Brain Research Apprenticeships in New York at Columbia

NCT04728022 | Recruiting

• 3 other identifiers: AAAT47601R25NS115551-012R25NS115551-06
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 180
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The objective of the BRAINYAC program is to prepare high school students for, and deliver, the experience of working in a neuroscience research laboratory over a summer. Our program goals are to prepare local students from Upper Manhattan and the South Bronx with the skills necessary to enter a working research laboratory over a period of 8 months, and support them in learning key laboratory skills and communicating them to an audience.Our hypothesis is that students' self-reports of scientific effectiveness and science identity will improve over the course of the 8-month long program. Self-reported efficacy measures predict academic performance in science, so an improvement in these self-report measures may indicate a higher likelihood to succeed in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) studies or careers. Likewise, science identity has a positive impact on a student's likelihood of entering a science career, particularly in populations that are under-represented in science.Over a 4-year period we will track students' self-reports of (1) scientific efficacy, including their level of confidence in scientific writing, oral presentation, library and literature search, conducting research and general academic skills, and (2) science identity. We will adopt a mixed-methods approach combining survey data with focus groups and interviews to present a full picture of these changes. We also propose to track students after they leave the program, to measure whether the changes in scientific self-efficacy translate into STEM studies at the level of higher education or career choices. We will also obtain data from scientific mentors in the program to inform us whether we are adequately supporting them in providing the students with training.

Conditions

Educational Activities

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Self-report of scientific effectiveness

  Change in Likert score

  8 months

• Self-report of scientific identity

  Change in Likert score

  8 months

• Likelihood of studying science in college or going on to a science career

  Change in Likert score

  4 years

Study Arms (1)

Students

EXPERIMENTAL

Education program

Behavioral: Education program

Interventions

Education program BEHAVIORAL

Mentored high school summer research program

Students

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 15 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• All students and mentors in the program will be invited to enroll

You may not qualify if:

• None

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Columbia University: lead
• National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Zuckerman Institute, Columbia University

New York, New York, 10027, United States

RECRUITING

Related Links

• Program web page

MeSH Terms

Interventions

Early Intervention, Educational

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Child Health Services; Community Health Services; Health Services; Health Care Facilities Workforce and Services; Preventive Health Services

Study Officials

• Daphna Shohamy, PhD

  Columbia University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Daphna L Shohamy, PhD

CONTACT

212 854 7560; ds2619@columbia.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute

Model Details: All students in the study will be in the same group, as it is a pre-post measurement based on a summer mentored high school program. Findings will be supplemented with focus groups and interviews.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: January 21, 2021
• First Posted: January 28, 2021
• Study Start: December 30, 2020
• Primary Completion (Estimated): August 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): August 1, 2026
• Last Updated: February 20, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-02

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)