WELCOME TO UNC-PRIMES

The PRIMES Way!

Program motivation and information for prospective scholars

UNC-PRIMES

Our multidisciplinary program offers a hands-on summer research experience for high school students, featuring short courses and practical training in network neuroscience, machine learning, and image processing. Over the course of 8 weeks, students will collaborate with leading researchers from top labs across multiple institutions engaged in cutting-edge Alzheimer's disease (AD) research. This immersive program is designed to equip participants with computational skillsets to tackle real-world challenges in medicine, research, and industry, while fostering the development of the next generation of investigators in network neuroscience and AD research.

MOTIVATION

UNC PRIMES is driven by the urgent need to address the growing gap in computational neuroimaging skill sets among early-career researchers, particularly in the context of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Alzheimer’s disease-related dementias (ADRD). Despite the critical role that neuroimaging technologies like MRI and PET play in advancing AD/ADRD research and personalized treatment strategies, there is a significant shortage of trained professionals with the necessary computational expertise to fully leverage these tools. This skills gap is compounded by a lack of early, high-quality, hands-on research experiences in imaging-based AD/ADRD studies.

PLAN FOR PROGRAM

To bridge this gap, our program aims to provide high school students with the opportunity to gain exposure to cutting-edge neuroimaging research, data science techniques, and their applications in AD/ADRD. By offering a comprehensive, hybrid curriculum that includes courses on research ethics, imaging physics, machine learning, and AD/ADRD clinical applications, as well as hands-on tutorials and cloud-based computational tools, we seek to equip the next generation of researchers with the skills necessary to contribute to the understanding and treatment of AD/ADRD.

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Asynchronous Component (Hybrid)

A short hybrid (asynchronous+synchronous) pre-summer course will be offered tentatively in February - April and must be completed prior to the start of summer camp.

The focus of the asynchronous component will be to provide

sufficient foundational knowledge on neuroimaging, neuroscience, data science, statistical analysis, and machine learning. The asynchronous lectures will allow participants to complete material flexibly during the school year, with weekly synchronous webinars/office hours available where participants can engage in discussions and ask questions.

Summer Research Experience (On UNC-CH Campus)

After successful completion of the asynchronous component, admitted participants will have the opportunity to attend a hands-on 8 week summer research experience at UNC CH, tentatively from mid-June to mid-August (in-person on campus for the first few weeks and remote online for remaining weeks), where they will learn to develop and apply the skillsets of (i) processing neuroimaging data, (ii) solving real-world AD/ADRD problems with existing computational tools, and (iii) visualizing the analytic results, and (iv) presenting their research. Successful applicants will have the opportunity to gain hands-on training in data management, data analysis, and data visualization. In addition, the program will integrate activities of scientific development such as research ethics, journal club, invited talks, career panels, and training on scientific writing and presentation skills.

COST AND EXPENDITURES

Thanks to funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), UNC PRIMES is pleased to offer all successful scholars a stipend and no-cost meals during each internship weekday. For those traveling far from the Chapel Hill area, in addition to limited travel expense reimbursement, there will be limited no-cost accommodations available on UNC CH campus during the first few weeks of the summer research program. For more specific questions and inquiries, please reach out via email at Malcolm_Bailey@med.unc.edu