Biological Research
Three-Week Summer Science Program
• BioSTEM Award, 2018, J&J • Top Summer Science Program, 2011-Present, NY Times/ThoughtCo.com • Top Robotics Program, 2017, RoboLoco • Best Medicine Program, 2018, ParentMap • Top Biomedical Engineering, StockTalk.com • Top 101 Summer Camps & Programs, How-To-Learn.com • #1 Marine Bio, 2022, ThomasNet, Xometry • Top Summer Programs, 2023, collegematchpoint.com • Best Computer Science, 2023, collegetransitions.com
This program was named Top Science Program in the US by the New York Times subsidiary, About.com
Biological Research: Synthetic Biology has won numerous awards and sold out multiple years in a row. Why? Because this cutting-edge program, one of the most lab-intensive at BLI, covers topics you won’t see in high school. Synthetic Biology, gene therapy, and genetic engineering will allow scientists to eliminate genetic diseases and mutations, saving lives across the globe. Genetic engineers are working to eliminate cancer-causing mutations, lessen the impact of Down Syndrome, and provide the ability to hear to deaf patients for the first time. They can even engineer bacteria to break down plaque in the bloodstream, eliminating blood clots that would otherwise result in fatal strokes. The new frontier of modern medicine has arrived, and this summer at BLI, you can be a part of it.
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This is a competitive admissions summer research program designed for teens.
Note: this page represents our best expectations for the program we will deliver, but is subject to change. We will update this page as new information becomes available.
Applications will open for Summer 2024 on November 1, 2023.
Session 1: June 24 – July 12, 2024 | Olin/Wellesley, MA
Session 2: July 15 – August 2, 2024 | Olin/Wellesley, MA
Awards – Research Program – Sample Week
New 2024 programs and dates will be announced soon! Join our mailing list to be the first to know.
Instructor: Maria Lazebnik
Dr. Lazebnik is an adjunct assistant professor at Bentley University. She teaches Human Biology, Human Inheritance, and Human Health and Disease. Dr. Lazebnik is involved in research focused on undergraduate STEM education and developing innovative course content to work hand-in-hand with the curriculum, in particular with a project at Boston’s Museum of Science. Dr. Lazebnik received her BS in Neuroscience and Biology as well as her MS in Cell and Molecular Biology from Brandeis University. Later, she received her PhD in Genetics from Tufts University School of Medicine. In addition, she has extensive research experience, having been a research fellow at the NIH, a research associate at Brandeis and Tufts, and a postdoctoral fellow at Tufts Molecular Oncology Research Institute. Finally, Dr. Lazebnik is a multi-published educator and research scientist. She has had three articles published in the National Center for Biotechnology Information.
The article Designer Genes by Sachi Lagwankar shows how the author was immersed in the field of Biology during BLI’s Biological Research program. She writes that the program helped her learn in a way that no high-school lab could. Read more
The article Forging a Path in Synthetic Biology by Jeremy Wang describes how BLI’s Biological Research program furthered his understanding & further motivated him to study Synthetic Biology and how the research he did helped him. Read more
Student Comments from Summer 2023
‘I really liked how many labs we did and learning how to use all of the materials. Dr.L helped me through all the conflicts I had and explained my questions very thoroughly. All of the labs were very fun! Working on projects and presentations helped me further understand topics such as DNA sequencing and RNA.’
‘I loved having Dr.Lazebnik as my professor. She brought a perspective and enthusiastic energy to every class, and her lessons were very engaging. I looked forward to coming to class everyday knowing that I will learn something new, whether it be about biology or myself. Dr. Lazebnik truly is an amazing professor and always wants her students to do their best work.’
‘Dr. L is very knowledgeable and provides useful resources and unique project opportunities. I particularly liked the cancer genome project and I liked getting to learn about the purification and the agar art competition and introducing new competitions.’
Student Comments (continued)
‘I loved how hands-on everyday was with learning new lab methods/procedures and using what we learned earlier in the day to be applied in the labs. The prof. and TAs were very nice and helped a lot when we had questions during experiments.’
‘I enjoyed the field trips and how we were able to explore the surrounding area in Boston once we were finished with our activity. Our teacher was also very helpful with any questions that we had and also during class. Dr. Lazebnik and our TAs were supportive of us and resourceful, helping us if we needed it.’
‘Dr. Lazebnik is an absolutely amazing professor! She is extremely knowledgeable when it comes to biology and is always available to lend a helping hand!’
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