Broadening the Research Lens
In the Aspirnaut Program at U-M, high school scientists see the full picture of their futures in STEM
It’s 9 a.m. on a Monday in July, and Olises Perez is suited up in his lab gear, preparing his experiments for the day. As he loads DNA samples into a gel for analysis, he describes his research in Donald Zak’s lab at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS).
“We’re analyzing DNA from samples of mature red oak root tips to see if AMF [arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi] are present. In the past, it’s been known that mature red oaks only form associations with ectomycorrhizal fungi; but AMF are mycorrhizal fungi, and we’re finding that both of them can live on the roots,” he explains.
Unlike most students at work in U-M labs during the summer, Perez is not a graduate student or even an undergrad. He is one of 10 rising high school seniors spending their summer conducting research at the university as part of the Aspirnaut Summer Research Internship Program.
We know there are talented young scientists in every corner of this state. The goal of this program is to help them realize their potential and to connect them to their futures in STEM. Now, several years in, we are really seeing the impact this program can have on long-term outcomes for these students.
Aspirnaut at U-M is a six-week paid summer internship that provides promising high school scientists from across Michigan with a hands-on scientific research experience in a university lab.
While living in dorms on U-M’s Ann Arbor campus, Aspirnaut students immerse themselves in the role of a full-time scientist, working side-by-side with their mentors to complete their own research projects. When not in the lab, the students participate in college- preparation workshops, engage in social activities and explore the campus and Ann Arbor.
By focusing recruitment efforts particularly on under- resourced areas throughout Michigan — including socioeconomically disadvantaged communities and areas that are geographically distant from a large research university — the program aims to broaden access to cutting-edge scientific resources and expand the pipeline of students pursuing STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) careers. To date, the program has drawn students from more than 30 Michigan communities.
The Life Sciences Institute launched the program at U-M in 2018, modeling it after a program LSI Director Roger Cone was involved with during his time at Vanderbilt University, prior to joining U-M.
“We know there are talented young scientists in every corner of this state. The goal of this program is to help them realize their potential and to connect them to their futures in STEM,” Cone says. “Now, several years in, we are really seeing the impact this program can have on long-term outcomes for these students.”
Over three-fourths of the 44 students who participated in the program between 2018 and 2023* were first- generation college students. To date, 100% have matriculated to a postsecondary institution — almost half of them to U-M — with 70% majoring in a STEM field.
“It was my first exposure to the world of research,” says Hailey Fiel, who participated in the 2019 cohort, conducting research in Wenjing Wang’s lab at the LSI. “Prior to my Aspirnaut experience, I genuinely didn’t even know what that world looked like, or that research was a career I could pursue.”
Fiel was accepted at U-M and enrolled in the fall of 2020. After a brief hiatus from research (in part due to COVID-related restrictions for students working in labs), she decided to return to the Aspirnaut program — and to the Wang lab — as a resident assistant in summer 2022.
“I had a desire to give back to the community that the Aspirnaut program serves, and being an RA also gave me a chance to get back to research,” she says. “My mentor and I made a lot of progress in the lab that summer. I think that’s when I decided for myself that I wanted to keep pursuing research.”
Fiel continued to conduct research in the Wang lab until she graduated from U-M in May 2024, contributing to two published manuscripts along the way. This fall, after being accepted to eight graduate schools, she enrolled in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences Ph.D. program at Yale University.
"I wouldn’t have had that idea to go back to the program as an RA, and get back into the lab, if I hadn’t had my Aspirnaut experience in high school,” Fiel says. “That experience ended up being, I would say, the very first step in the progression to where I am now.”
It was my first exposure to the world of research. Prior to my Aspirnaut experience, I genuinely didn’t even know what that world looked like, or that research was a career I could pursue.
By immersing students in authentic research experiences, the Aspirnaut program can shift not just long-term outcomes but even shorter-term goals and perceptions for participants.
“My idea of biology totally changed during the program,” says Aissatou Diallo, a 2024 Aspirnaut intern. “Before, I thought of biology as mostly memorizing stuff but not really putting it into practice. And then, being in the lab and doing the hands-on experiments, it just started to feel different.”
Diallo came into the program already passionate about a career in STEM, particularly chemistry and drug discovery. In the lab of cell biologist Lois Weisman, though, she began to explore the inner workings of the cell. She learned how to introduce specific mutations to bacteria, investigating how slight modifications in what she calls “a sort of GPS inside the cell” can lead to disease.
Working in the multidisciplinary institute also gave Diallo access to researchers from other life sciences fields who could help her chart a path leading to her career goals — including LSI faculty member and chemical biologist Anna Mapp.
“I had been planning to study chemical engineering, but then I talked with Dr. Mapp and she gave me some ideas for how to get more directly into drug discovery,” Diallosays. “Now I’m thinking I want to study chemical biology or biochemistry.”
Doing the research is great, publishing your findings is great. But being able to educate and support the next generation of scientists ... that is unbeatable.
In the years since it launched, the program has grown in both cohort size and campus reach. With eight to 10 undergrads attending each summer (up from the original cohort of six), the LSI has begun to partner with other schools and colleges to place students in labs that align with their goals.
That’s how Perez found himself in SEAS over the summer, analyzing samples from 120-year-old oak trees. He had expressed an interest in environmental science on his Aspirnaut application, so the program administrators reached out to colleagues in SEAS to see if they could match him with a lab there.
“I have always been a huge proponent of teaching and mentoring, but I haven’t had much opportunity to mentor as a postdoc,” says Morgan McPherson, a postdoctoral researcher in SEAS who mentored Perez. “So when the request came in, I said, ‘Absolutely, let’s go.’”
McPherson admits she was a bit unsure about what to expect when the program began, having not worked with high school researchers before. She had a project ready for Perez to begin as soon as he arrived; but only a few days into their work together, contamination issues with the samples put a halt to their progress. Even so, Perez quickly surpassed her expectations, she says, overcoming challenges and helping to move the lab’s research forward.
“The whole experience was honestly so worthwhile,” she reflects. “Doing the research is great, publishing your findings is great. But being able to educate and support the next generation of scientists — to help Olises get to where he wants to go — that is unbeatable.”