This summer, over 239 undergraduate students from underrepresented groups participated in research internships in one of 17 Leadership Alliance-supported programs of member academic institutions or corporate partners around the country. On the last weekend in July, they came together with senior investigators from academia, industry and government to present the results of their summer's work at the three-day symposium.

Research for Today
Themed "Research for Today, Choices for Tomorrow," the Leadership Alliance 2000 Annual National Symposium was made possible through a grant from the National Institutes of Health's Minority Access to Research Careers Program of the National Institute for General Medical Science. It was also supported by Schering-Plough Corporation and was held July 28-30 at the Westfields Marriott Conference Center just outside of Washington, DC, in Chantilly, VA.

"We Are Here!"
"We have come together, 300-strong, to witness the accomplishments of 239 young people from 102 colleges and universities around the country," said John Fitzgerald Gates, director of administration for the Office of the Provost at New York University and symposium moderator for the second year, as he welcomed the participants. "These young people spent the summer doing incredible research, and we are here to share the results of that research."

Original SR-EIP Alumni
"The year 2000 was important for the Leadership Alliance's Summer Research Early Identification Program (SR-EIP) and for the capstone of that program, our Annual National Symposium," said Dr. James Wyche, executive director of the Alliance. "This year we are beginning to see some of the students who participated in our initial SR-EIP in 1993 and the first National Symposium in summer 1995 make their way out of the pipeline and into research and professional careers."

Tomorrow's Choices
This year's conference highlighted the diverse choices available to undergraduate students who want to pursue graduate school and, ultimately, research careers. Dr. Gregory Reyes, vice president, Schering-Plough Research Institute, alluded to these choices in his keynote address. After a brief discussion of the multidisciplinary process of drug discovery, Dr. Reyes told the audience about his personal "academic decision tree and the tremendous amount of serendipity" that has guided his career path. He also gave the audience some insight into the necessity of postdoctoral appointments, postdocs in industry, the pluses and minuses of establishing a research career in industry as opposed to academia and the considerations of working for large and small companies. Dr. Reyes' presentation was followed by a panel discussion of career opportunities in drug discovery by three Schering-Plough principal scientists. Drs. W. Adam G. Hill and Paul Statkevich and Senior Scientist Dr. Mwangi wa Mutahi addressed the audience before the first group of student oral presentations.

Student Presentations
This year, Alliance students made 160 presentations-80 given orally and 80 displayed and discussed from poster exhibits. The wide range of topics covered included making ethical decisions in neonatology, the effect of displacement on Australian aboriginal art, tissue engineered cardiac valve replacement and the role of the spleen in the induction of malarial responses.

"The student presentations at the Annual National Symposium are a key feature of our summer intern program," said Dr. Wyche. "These presentations are carefully prepared, rehearsed and then given before senior researchers and peers with similar research interests. New networks of friends have brought increasing professionalism to the summer research activities of our undergraduate students. They not only give the students a glimpse of the world of professional society meetings but also help prepare them to play a role in these meetings in the future."

Expert Advice
Personal choices were again emphasized in the "Graduate School Application Process" and "The Graduate School Experience" panel discussions. Dr. Joel Oppenheim, associate dean for graduate studies at New York University; Dr. Jocelyn Spragg, faculty director of Minority Programs and Special Academic Resources at Harvard Medical School, and Dr. David Redman, associate dean for academic affairs at Princeton University, discussed steps toward applying for graduate school. They advised students to be meticulous about following the instructions and timetables of individual applications, especially in terms of required tests like the GRE and the MCAT.

"There is no point, however, in taking these standardized exams if you are not prepared to take them," said Dr. Spragg. "Do not walk into those exams thinking, I'm going to find out how I might do, because it stays on your permanent record. You need to be familiar not only with the material but also with the format of the exam."

The six-member panel of current doctoral candidates at Alliance member institutions related some of the personal choices that they made as they experienced graduate study. "Lead a balanced life," advised Lawrence Hamlet, a married, sixth-year graduate student in the Government Department at Harvard University and graduate student associate of Harvard's Weatherhead Center for International Affairs.