The Peyton Lab, Tufts University
Cancer Bioengineering, Traumatic Brain Injury, Soft Materials, and More
Engineering the Cell Summer Program
Engineering the Cell will be held summer of 2025 at Tufts University in Medford.
Program dates: June 30th - August 1st, 2025
Applications are due by 5pm EDT on May 16th, 2025, and applicants will be notified by May 30th, 2025 about their application status via email.
Please use THIS FORM to apply to the 2025 program.
PLEASE NOTE: there are NO GPA requirements for this program, and there is NO COST to the student. Students will provided a small stipend to participate, and we provide lunch at Tufts Dining. We only ask that participants provide their own transportation to and from Tufts. Please contact Prof. Peyton with any further questions, and we look forward to seeing your application!
This program is generously sponsored by a grant awarded to the Peyton lab from the National Science Foundation, the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, Lauren Jansen, and Charlie Swofford.
Engineering the Cell is a summer program in the Peyton lab, designed specifically for high school students interested in science and engineering. If accepted into the program, you will spend five weeks in the lab, learning about how engineers can make a difference in cancer, brain, and biomaterials research, working directly with Dr. Peyton and graduate students, and learning how to do cutting edge science. You will also receive a small stipend for your participation in the program. There is no cost to you to participate! We hope the small stipend ($2500 per student) will make it possible for you to join us for five weeks. Lunch is provided every day of the program as well at no cost, above and beyond the stipend you receive.
For the 2025 program, we will likely be able to fund three participants. We are particularly interested in supporting students who will be entering their junior year of high school in the fall of 2025, but we will accept applications from all who are interested. If you have any other questions about the program, contact Prof. Peyton via email.
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THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!
The National Science Foundation
Lauren Jansen and Charlie Swofford
Massachusetts Life Sciences Center Internship Program
Funding for Engineering the Cell comes from a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to Dr. Peyton. Through this funding, combined with internship spots from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, we can typically host 1-4 students each year. If you would like to send a donation to fund a student to participate in this program, please click the Sponsor button below!
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$2,500 will fund a student's stipend while in the program.
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$312.50 will fund a student's meals while in the program.
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Donations of any size will go toward these costs and are helpful in funding the lab materials and supplies they will use while working in the lab.
To donate, click the link above, which will take you to Tufts Gives. Select Engineering and then Other. Please specify that you want to sponsor a high school student in Shelly Peyton's research lab in Biomedical Engineering as part her Engineering the Cell summer program.
Quotes from previous participants:
"I had a lot of fun and I loved it."
"I absolutley loved this program! This has been by far the most educational summer I have ever had."
"Scientists really love their jobs. They have a lot of fun while still being professional and doing super cool research."
Program Alumni:
2013: Valerie Gonzalez, Katherine Mora
2014: Maia Haiman, Christina Manson
2015: Kassie Frazier, Alexandria Triozzi
2016: Natalia Lopez, Mary-Catherine Whalen
2017: Jacqueline Seddon, Amayia Lanuesse
2018: Amanda Dee, Danielle Beason
2019: Catherine Paredes-Amaya, Kamilla Jules, Elizabeth Jimenez Bueno, Ezeobodo Ononibaku
2020 did not hold a program due to COVID-19
2021: Fatma Abdel-Maksoud, Nandi Chivende, Sianah Anderson-Haley, Zenani Himlin-Mayekiso
2022: Addison Lepak, Genevieve Lagrant, and Reese Haag
2023: Asher Passonno, Kassandra Perry, Laura Brown, Vaishali Konowitz, Jamesna Sainvil
2024: did not hold a program due to move of program to Tufts University
List of high schools that our ETC students have participated from (we want to grow this list!):
Agawam High School
Amherst Regional High School
Hatfield Public School
Holyoke High School
Longmeadow High School
Palmer High School
Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School
Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School
South Hadley Public High School
Southwick Regional School