Twenty-eight UB undergraduates from STEM disciplines spent their summer conducting research with faculty members in their respective departments — and gaining valuable learning experience — as part of UB’s Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program’s (CSTEP) Summer Research Program.

The CSTEP Summer Research Program prepares students for the laboratory environment and serve as a catalyst for future endeavors. Students learn the importance of research and gain invaluable skills to use in education, the workforce and beyond. The program also has serves as a significant pipeline for students to enter graduate or professional school at UB.

A grant-funded program sponsored by the New York State Department of Education to support talented underrepresented students pursuing careers in the STEM fields, licensed professions and health-related professions, CSTEP offers key preparation, resources, opportunities, structure and support critical to student success. UB’s program is part of the university’s Cora P. Maloney Center.

Shanna Crump-Owens, director of the CSTEP program at UB, noted that research is an essential part of the undergraduate experience, offering an opportunity for students to gain invaluable career experience.

The sentiment was echoed by Summer Research Program participants, who called the program “a great pathway to doing research as a career and building connections,” as well as “a door to opportunities to make significant contributions to a broader community.”

The eight-and-a-half-week program culminated on July 25 with the 18th Annual Summer Research Symposium and Luncheon held at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, featuring student poster presentations of faculty-mentored research projects.

The posters were judged by UB faculty volunteers. The students with the six highest-scoring presentations received an all-expenses-paid trip to present their research at the annual CSTEP statewide conference, sponsored by the CSTEP program at Syracuse University, being held in April 2025 at The Sagamore Resort in Lake George.