The Graduate Peer Mentor's names changing for Fall 2026! The name is changing to be more aligned with their roles as helping undergraduate students navigate the research world. OUR will also welcome three new Research Pathways Mentors for Fall 2026. We will introduce them in the August newsletter! 

Fifty-one Summer JumpStart Trainees took the first step into their research journeys! For two weeks in June, SJS Trainees worked diligently learning new research skills in biology, computational biochemistry, coding, quantitative research methods, and qualitative research methods. We wish you all the best in finding a research mentor! Don't forget that we are here to support you in your research endeavors!!!

To all the instructors: thank you all for your hard work creating the curriculum and sharing your expertise with the SJS Trainees!

Sammie Ellis

Dylan CapittiFenton

We are sad to say good-bye to Grad Peer Mentors, Sammie and Daylan. Sammie is currently working on an internship at the reknowned Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Dylan is pursuing a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology option Systems Biology at the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer, Université de Montréal. Congratulations! 

The OUR newsletter becomes a monthly newsletter during summer break. The next newsletter will be published on August 3. We will resume our biweekly newsletter at the start of the Fall semester!

Be sure to check your email for OUR news and updates, and follow us on social media!

OUR will offer the Professional Development workshop series via Zoom in July and the Entry-to-Research workshop series in August! Be sure to follow us on Instagram for more information! There will be no in-person workshops this summer.

Did you know that OUR can print your research poster for free for upcoming presentations at symposia or conferences? Yes! Attend the OUR Creating a Research Poster Presentation and get a link to have your poster printed by OUR. 

Did you know that OUR provides free feedback on students' graduate school essays, scholarship essays, curriculum vitae (CV), resumes, and conference presentations?

Within 1 week (five working days) we can help strengthen your documents!

For faculty seeking mentor training opportunities, unfortunately, the National Research Mentor Network (NRMN) site is shut down. We find the University of Minnesota's Optimizing the Practice of Mentoring 102: For Research Mentors of Undergraduate Students as a suitable training program. This online training will take about 2 hours to complete, roughly the same length as the NRMN training. 

Visit the University of Minnesota's Training Hub and create a Guest Account to access the training. 

Once you create the guest account, you can add Optimizing the Practice of Mentoring 102: For Research Mentors of Undergraduate Students (course 14941)

The Institute for Broadening Participation (IBP) offers the PathwaystoScience.Org - a search engine for research programs. You can search for programs by student level (e.g., undergraduate), discipline (e.g., biology, general programs) or geographic location.  While many summer program deadlines have passed, there are few still accepting applications. Don't miss out on this transformative experience!