Summer Fun within the Lab: Biomedical Research Initiative 2026

While some Bowie State college students hit the pool, seaside or water park to decompress this summer time, seven undergraduate college students from the Department of Natural Sciences spent the summer time season getting hands-on expertise within the lab.

These students took half within the fourth annual Biomedical Research Initiative (BRI), a summer time intensive program centered on bolstering biomedical analysis. They labored underneath the steering of principal investigators (PIs) from the Department of Natural Science: Dr. Stephanie Battle, Dr. Devyn Gillette, Dr. Supriyo Ray and Dr. Faezeh Fatemi. Together, they tackled medical points affecting individuals regionally, nationally and internationally, and their work culminated in a analysis showcase held within the Center for Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Nursing on July 23, 2026.

BRI is a Title III summer time intensive program spearheaded by Dr. Devyn Gillette and Dr. Jacqueline Smith in 2023. BRI’s mission is to shut a niche in college students’ technical and smooth abilities, which impacts matriculation after they’ve earned an undergraduate diploma.

This summer time, a lot of the BRI students additionally accomplished BioLaunch, a separate NIST-funded coaching program provided in partnership with Bowie State University on the BioHub Maryland Training and Education Center in Montgomery County. BioHub Maryland is powered by the Maryland Tech Council and is a workforce coaching hub for the state’s biotechnology and biopharmaceutical business. BioLaunch program, constructed on a curriculum from the National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT), gave college students hands-on publicity to biopharmaceutical manufacturing, upstream and downstream processing, filtration, single-use applied sciences and high quality management.

Ray, who’s an affiliate professor within the Department of Natural Sciences and program coordinator for the Applied Biotech and Molecular Biology grasp’s program, recounted his summer time experiences.

“The students received a holistic, week-long training in the biotech and biopharma sector. That training helped them gain perspective on the importance and relevance of the mentored research training in the biomedical sciences they receive through BRI.”

Battle, an assistant professor within the Department of Natural Sciences and present BRI program coordinator, highlighted the necessity for scientific communication — each written and oral — which equips contributors to be aggressive with friends from R1 analysis establishments.

“Maryland is among the high biotech hubs within the nation, and we have now a variety of actually nice, proficient college students right here at Bowie State. We need them to be higher ready in order that they will attain careers in science, whether or not that’s business, academia or authorities.”

The showcase offered the students with a possibility to share their discoveries, reply questions on their strategies and supply suggestions for additional analysis. Each of the seven skillfully introduced their subjects with minimal help from their PIs, which displayed their hyperfocus and curiosity within the difficulty. Issiah Robinson, a Bioinformatics senior, recalled the fast-paced studying atmosphere and the prospect to mix his ardour for pc science with biology. 

“There was so much information to learn within a short span. I went over coding, gained an understanding of mitochondrial DNA and learned other bioinformatics terms. This program gave me the opportunity to see bioinformatics in action, and now I’m loving my major even more.”

Woven by the day had been talks by three Bowie State alumni who returned to share their BSU experiences and life after commencement. Topics included navigating life, talking up in skilled settings, and pivoting from plans. Ayreanna Pettijohn ’23, a doctoral pupil at Johns Hopkins University majoring in Environmental Health & Engineering shared her nuggets of knowledge.

“BSU faculty gave me sound advice, research opportunities and lab experience, which shaped me into who I am. Today, I’m confident in any institutional space. The mentorship and coaching I received was invaluable.”

Sponsored by BSU Title III and the National Science Foundation, BRI stands for instance of the college’s dedication to educational excellence, innovation and pupil success as Bowie State continues to increase its analysis footprint. Through school mentorship and scholarly exploration, this system equips college students with the data, confidence and expertise wanted to turn out to be future researchers, leaders and changemakers.