Summer student program grads celebrate new experiences and lessons gained

At the end of a memorable summer that marked the 100^th anniversary of The Jackson Laboratory's Summer Student Program (SSP), graduation ceremonies in Bar Harbor, Maine, and Farmington, Conn., celebrated the class of 2024's achievements through 10 weeks of discovery, camaraderie and adventure.

President and CEO Lon R. Cardon, Ph.D., FMedSci, praised the cohort's exceptional talent, noting that its 37 students were selected from a pool of over 500 applicants. He also spoke to the benefits of JAX's unique learning environment.

"The Summer Student Program isn't just about the scientific training," Cardon said, speaking to students at the Bar Harbor ceremony. "It's about your immersion in the JAX community and the collaborations - among yourselves, among your lab team members and with your fellow students - that make discoveries possible."

A community inside and outside the lab

As one of JAX's signature educational initiatives, the SSP annually brings talented young adults into the scientific career pipeline by offering hands-on participation in research discovery. Each student spends their summer developing an independent research project under the guidance of an experienced mentor. Working as a member of a lab team, SSP trainees originate or help advance biomedical research projects that seek genetic solutions to major human health challenges. Students conclude their experience by creating a scientific poster or 15-minute presentation about their project.

This summer, projects showcased JAX's research into a range of health topics including age-related vision loss, diet in relation to Alzheimer's disease susceptibility, tumorous cancer growth and addiction behavior. One student discovered a gene associated with ocular growth that could provide clues about eye disease. Another used artificial intelligence tools to study anxiety behavior in mice. All students leveraged the full scope of JAX's scientific resources, learning essential lab skills such as dissection, cryosection and flow cytometry.

In keeping with one of the SSP's defining features, many students learned to take risks and stretch beyond their comfort zones, whether that means working with mice for the first time, asking difficult questions as they pursued their research or taking part in new life experiences like hiking and cooking together.

This year's students also gained real-time networking experience during events related to the SSP's 100^th milestone anniversary, where they had the opportunity to connect with alumni, talk about their projects and hear from past participants about how the program has evolved over time.

The start of a lifelong connection

As the newest members of JAX's alumni network, the class of 2024 joins 3,000 trainees - including three Nobel laureates - who have graduated from the program. JAX's alumni program launches a lifelong relationship with the institution, serving as a resource for research interests, career guidance and other professional connections.

Liz Charnysh SSP '15, now a clinical research manager at The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine in Farmington, addressed both audiences by articulating values she took away from her SSP experience that have carried through her career, eventually leading her back to JAX in a full-time role.

"You have experienced a very unique work culture at JAX," Charnysh said, "one that encourages creativity, stimulates intellectual curiosity, values teamwork and embraces high-quality science. Remember the impact of your experiences here and use them to fuel your journey."

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Learn more about the Summer Student Program, including application dates, student profiles and more.

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