednesdays, 6:00 to 8:00PM CST
Instructors: Hailey Kresge| View Instructor Bio

Think about one of your favorite memories: What details can you remember about this event? How do you feel when you think about this memory? Why is it that you can remember this event exactly as it occurred, but you may have trouble remembering what you had for breakfast exactly one week ago? And why is it that some patients lose access to these memories as they age? This mentorship will explore the answers to all these questions and more by addressing the central question, “What’s in a Memory?” Led by a Vanderbilt M.D./Ph.D. candidate, you will delve into the field of cognitive neuroscience, a subfield of neuroscience that studies biological processes that underlie human cognition. Through a combination of lectures, clinical cases, independent readings, and group activities, you will learn more about clinical conditions that affect cognition and ongoing research aimed at understanding, preventing, and treating such conditions. By the end of the mini mentorship, you will (1) be knowledgeable about the different domains of cognition and corresponding brain regions, (2) be able to identify the most common causes of dementia and discuss ongoing research, and (3) become familiar with possible training and career opportunities focused on cognition. Join this experience to explore the science of memory and cognition analyzing clinical cases based on real-life patient scenarios just like neuropsychologists and neuroscientists!

How the Human Body Heals: An Introduction to Tissue Engineering (7th-8th grades)
Meeting Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6:00 to 8:00 PM CST
Instructors: Duby Okonkwo | View Instructor Bio

Are you curious about how your body works? Are you curious about how your paper cuts heal? Do you want to learn about the amazing organs that make up your body and how they work together to keep you healthy? In this course, you’ll explore the fascinating world of organ physiology and healing with a Vanderbilt M.D./Ph.D. student as your guide! You’ll start by discovering how all of our organs come from one tiny cell and how they share the same DNA, even though they look and work differently. Then, you’ll dive into the different roles that our organs play in keeping our bodies healthy and how they heal when they get hurt. You’ll compare the organs that heal well to those that don’t, and find out what makes them different. But that’s not all! You’ll also explore the challenges that researchers face when trying to design effective treatments to promote healing. You’ll learn what tissue engineering is and how it attempts to overcome these challenges. And to top it all off, you’ll get to choose an organ that interests you, learn about its physiology, and learn about a common condition that affect it in depth. This course is perfect for students who are interested in science, medicine, and the human body. It is a really fun learning opportunity to gain basic beginner level knowledge in these fields. No previous knowledge is required.

From Ligands to Life: Exploring the Molecular Mechanisms of Cell Communication (7th-8th grades)
Meeting Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 5:30 to 7:30 PM CST
Instructors: Julie Burkett | View Instructor Bio

Encoded messages are being relayed throughout our bodies all day, every day, every second, every millisecond through the tireless work of many biological molecules and their signaling partners. Without this coordinated communication network between cells, life would not exist. Haven’t you ever wondered how, in a world where we struggle to coordinate hundreds of emails or text messages in a day, our cells can successfully coordinate millions of communications per minute? In this mini mentorship, you will learn the basics of cellular signaling which underly how an electrical pulse becomes a heartbeat, a thought becomes an action, food becomes fuel, an infection becomes a fever, and more. You will learn about the most common modes of cellular communication that keep your body in synchronicity from your head to your feet, and how disease may arise when these molecular message systems are interrupted. You will learn the basics of cellular receptors and intracellular signaling cascades, as well as the scientific techniques used to uncover these pathways. We will gain familiarity with exploring scientific literature and apply these skills to investigate what is new in the world of signaling and why so many cell signaling pathways make important pharmaceutical targets. You will leave this course with the knowledge of the most important cellular messages required to create and maintain life!

Neuroscience & Psychology: Principles and Applications of Research Science (7th-8th grades)
Meeting Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6:00 to 8:00 PM CST
Instructors: Pietra Bruni | View Instructor Bio

This mentorship will address the intersection between neuroscience and psychology, focusing on the exciting and complex work in research science. Psychologists are focused on causes, treatments, and prevention of different types of health conditions. This often involves understanding the most marvelous (and mystifying) component of the human body—the brain! We will begin by exploring how the brain works and interacts with other physiological systems to support life. We will learn about the most important neurotransmitters in our brain and investigate how they contribute to our emotions, learning, and overall health. This mini mentorship will provide a base of content knowledge crucial to the field, so you can begin the process of designing and developing your own research science project. Students will actively apply their new knowledge of brain function to develop hypotheses, analyze data, and draw conclusions based on their own empirical question. Throughout this mini mentorship, you can expect advanced lectures, labs, extensive study, an introduction to cognitive measures used in the field, and guest lectures from fellow psychologists and neuroscientists. This mini mentorship is designed to challenge you to see the world the way a neuroscientist does—pushing you to explore your interests in both creative and empirically meaningful ways. As research projects are an important part of every academic discipline, the skills learned will help prepare you for success in future science-focused coursework. Come ready to explore the diverse fields of neuroscience, psychology, and research science!

Biomechanical Perspectives of Hierarchical Bone Biology (8th-9th grades)
Meeting Time: Mondays and Wednesdays, 5:30PM to 7:30PM CST
Instructors: Emily Berestesky | View Instructor Bio

Bones serve many different purposes in our daily lives – as stores of key nutrients, a system of levers to allow us to push and pull, to keep ourselves upright and more! And we’re able to do all these things due to the structure of bones, from the arrangement of collagen to the way that our bones interact with each other. But what happens when one component of the hierarchical structure of bones becomes mutated or damaged? How does this small change affect the function of bones, and, more importantly, how do we identify these deviations in sick patients and create treatments to help them? In this mentorship, we’ll begin by discussing the structure-function relationship in bone, starting from the microarchitecture and working our way up to the whole body. From there, we’ll discuss commonly used methods in biomechanical research to study bone properties, such as 3-point bending, compressive testing, and micro-computed tomography. In the last part of the mentorship, we will discuss disease case studies where we will combine our early bone biology knowledge with engineering approaches for disease diagnosis and treatment for topics ranging from osteoporosis to the foreign body response from implants. In your final project, you will pick a disease and similarly identify the currently understood diseased-bone characteristics and describe what engineering approaches have been used to characterize and treat the disease. You will have the opportunity to familiarize yourself with how to read and find helpful literature, as well as practice combining different aspects of disease biology to gain a better understanding of the whole process and plan for patient diagnosis and treatment.

The Psychology and Neuroscience of Happiness (8th-9th grades)
Meeting Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 5:00PM to 7:00PM CST
Instructors: Ashleigh Maxcey | View Instructor Bio

How do we define and achieve happiness? What increases the human capacity for joy, meaning, and hope? What are the traits of a positive institution? Positive psychology is the study of exceeding baseline human potential. This immersion experience provides students with an opportunity to understand and implement habits that can increase their joy, meaning, and hope in our post-covid world rich in anxiety and depression. By the end of the mentorship, you will leave with a better understanding of the happiness tools that work for you, the peer-reviewed science behind the study of high achievement, the intersection of wellbeing and career paths, components of positive institutions, cultural differences in the pursuit of joy, and strategies to incorporate these lessons into college life and beyond. From successful leaders to compelling politicians to empathetic doctors, every future career path is enhanced using this scie.

Bioinformatics for the Life Sciences: The Secret Life of 1’s & 0’s
Tuesdays, 5:00-7:30PM CST (August 17, 2024 to December 13, 2024)
Instructor: Rob Markowitz | View Instructor Bio

Imagine a toolbox that would let you predict the evolution of a new virus, model the 3D structure of a protein before it’s ever been made, or calculate the binding of a novel drug to neurons in your brain. Bioinformatics holds the key to unlocking the secrets of life encoded within the vast expanse of biological information all around us and offers endless opportunities for discovery. In this mentorship, you will delve into the cutting-edge world of bioinformatics through a hands-on approach, where you will uncover the practical applications of bioinformatic research and analysis in the life sciences. You will work with Dr. Markowitz, a Vanderbilt alumnus and clinical bioinformatician, as you explore diverse applications of bioinformatics in biology and biotechnology. Beginning with a foundation in the commonly used tools to search and compare biological sequences (think “googling” your DNA), we will transition to collecting and processing data stored in numerous public databases just like the pros. Following that, we will collectively create custom code to analyze and interpret various biological questions pertinent to human health. By the conclusion of this immersion, you will have developed practical analysis skills, a portfolio of real-world projects to share, and a deeper appreciation for the role of bioinformatics in shaping the future of science.

This course assumes some experience with a coding language like Python and math exposure through Calculus 1. Students will have the opportunity to review these concepts with their mentor throughout the course but should plan additional time to review on their own as well.

Note: Multiple perspectives (both popular and unpopular) will be examined and discussed for the purpose of building critical thinking skills and understanding or critiquing multiple viewpoints and data as well as incorporating and responding to classmates’ views and ideas. The ideas, readings and discussions are not necessarily the expressed views of the instructor, PTY, or VU. While we encourage students to engage in the orderly and civil exchange of diverse ideas and opinions, we expect that they will do so in a respectful way so that all participants feel welcome and safe.

Biomedical Engineering Approaches to Cancer Immunotherapy
Wednesdays, 5:30-8:00pm CST (August 17, 2024 to December 13, 2024)
Instructor: Sydney Henriques | View Instructor Bio

What role does engineering play in medicine and immunology? A lot more than you might initially think. This mentorship will introduce you to the fields of biomedical engineering and cancer immunology, with a particular focus on learning how to make connections and bridge the fields together in order to advance the clinical landscape of cancer immunotherapies. In the first section of this mentorship, we will cover design considerations for developing biomaterial-based cancer therapies. You will gain a fundamental understanding of how the physical properties of nanoparticles (and other biomaterials) affect their biodistribution and targeting, and how these properties influence their interactions in the body. Next, you will learn commonly used techniques associated with clinical research applications within the immunology and medical fields. You will learn how to effectively write up detailed protocols and understand the reasoning and underlying principles for each step. You will then learn how to conduct a literature search and identify quality references on cancer-focused biomaterial design. Finally, you will apply what they learn to complete a final project where they design a new cancer immunotherapy. Overall, this mentorship will teach you how to take an interdisciplinary approach to fighting cancer.

Note: Multiple perspectives (both popular and unpopular) will be examined and discussed for the purpose of building critical thinking skills and understanding or critiquing multiple viewpoints and data as well as incorporating and responding to classmates’ views and ideas. The ideas, readings and discussions are not necessarily the expressed views of the instructor, PTY, or VU. While we encourage students to engage in the orderly and civil exchange of diverse ideas and opinions, we expect that they will do so in a respectful way so that all participants feel welcome and safe.

Corporate Law, Liability, & Legal Strategy
Saturdays, 10:00AM-12:30PM CST (August 17, 2024 to December 13, 2024)
Instructor: Zach Richards | View Instructor Bio

In 1998, the four largest tobacco companies in the United States paid $206 billion to settle lawsuits claiming that these companies violated various consumer protection laws in marketing and selling cigarettes despite knowing of the medical harms associated with smoking. In 2014, a well-known oil and gas company paid over $20 billion to settle legal claims relating to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the environmental damage it caused to the Gulf Coast. Just last year, an established social media company paid $809.5 million to settle claims raised by its shareholders that the company had been over-reporting its user count since 2016. In the world of corporate law, it goes without saying that the stakes are high. In this course, you will learn about the legal infrastructure, laws, rules, regulations, and strategies that guide business leaders, lawmakers, and legal advocates in the world of business. You will read real cases, listen to oral arguments, and together, we will examine both hypothetical and real case studies invoking these laws and rules. Through these exercises, you will learn about subjects every first-year law student—or 1L—studies in American law schools. These include subjects like Separation of Powers, Civil Procedure, Property, Contracts, and Torts, but you will also learn about more advanced legal subjects like Antitrust, Consumer Protection, Fiduciary Duty, and Tax Law. We will answer questions like, “When is a company liable for monopolizing?” “When is an employer liable for their employees’ conduct?” “Can a business be sued in Florida if it is headquartered in Ohio?” Most importantly, however, you will walk away with an ability to recognize several issues impacting business and be able to propose informed legal solutions to address those problems. As a final project in this course, and with the guidance of the mentor, you will research and write an original piece of scholarship and an accompanying presentation on a legal issue of their choice which currently impacts the business world. This course is great for anyone who enjoys reading or writing, anyone interested in politics or law, or anyone who wants to better understand the rules and regulations surrounding business and commerce.

Note: Multiple perspectives (both popular and unpopular) will be examined and discussed for the purpose of building critical thinking skills and understanding or critiquing multiple viewpoints and data as well as incorporating and responding to classmates’ views and ideas. The ideas, readings and discussions are not necessarily the expressed views of the instructor, PTY, or VU. While we encourage students to engage in the orderly and civil exchange of diverse ideas and opinions, we expect that they will do so in a respectful way so that all participants feel welcome and safe.

Exploring Biomedical Informatics: Research, Programming, and Scientific Communication with Real-World Data
Thursdays, 6:00-8:30PM CST (August 17, 2024 to December 13, 2024)
Instructor: Alex Becker | View Instructor Bio

Are you interested in medicine, biomedicine, health, or healthcare? Do you like the idea of making a real-world impact with readily available data? Are you ready to dive into an exponentially growing field that you’ve (probably) never heard of but have interacted with? If so, then biomedical informatics is an area you should explore. Biomedical informatics is an interdisciplinary, scientific field that studies and pursues the effective uses of biomedical data, information, and knowledge for scientific inquiry, problem solving, and decision making; motivated by efforts to improve human health (amia.org). Biomedical informaticians often collaborate with professionals in epidemiology, biostatistics, computer science, computational biology, cognitive science, human factors engineering, biomedical engineering, and many others to make a positive impact on health and health-related research. As part of this mentorship you will begin to build the skills necessary to conduct and communicate biomedical informatics research, laying a solid foundation for future academic and career pursuits in biomedical informatics, data science, and beyond. We will cover the basics of biomedical informatics, how to design and execute research projects, programming (no experience required), key academic and life skills, as well as how to effectively communicate your science through writing and conference-style presentations. This mentorship experience will combine theory with hands-on practice. Weekly classes are highly interactive: blending lectures, workshops, group activities, and guest speakers. Throughout the mentorship you will design and execute your own, independent research project (datasets will be supplied, or you can bring your own!). You will share your research and findings through a draft submission to the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) High School Scholar’s Program. This draft submission will include a 2-page extended project description and a 10-minute PowerPoint presentation. This mentorship is not a bystander experience!

Prerequisite: Previous programming experience is not required.

In order to engage with the content of the course, all students are required to have access to the technology list below or be willing to acquire this technology prior to the start of the program. Please note, some downloads include terms and conditions that require consent of an individual over the age of 18. Students should work with their guardians to obtain appropriate permissions before downloading software or creating accounts:

• • The computer’s operating system is Windows, MacOS, or Chromebook (no Linux, please)
    Stable internet connection, camera, and microphone for class.
  • At least 60gb free space (preferably on a hard drive, but Google Drive is sufficient for Chromebook users)
  • Permission to download RStudio and download Visual Studio
  • Google Account and has permission to access Google Colab
  • Permission to download Zotero or to access ZoteroBib
  • Access to a word processor (like Microsoft Word or Google Docs)
  • Access to a presentation making software (like PowerPoint, Keynote, Google Slides)
  • Access to Excel (Excel, Google Sheets)Many school-owned computers block the resources listed above. If you are planning to use a school-owned device, please confirm that you are able to download and access the technology resources listed above before applying to this course.

Note: Multiple perspectives (both popular and unpopular) will be examined and discussed for the purpose of building critical thinking skills and understanding or critiquing multiple viewpoints and data as well as incorporating and responding to classmates’ views and ideas. The ideas, readings and discussions are not necessarily the expressed views of the instructor, PTY, or VU. While we encourage students to engage in the orderly and civil exchange of diverse ideas and opinions, we expect that they will do so in a respectful way so that all participants feel welcome and safe.

From Concept to Clinic: How Drugs are Made
Tuesdays, 6:30-9:00PM CST (August 17, 2024 to December 13, 2024)
Instructor: Christopher Hansen | View Instructor Bio

From basic science, like pathology and chemistry, to clinical work, like trials, the route by which new medication is made requires experts across various areas of science and business. The interdisciplinary expertise surrounding the field of drug development makes it a fascinating and ever-changing business for those who find their career in it. The drug development pipeline, the common route by which most medication is approved in the United States, is a wide concept where experts in medicinal chemistry, pathophysiology, molecular pharmacology, animal science, and medicine come together to tackle the world’s toughest problem – disease. Throughout the mentorship, you will “develop” a novel drug to treat a disease. You will learn about the scientific data, legality, and market strategies they need to get their “drug” off the benchtop and into the clinic. Lectures will cover topics like scientific vocabulary, FDA-approval processes, basic biology, chemistry, and anatomy, and research topics, techniques, and data types. You will be immersed in the development process through independent research on pathophysiology, current clinical progress, and medical needs pertaining to a disease of their choice. You will also learn how to read scientific literature, interpret common types of data, and convey complex ideas to the general public. By the end of the mentorship, you will appreciate the intricacies of the drug development process, the science needed to be successful in it, and the legal, economic, and sociological implications that confound it.

Note: Multiple perspectives (both popular and unpopular) will be examined and discussed for the purpose of building critical thinking skills and understanding or critiquing multiple viewpoints and data as well as incorporating and responding to classmates’ views and ideas. The ideas, readings and discussions are not necessarily the expressed views of the instructor, PTY, or VU. While we encourage students to engage in the orderly and civil exchange of diverse ideas and opinions, we expect that they will do so in a respectful way so that all participants feel welcome and safe.

Neuropsychology & Behavioral Medicine: Understanding the Connection Between Health & Well-Being
Wednesdays, 6:00-8:30PM CST (August 17, 2024 to December 13, 2024)
Instructor: Pietra Bruni | View Instructor Bio

Physical and emotional health are not two separate systems, as many scientists previously believed but are closely intertwined. This interaction is known as the Mind-Body connection, a relationship so important that it’s responsible for impacting nearly all of our bodily experiences! Our memory, energy levels, behavior, mood, sleep, and even our appetite are controlled by this dynamic and ever-evolving relationship. This mentorship will address the link between neuropsychology and behavioral medicine, focusing on the exciting and complex work that happens at the intersection of mind and medicine. Clinical neuropsychologists focus on the relationship between the brain and behavior, frequently working in the medical field to promote health and wellbeing. This subspeciality often overlaps with Behavioral Medicine, a newly developing area of study that explores the interplay of biological, psychological, medical, and social factors. Since behavioral medicine encompasses a deeply interdisciplinary approach that pulls from various disciplines (such as biology, immunology, neurology, and psychophysiology), you will begin the mentorship by learning about the nervous system and related physiological structures. From there, you will expand your knowledge of the biopsychosocial model, synthesizing relevant literature from the field and learning more about cutting-edge health research. Specific topics that will be explored include the impact of stress on the body, the gut-brain connection, how neuroplasticity can re-wire our brain, the role of behavioral genetics, chronic pain, and more. This advanced content deep-dive will culminate in identifying your own research question (to be answered through data collection or advanced literature review) resulting in an independent research project that you design and execute yourself. Throughout this mentorship, you can expect advanced lectures, labs, extensive study, an introduction to clinical health resources used in the medical field, and guest lectures from fellow clinicians and research scientists. If you are interested in neuroscience, psychology, and medicine, this mentorship is for you! Together, we will bridge the gap between brain/ body relationships and explore the diverse fields of neuropsychology and behavioral medicine.

Note: Multiple perspectives (both popular and unpopular) will be examined and discussed for the purpose of building critical thinking skills and understanding or critiquing multiple viewpoints and data as well as incorporating and responding to classmates’ views and ideas. The ideas, readings and discussions are not necessarily the expressed views of the instructor, PTY, or VU. While we encourage students to engage in the orderly and civil exchange of diverse ideas and opinions, we expect that they will do so in a respectful way so that all participants feel welcome and safe.

Principals of Computational Genomics
Wednesdays, 5:30-8:00PM CST (August 17, 2024 to December 13, 2024)
Instructor: Michael Betti | View Instructor Bio

At over 3 billion letters in length, the human genome sequence contains an almost unfathomable amount of information. Over the past three decades, thanks to rapid advances in genomic technologies and enormous gains in compute power, the focus of human genetics research has evolved from testing for single gene mutations within families to being able to sequence and interpret entire genomes at unprecedented population-level scale. In this mentorship, you will learn about the wide range of different computational approaches commonly used by geneticists today to interpret the complex code of the human genome. As a group, we will read and critique scientific publications by discussing some of the most important foundational papers in the field of human genetic analysis, covering topics that include whole genome sequencing, epigenetics, genome-wide association studies, genetic ancestry estimation, and even cutting-edge machine learning models. After learning about each approach at a conceptual level, you will learn how to practically implement it, gaining hands-on experience with different types of real genetic data. At the end of the mentorship, you will have the opportunity to design and present your own proposed research project.

While previous programming experience is a plus, all skill levels are welcome.

Note: Multiple perspectives (both popular and unpopular) will be examined and discussed for the purpose of building critical thinking skills and understanding or critiquing multiple viewpoints and data as well as incorporating and responding to classmates’ views and ideas. The ideas, readings and discussions are not necessarily the expressed views of the instructor, PTY, or VU. While we encourage students to engage in the orderly and civil exchange of diverse ideas and opinions, we expect that they will do so in a respectful way so that all participants feel welcome and safe.

The Psychology and Neuroscience of Happiness
Wednesdays, 5:00-7:30PM CST (August 17, 2024 to December 13, 2024)
Instructor: Ashleigh Maxcey | View Instructor Bio

Positive psychology is the study of exceeding baseline human potential. In their academic pursuits, psychologists who study happiness might ask questions such as: How do we define and achieve happiness? What increases the human capacity for joy, meaning, and hope? What are the traits of a positive institution?
This immersion experience provides you the opportunity to explore positive psychology as an academic field of research while also allowing you the chance to understand and implement habits that can increase their personal joy, meaning, and hope in our post-covid world rich in anxiety and depression. By the end of the mentorship, you will have a better understanding of the academic field of positive psychology, including the peer-reviewed science behind the study of happiness. You will also learn about happiness tools that work based on research, the intersection of well-being and career paths, components of positive institutions, cultural differences in the pursuit of joy, and strategies to incorporate these lessons into college life and beyond. From successful leaders to compelling politicians to empathetic doctors, every future career path is enhanced using this science of happiness. This immersion experience will culminate in a professional presentation where you will select a particular institution or target population of interest and cater a Happiness 101 implementation plan on tangible directions, supported by empirical research, to introduce and implement positive psychology practices for their unique situation.

Note: Multiple perspectives (both popular and unpopular) will be examined and discussed for the purpose of building critical thinking skills and understanding or critiquing multiple viewpoints and data as well as incorporating and responding to classmates’ views and ideas. The ideas, readings and discussions are not necessarily the expressed views of the instructor, PTY, or VU. While we encourage students to engage in the orderly and civil exchange of diverse ideas and opinions, we expect that they will do so in a respectful way so that all participants feel welcome and safe.

Deciphering Gene Expression: Epigenetics in Development and Disease (May 13, 2024 – August 12, 2024) – [status: full, no longer accepting applications]
Meeting Time: Mondays and Thursdays from 6:00PM to 8:00PM CST
Instructor: Anna Johnson | View Instructor Bio

Each cell in our body contains the same DNA, yet variation in how that genetic information is expressed allows them to perform widely different functions. A key source of this regulated expression is the so-called “histone code.” Billions of base pairs of DNA in each nucleus are packaged around proteins called histones, which also serve as signposts to direct expression of genes in their vicinity. In this mentorship, you will explore the genetic architecture and gene expression in both normal and disease states and discuss how the proteins that “read and write” histone modifications interact with each other and the environment during multicellular development, including what happens when their behavior becomes dysregulated. In addition, you will learn how to dissect primary scientific literature, utilize public genomic datasets, and effectively communicate findings to your peers by writing and defending a mock scientific proposal.

Note: Multiple perspectives (both popular and unpopular) will be examined and discussed for the purpose of building critical thinking skills and understanding or critiquing multiple viewpoints and data as well as incorporating and responding to classmates’ views and ideas. The ideas, readings and discussions are not necessarily the expressed views of the instructor, PTY, or VU. While we encourage students to engage in the orderly and civil exchange of diverse ideas and opinions, we expect that they will do so in a respectful way so that all participants feel welcome and safe.

How the Human Body Heals: An Introduction to Tissue Engineering (May 13, 2024 – August 12, 2024) – [status: full, no longer accepting applications]
Meeting Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6:00PM to 8:00PM CT
Instructors: Duby Okonkwo | View Instructor Bio

Have you ever had a paper cut or a scraped knee? Have you ever wondered how it healed or why some heal with a scar and others do not? Traditionally, we think of our organs, such as the heart, bone, and skin, as different entities, but they are all products of a single cell, called a zygote, that is the starting point for all of us. No matter how different our cells may be in look and function, they still all share the same exact DNA. Similarly, our organs are well differentiated to serve a purpose for our whole body, but they still share some similarities, including the basic principles of healing. Healing does not always succeed, which is the case of damaged heart muscle after a myocardial infarction (heart attack), but other times, as in the case of skin cuts, healing is able to proceed mostly without difficulty. Understanding both the similarities as well as differences that lead to this is essential for designing effective therapies to help when the body cannot heal itself.

This mentorship, led by a Vanderbilt M.D./Ph.D. student, will address the roles of different organs and how they serve the human body introducing you to the various, clever ways that we use our knowledge about the physiology of organs to try to promote healing. You will explore examples of how organs sustain injury in the course of performing their role and the basics of how healing either progresses or stalls, comparing organs that heal well to those that do not, highlighting key similarities and differences. By investigating the different tissue engineering strategies that are used when healing fails, such as whole organ engineering for organ donation, including the challenges that these strategies face, you will gain the skills and tools for gathering information for biomedical research. This mentorship will culminate in a final project where you will choose an organ of interest, discuss the organ’s physiology, highlight a common condition that affects the organ, and finally propose a hypothetical treatment for the condition based on your understanding of the physiology.

Note: Multiple perspectives (both popular and unpopular) will be examined and discussed for the purpose of building critical thinking skills and understanding or critiquing multiple viewpoints and data as well as incorporating and responding to classmates’ views and ideas. The ideas, readings and discussions are not necessarily the expressed views of the instructor, PTY, or VU. While we encourage students to engage in the orderly and civil exchange of diverse ideas and opinions, we expect that they will do so in a respectful way so that all participants feel welcome and safe.

Positive Psychology: The Science of Happiness (May 13, 2024 – August 12, 2024) – [status: no longer accepting applications]
Meeting Time: Wednesdays and Thursdays, 5:00PM to 7:00PM CST
Instructor: Ashleigh Maxcey, Ph.D. | View Instructor Bio

How do we define and achieve happiness? What increases the human capacity for joy, meaning, and hope? What are the traits of a positive institution? Positive psychology is the study of exceeding baseline human potential. This immersion experience is an opportunity for young people to understand and implement habits that have the capacity to increase their joy, meaning, and hope in our post-covid world rich in anxiety and depression. By the end of the mentorship, you will leave with a better understanding of the happiness tools that work for you, the peer-reviewed science behind the study of high achievement, the intersection of wellbeing and career paths, components of positive institutions, cultural differences in the pursuit of joy, and strategies to incorporate these lessons into college life and beyond.

From successful leaders to compelling politicians to empathetic doctors, every future career path is enhanced using this science of happiness. This immersion experience will culminate in a professional presentation where you will select a particular institution or target population of interest and cater a Happiness 101 implementation plan on tangible directions, supported by empirical research, to introduce and implement positive psychology practices for their unique situation.

Note: Multiple perspectives (both popular and unpopular) will be examined and discussed for the purpose of building critical thinking skills and understanding or critiquing multiple viewpoints and data as well as incorporating and responding to classmates’ views and ideas. The ideas, readings and discussions are not necessarily the expressed views of the instructor, PTY, or VU. While we encourage students to engage in the orderly and civil exchange of diverse ideas and opinions, we expect that they will do so in a respectful way so that all participants feel welcome and safe.

Studies in Clinical Psychology: Principles and Applications of Research Science (May 13, 2024 – August 12, 2024) – [status: full, no longer accepting applications]
Meeting Time: Mondays and Wednesdays, 6:00PM to 8:00PM CT
Instructors: Pietra Bruni, Ph.D.| View Instructor Bio

This mentorship will address the intersection between clinical and research psychology and focus on the exciting and complex work that happens in the field of research science. Clinical psychologists are focused on causes, treatments, and prevention of different types of disorders. Clinical psychologists who are involved in research science ask questions like — How do we learn about the way people think, feel, and behave? How can psychopathology be studied in an ethical way? What approaches are used for disseminating research findings, and how are findings utilized in clinical settings? Throughout the mentorship, you will gain a foundational understanding of content knowledge crucial to the field, so that you can begin the process of designing and developing your own research project. You can expect advanced lectures, labs, extensive study, an introduction to clinical resources used in the field, and guest lectures from fellow clinicians and research scientists.

Coupled with this content knowledge will be discussions on research design methods. How do you design a study? What are ethical practices for involving people? What is a good question? How do you get approval to conduct a study? How do you analyze and interpret data? Ultimately, you will use your research science understanding to create an independent project (with input from your mentor) as you synthesize literature in the field about a current clinical psychology question. The possibilities for your own project are endless and could be related to a specific psychopathology, social-connectedness during the Covid pandemic, the gut-brain connection, or another area of inquiry based on your interests. You will develop a researchable question, propose sound methods to address this question, and begin the exciting process of finding answers to your questions! This mentorship is designed to challenge you to see the world the way a clinical research scientist does—pushing you to explore your interests in both creative and empirically meaningful ways. As research projects are a part of every academic discipline, the skills learned in this mentorship will help prepare you for success in college level courses while still in high school. Come ready to explore the diverse fields of clinical psychology and research science.

Note: Multiple perspectives (both popular and unpopular) will be examined and discussed for the purpose of building critical thinking skills and understanding or critiquing multiple viewpoints and data as well as incorporating and responding to classmates’ views and ideas. The ideas, readings and discussions are not necessarily the expressed views of the instructor, PTY, or VU. While we encourage students to engage in the orderly and civil exchange of diverse ideas and opinions, we expect that they will do so in a respectful way so that all participants feel welcome and safe.

Art Meets Science: Microscopy as a Tool and Art Form (June 10, 2024 – September 9, 2024) – [status: no longer accepting applications]
Meeting Time: Mondays and Thursdays from 6:00PM to 8:00PM CST
Instructor: Maggie Fye | View Instructor Bio

Art and science are always taught separately, but the reality is that these two fields have been intertwined for nearly all of history. From star charts to amoebae illustrations to macro photography, art has served as a tool to help us record scientific data. And science, in turn, has inspired art in a number of ways. In this mentorship, you will explore the ways that the field of microscopy has used art to record data, as well as generates data that looks a lot like art. You will learn the basics of light and fluorescence microscopy, observe how microscopy gets used in a real lab setting, explore the history of recording microscope data as art, observe a typical microscopy image competition, and make your own foldscopes to develop your own final project incorporating both art and science. If you are interested in the intersections of art and science, the fields of microscopy and cell biology, and are exploring career paths in either science or art, this mentorship is for you!

Note: Multiple perspectives (both popular and unpopular) will be examined and discussed for the purpose of building critical thinking skills and understanding or critiquing multiple viewpoints and data as well as incorporating and responding to classmates’ views and ideas. The ideas, readings and discussions are not necessarily the expressed views of the instructor, PTY, or VU. While we encourage students to engage in the orderly and civil exchange of diverse ideas and opinions, we expect that they will do so in a respectful way so that all participants feel welcome and safe.

Behavioral Medicine & Clinical Psychology: Understanding the Connection Between Health Ready and Well-Being (June 10, 2024 – September 9, 2024) – [status: full, no longer accepting applications]
Meeting Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:00PM to 8:00PM CST
Instructor: Pietra Bruni, Ph.D. | View Instructor Bio

Physical and emotional health are not two separate systems, as many scientists previously believed, but are closely intertwined. This interaction is known as the Mind-Body connection, a relationship so important that it’s responsible for impacting nearly all of our bodily experiences! Our memory, energy levels, behavior, mood, sleep, and even our appetite are controlled by this dynamic and ever-evolving relationship. This mentorship will address the link between clinical health psychology and behavioral medicine, focusing on the exciting and complex work that happens at the intersection of mind and medicine. While clinical psychologists are primarily focused on causes, treatments, and prevention of different types of disorders, those with a clinical health specialty have particular expertise working in the medical field to promote health and wellbeing. Functioning as a member of an interdisciplinary treatment team, this subspecialty is known as Behavioral Medicine—a perspective that acknowledges the interplay of biological, psychological, medical, and social factors. Since behavioral medicine encompasses a deeply interdisciplinary approach that pulls from various disciplines (such as biology, immunology, neurology, and psychophysiology), you will begin the mentorship by learning about the nervous system and related physiological structures. From there, you will expand your knowledge of the biopsychosocial model, synthesizing relevant literature from the field and learning more about cutting-edge health research. Specific topics that will be explored include the impact of stress on the body, the gut-brain connection, how neuroplasticity can re-wire our brain, the role of behavioral genetics, and more. This advanced content deep-dive will culminate in identifying your own research question (to be answered through data collection or advanced literature review) and resulting in an independent research project that you design and execute yourself.

Throughout this mentorship, you can expect advanced lectures, labs, extensive study, an introduction to clinical health resources used in the medical field, and guest lectures from fellow clinicians and research scientists. For high school students with a dual interest in psychology and medicine, this mentorship is for you! Together, we will bridge the gap between brain/ body relationships and explore the diverse fields of clinical psychology and behavioral medicine.

Note: Multiple perspectives (both popular and unpopular) will be examined and discussed for the purpose of building critical thinking skills and understanding or critiquing multiple viewpoints and data as well as incorporating and responding to classmates’ views and ideas. The ideas, readings and discussions are not necessarily the expressed views of the instructor, PTY, or VU. While we encourage students to engage in the orderly and civil exchange of diverse ideas and opinions, we expect that they will do so in a respectful way so that all participants feel welcome and safe.

Concept to Clinic: How Drugs are Made (June 10, 2024 – September 9, 2024) – [status: full, no longer accepting applications]
Meeting Time: Sundays and Wednesdays from 7:00PM to 9:00PM CST
Instructor: Christopher Hansen | View Instructor Bio

From basic science, like pathology and chemistry, to clinical work, like trials, the route by which new medication is made requires experts across various areas of science and business. The interdisciplinary expertise surrounding the field of drug development makes it a fascinating and ever-changing business for those who find their career in it. The drug development pipeline, the common route by which most medication is approved in the United States, is a wide concept where experts in medicinal chemistry, pathophysiology, molecular pharmacology, animal science, and medicine come together to tackle the world’s toughest problem – disease. Throughout the mentorship, students will “develop” a novel drug to treat a disease. They will learn about the scientific data, legality, and market strategies they need to get their “drug” off the benchtop and into the clinic. Lectures will cover topics like scientific vocabulary, FDA-approval processes, basic biology, chemistry, and anatomy, and research topics, techniques, and data types. Students will immerse themselves in the development process through independent research on pathophysiology, current clinical progress, and medical needs pertaining to a disease of their choice. Students will learn how to read scientific literature, interpret common types of data, and convey complex ideas to the general public. By the end of the mentorship, students will appreciate the intricacies of the drug development process, the science needed to be successful in it, and the legal, economic, and sociological implications that confound it.

Note: Multiple perspectives (both popular and unpopular) will be examined and discussed for the purpose of building critical thinking skills and understanding or critiquing multiple viewpoints and data as well as incorporating and responding to classmates’ views and ideas. The ideas, readings and discussions are not necessarily the expressed views of the instructor, PTY, or VU. While we encourage students to engage in the orderly and civil exchange of diverse ideas and opinions, we expect that they will do so in a respectful way so that all participants feel welcome and safe.

What’s in a Memory: Exploring the Science Underlying Human Cognition (June 10, 2024 – September 9, 2024) – [status: available]
Meeting Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:00PM to 8:00PM CST
Instructor: Hailey Kresge | View Instructor Bio

Think about one of your favorite memories: What details can you remember about this event? How do you feel when you think about this memory? Why is it that you can remember this event exactly as it occurred, but you may have trouble remembering what you had for lunch last week or whether you locked the front door this morning? This mentorship will explore the answers to all these questions and more by addressing the central question, “What’s in a Memory?” Led by a Vanderbilt M.D./Ph.D. candidate, you will delve into the field of cognitive neuroscience, a subfield of neuroscience that studies biological processes that underlie human cognition, specifically focusing on the relationship between brain structures, activity, and cognitive functions. Through a combination of lectures, case-based learning, independent readings, group activities, and guest lectures from trainees and professionals studying cognition, you will investigate the mechanisms underlying human memory and cognition, scientific methods to study cognition, and clinical conditions that affect cognition, such as Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. By the end of the program, you will (1) be knowledgeable about the different domains of cognition and corresponding brain regions, (2) be able to compare and contrast various methods to study cognition, (3) be able to identify and discuss the basic pathogenesis of clinical conditions affecting cognition, and (4) become familiar with possible career opportunities focused on cognition. Join this experience to explore the science of memory and cognition analyzing clinical cases based on real-life patient scenarios just like neuropsychologists and neuroscientists!

Note: Multiple perspectives (both popular and unpopular) will be examined and discussed for the purpose of building critical thinking skills and understanding or critiquing multiple viewpoints and data as well as incorporating and responding to classmates’ views and ideas. The ideas, readings and discussions are not necessarily the expressed views of the instructor, PTY, or VU. While we encourage students to engage in the orderly and civil exchange of diverse ideas and opinions, we expect that they will do so in a respectful way so that all participants feel welcome and safe.