Program Structure
TRIP provides undergraduates with mentorship in clinical and translational approaches to understanding disease and developing effective therapeutic strategies. Students are immersed in a mentored research environment and supported by a curriculum designed to build both scientific and professional competencies.
Students will work 40 hours per week, for 10-weeks, on their mentors’ research project, engaging in hands-on projects that explore the biological mechanisms of disease and potential interventions. This is an in person experience. Each student will receive one-on-one advising from their research mentor and program leaders, ensuring personalized guidance throughout the program.
Curriculum
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Research Seminars
Each week students attend seminars led by Penn faculty. These sessions expose students to cutting-edge research across disciplines and different scientific paths.
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Professional Development
Weekly workshops and panel discussions build core skills—including literature reviews, scientific communication, and networking. Students present their research throughout the program, gaining experience in public speaking, data analysis, and receiving peer feedback.
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Social Engagements
Throughout the program we provide community-building events to foster collaboration, connection, and a sense of belonging within the Penn research community.
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Artist in Residence
The ITMAT Artist in Residence joins and actively engages in all aspects of the program. The artist helps students explore creative ways to communicate their science to the public, using art as a medium to translate complex ideas into accessible narratives.
Mentored Research
Mentorship is a cornerstone of the TRIP experience. After acceptance into the program, students are matched with a research mentor whose work aligns with their interests and goals. These mentors are drawn from a pool of ITMAT-affiliated investigators, within Penn Medicine and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, representing a broad spectrum of disciplines across translational science.
Together, each student and mentor identify a project that offers meaningful engagement in clinical and translational research—whether at the bench, in the clinic, or through computational approaches. Projects vary widely and may focus on areas such as molecular biology, genetics, bioinformatics, or clinical interventions. While not all projects involve benchwork, each is typically part of an established research initiative and involves close collaboration with lab personnel.
Mentors play a vital role in guiding students through the research process, fostering scientific inquiry, and supporting professional development throughout the program. Students will participate in lab meetings, journal clubs, and other team-based activities that reflect the day-to-day rhythm of academic research.
Mentor Spotlight
Dr. Medini Annavajhala’s lab explores microbial dynamics in environmental systems, using wastewater testing —from lab bioreactors to hospital wastewater —to advance pathogen surveillance with clinical relevance.
As a TRIP mentor, Dr. Annavajhala guided her student through a hands-on research project, highlighting how the program’s structure helped students build a strong foundation for approaching scientific questions, which in turn helped them succeed in their lab. She appreciated the active involvement of TRIP leadership, which kept mentors and mentees aligned and supported students in developing the skills to present their work to audiences within and outside of the scientific field.
A highlight of her mentorship was working with ITMAT Artist-in-Residence Marguerita Hagan to transform their research into a ceramic shield—an artistic representation of environmental microbiology that used texture and glaze to make science tangible and accessible to different audiences.
Sample TRIP Projects (2025)
- Inhibition of ATM- and ATR-dependent DNA Damage Responses in Telomere Biology Disorders
- Combating Drug-Resistant Bacteria with Bacteriophages Extracted from Wastewater
- Decoding and Disrupting Negative Emotion States via Personalized Brain Stimulation
- Modeling Dynamic Mechanical Loading in Human iPSC-Derived Engineered Heart Tissue
- Drug Discovery for Aging Using Machine Learning Models