Post-baccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP)

PREP provides post-baccalaureate students from underrepresented groups or from disadvantaged backgrounds with the support to work full-time in a laboratory at Hopkins. PREP students spend one or two years strengthening their research background and increasing their competitiveness for PhD applications via exam preparation, scientific writing workshops, once-a-month chalk-talks, and “mini-thesis” meetings with their research mentors and the PREP director. Graduate students in our department also serve as peer mentors for students in the PREP program and help guide the students both in and out of the lab. Learn more.

Current Neuroscience PREP students:

Nuri Smith
Neuroscience mentor: Keri Martinowich
Undergraduate: BS (Biology and Experimental Psychology) 2020, University of South Carolina: Upstate

Recent PREP alumni:

Kyndall Nicholas      
Neuroscience mentor: 
Keri Martinowich
Undergraduate: BS (Biochemistry) 2019, Hampton University, Virginia
Graduate: Neuroscience PhD student, University of Pennsylvania

Alexa Perez-Torres
Neuroscience mentor: Loyal Goff
Undergraduate: BS (Biology) 2019, University of Puerto Rico, Cayey       
Graduate: MCO PhD student, Harvard University

Gabriella Muwanga
Neuroscience mentor: Michael Caterina
Undergraduate: BS (Biomedical Sciences) 2018, Makerere University, Uganda
Graduate:  Neuroscience PhD student, Stanford University

Cera Hassinan
Neuroscience mentor: Charlotte Sumner
Undergraduate: BS (Neuroscience) 2017, Johns Hopkins University
Graduate: Molecular & Cellular Biology PhD student, University of Washington, Seattle

Kelly A. Fogelson
Neuroscience mentor: Kishore Kuchibhotla 
Undergraduate: BS (Neuroscience) 2017, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Graduate: Biomedical Sciences PhD student, UC San Diego

Alejandra Patino
Neuroscience mentor: Gül Dölen
Undergraduate: BS (Neural Science) 2017, New York University
Graduate: MD/PhD student, Duke University School of Medicine

Caitlin Corona-Long
Neuroscience mentor: Michaela Gallagher 
Undergraduate: BS (Psychology) 2016, University of Oregon
Graduate: Psychological & Brain Sciences PhD student, Johns Hopkins University

Chelsy R. Eddings
Neuroscience mentor: Christopher Ross
Undergraduate: BA (Molecular & Cellular Biology; Neurobiology) 2016, University of California, Berkeley
Graduate: BCMB PhD student, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

Arena Manning
Neuroscience mentor: Barbara Slusher
Undergraduate: BA (Neuroscience) 2016, Skidmore College
Graduate: Neuroscience PhD student, University of Washington, Seattle

Jesús Acevedo-Cintrón
Neuroscience mentor: Ted Dawson 
Undergraduate: BS (Cell & Molecular Biology) 2015, University of Puerto Rico
Graduate: MD/PhD student at Washington University, St. Louis