On June 1, Boyce Thompson Institute welcomed 28 of the country’s brightest undergraduate students from universities around the country to experience the life of a researcher for 10 weeks. Seven more interns from local area high schools will join the Institute for six weeks beginning June 28.
BTI’s Plant Genome Research Program (PGRP) Research Experience for Undergrads (REU) focuses on training and inspiring the next generation of scientists to help feed a growing population, while protecting the environment and enhancing human health. The PGRP is now in its 21st year, and the 20th year in person after the 2020 program shifted to the virtual world because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Throughout the summer, students will gain valuable research skills in BTI and Cornell University labs, attend seminars and workshops to learn from leaders in plant science research, bioinformatics, science communications and technology transfer.
Because collaboration is a key aspect of modern science, every intern will be partnered with a mentor in their respective research lab. Together, each mentor will lead the mentee in creating an independent project that best utilizes the student’s curiosity and drive while also contributing to the lab’s research goals. This project will be each intern’s focus during the program, culminating with a poster or a presentation at a scientific symposium.
For many of the students, this is their first immersive research experience outside their university. Learning the fundamentals of lab life from their mentors and developing their professional networks will be a crucial experience to kickstart their research careers.
When interns aren’t working on their projects, they will attend weekly seminars by BTI and Cornell faculty, participate in a five-week Bioinformatics course, and engage with faculty, graduate students, and communication and scientific professionals.
The summer internship program will culminate in the annual George and Helen Kohut Summer Research Symposium on Thursday, August 5, from 9am-4:30 pm at BTI. The symposium will be livestreamed for the public.
This year’s internship program is made possible thanks to the generous support of Carolyn W. Sampson, the Ithaca Garden Club, the Legacy Foundation of Tompkins County, Rheonix Inc., Yunis Realty, the John Ben Snow Foundation, the Emerson Foundation, the Triad Foundation the National Science Foundation’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Program, the United States Department of Agriculture, and many other generous individuals.
Stay tuned to our website and social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) for more updates throughout the summer!
Interns: Who They Are
BTI is proud to welcome the following undergraduate and high school interns:
Undergraduate Students
| Name | Home Institution | Lab |
| Eddie Almanze | Cornell University | Margaret Frank |
| Holly Carter | Centenary College of Louisiana | Andrew Nelson |
| Jesse Derby | Cornell University | Anurag Agrawal |
| Rose Deshler | Centenary College of Louisiana | Andrew Nelson |
| Catie Eisenhut | Penn State University | Michelle Heck |
| Mohamed Elgallad | Hunter College | Lukas Mueller |
| Elijah Gallimore-Repole | Cornell University | Georg Jander |
| Anisabel Guzman | California State University, Fresno | Jim Giovannoni |
| Michelle Hassan | Cornell University | Scott McArt |
| Diego Hernandez | Cornell University | Margaret Frank |
| Olga Khmelnitsky | Cornell University | Fay-Wei Li |
| Isa Johnson | Ohio Wesleyan University | Magda Julkowska |
| Katherine Koning | Calvin University | Miguel Pineros |
| Tim Kosfeld | Saint Louis University | Jim Giovannoni |
| Giovanna Lemgruber Viol | Cornell University | Jennifer Thaler |
| Linda Li | Cornell University | Eric Richards |
| Alicia McElwee | College of Wooster | Maria Harrison |
| Cathy Mercado | University of Texas at Austin | Ola Skirycz |
| Sadhvi Mohankumar | The College of New Jersey | Georg Jander |
| Tyseen Murad | Cornell University | Clare Casteel |
| Erin NewRingeisen | St. Olaf College | David Stern |
| Ryan Preble | Cornell University | Adrienne Roeder |
| Inti Quinchiguango | SUNY ESF | Susan Strickler |
| Nikita Sajai | Cornell University | Wojtek Pawlowski |
| Emily Sander | Centenary College of Louisiana | Andrew Nelson |
| Evan Schnell | Cornell University | Jian Hua |
| Ana Suppé | Cornell University | Jennifer Thaler |
| Mikayla Zarr | Cornell University | Scott McArt |
High School Students
| Name | High School | Lab |
| Ana Duke Cardenas | Ithaca High School | Aleksandra Skirycz |
| Kieran Lucio-Belbase | Ithaca High School | Georg Jander |
| Sophie Mertha | Ithaca High School | Jim Giovannoni |
| Zoe James | Ithaca High School | Magda Julkowska |
| Albert Sun | Ithaca High School | Lukas Mueller |
| Lukas Jander | Ithaca High School | Zhangjun Fei |
| Tony Mao | Ithaca High School | Suzy Strickler |
