# Summer Program for Undergraduate Rising Stars (SPURS), a Columbia University biomedical sciences pipeline program

> **NIH NIH R25** · COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · 2024 · $135,000

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
This application is for a competitive renewal of R25 NS076445 to fund “Summer Program for Under-
represented Students (SPURS)”, to be renamed “Summer Program for Undergraduate Rising Stars
(SPURS)”, through the RFA-HL-21-168 mechanism. 100% of the proposed funding will be used to support
SPURS students working on neuroscience projects central to the mission of NINDS. SPURS will provide an
intensive, undergraduate biomedical research experience for talented African-American/Black, Hispanic
Latino(a), Native American/Alaska Native, Pacific Islander, first-generation, and economically disadvantaged
students in the neurosciences at Columbia University. SPURS will train 14 outstanding students each year
who are undergraduates majoring in areas relevant to neuroscience and biomedical research.Columbia
University's SPURS Program provides an intense undergraduate research experience on the campus of
Columbia's College of Physicians & Surgeons (P&S) for talented students from backgrounds that are
under-represented in biomedical research. SPURS participants are accepted from the City University of New
York (CUNY) senior colleges, including Hunter, Brooklyn, Queens, and City Colleges, as well as universities
and colleges nationwide. SPURS provides extensive training in basic and translational neuroscience
research, and enhances the likelihood that the students will achieve a career in science by pursuing an
advanced degree (M.D. and/or Ph.D.). To expand opportunities for under-represented minority undergraduate
students to participate in high quality, focused and sustained research experiences in the neurosciences, the
SPURS program leverages outstanding resources and faculty mentors in the neurosciences. Over the last
funding period, applications have soared and in the upcoming period, we propose to continue training highly
qualified minority student participants. Students perform hands-on research for nine summer weeks under the
mentorship of NINDS-supported Columbia University neuroscientists (currently 89 Columbia University
researchers receive NINDS support). In addition to specific training in neuroscience, the students have
received in-depth training in research methodology including: (a) the design and analysis of experiments; (b)
critical reading of scientific literature through journal clubs and discussions of ethics in science; (c) the
presentation of scientific results at laboratory meetings; (d) presentation of their research at poster sessions;
(e) an oral presentation of their research to an audience of scientists; and (f) career counseling. Finally, the
research training will be provided in a uniquely enriching setting that includes weekly meetings with under-
represented minority role models in biomedical research. The SPURS program addresses the critical need to
increase the pipeline of highly qualified minority trainees into neuroscience.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10757672
- **Project number:** 5R25NS076445-12
- **Recipient organization:** COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES
- **Principal Investigator:** Wesley B Grueber
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $135,000
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2012-04-01 → 2027-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10757672

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10757672, Summer Program for Undergraduate Rising Stars (SPURS), a Columbia University biomedical sciences pipeline program (5R25NS076445-12). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10757672. Licensed CC0.

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