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Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF)

The goal of the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Program at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine (UMMSOM) is to enrich the research workforce with a diverse group of scientists-in-training who are well-versed in cutting edge concepts and technologies. Our program’s short-term objectives are to promote the value of research-based graduate programs and to educate our participants in conducting original, rigorous, and multidisciplinary research in a variety of biomedical fields. We seek to accomplish this through timely exposure to the breadth of biomedical concepts and methodology, coupled with supportive mentoring and programmatic resources to nurture interest in research-based careers. The long-term objective of our program is to foster a robust pipeline of motivated, forward-thinking young researchers who will contribute to the betterment of society and the human condition through science.

SURF is a nationally competitive 10-week program that immerses students in hands-on, innovative biomedical research. It is funded by an NCI R25 grant to expand its oncology research focus through the CREATE scholars sub-program and by the Office of the Graduate Studies to fund Dean’s scholars who want to pursue non-oncology-based biomedical research. In total, SURF hosts 30 scholars every summer. SURFers graduate from the program with comprehensive preparation and training in multiple aspects of research, including overarching education about bioinformatics, academic entrepreneurship, clinical translation of basic science, and community engagement and data science. In addition, SURFers benefit from a full schedule of career development sessions, including learning how to write and present research effectively, critical reading of scientific literature, and rigorous ethical conduct of research. They are also provided information regarding the spectrum of research-oriented, higher degree-granting programs offered at the Miller School, including our program in Biomedical Sciences Ph.D. Program, our NIH T32-funded M.D./Ph.D. Program, and several master’s programs.

SURFers will have the opportunity to work in the laboratories of our exceptional faculty members spanning the UMMSOM departments, in the following disciplines:

  • Biochemistry
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Cell Biology
  • Cancer Biology
  • Epidemiology
  • Genetics & Epigenetics
  • Microbiology & Immunology
  • Neuroscience
  • Pharmacology
  • Physiology
  • Public Health Sciences

We will provide a stipend and housing on our Coral Gables campus for all SURF fellows

Our 2025 SURF program applications will open on November 4, 2024. Click here to receive updates about the SURF application. Applications are due back 11:59 PM ET, January 17, 2025. We regret we cannot provide any case-by-case extensions.

The SURF program will begin on May 29, 2025, and ends on July 25, 2025. SURFers are expected to attend the entire ten-week program. Please ensure you can arrive in Miami before the start date if you are selected for a fellowship. We cannot make accommodations or exceptions based on your school’s academic calendar.


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