“This summer showed me that what I love most about research is the translation piece — seeing how my work could directly answer patient questions or ease someone's pain,” said Sophia Witola Reyes, reflecting on the ten weeks she spent as a Mayo Clinic Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow (SURF).
When she started the summer as a SURF, Witola Reyes, a senior in bioengineering, was not sure if an MD-PhD was the right path for her.
“This experience made it clear I want the MD-PhD path because it's a priority for me that my research is catered to the needs of the patients it'll serve.”
She is among the 15 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign undergraduates who spent their summer conducting research at Mayo Clinic across three programs: the prestigious Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF), the Clinical Research Internship Study Program (CRISP), and the Health Equity Research Experience (HERE).
Thanks to the efforts of Illinois and Mayo Clinic faculty and staff, the Mayo Clinic & Illinois Alliance for Technology-Based Healthcare (Alliance), and the Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute (IHSI), each of the 15 students had opportunities to contribute to high-impact projects and explore their career goals.
Building connections before the summer
Although these are summer research experiences, LeaAnn Carson, a clinical partnerships manager for IHSI who leads the Alliance education programs, brings together the cohort for a meet and greet in the spring, once the full cohort has been announced.
For Carson, the goal is simple: help students connect early and form lasting professional ties.
“The students have similar interests and goals. Even if they know some of the cohort, there’s always a chance to meet new faces and share valuable insights.”
The Alliance also hosts an orientation before finals week, covering Mayo Clinic’s history and culture, the Alliance’s role, and professionalism. Students especially value the panel of Illinois alumni from past cohorts.
“All the first-hand advice from the past SURF students about professionalism and putting yourself out there and connecting with people was very helpful,” Ranjani Ramesh, a senior in computer science, shared.
During their time in the program, Carson stays in close contact with students, challenging them with a photographic scavenger hunt of some of Mayo Clinic’s most beloved spaces and encouraging students to get together (preferably in Illinois gear) to take pictures at places like the ‘My Brother and I’ bronze sculpture of the Mayo Brothers and a minature replica of the Mayo Ancestors statue. Held annually, the scavenger hunt offers another point of connection and helps to solidify the cohort experience.
“As a cohort, we became very close,” said Manasi Kulkarni, a bioengineering major who plans to pursue a Ph.D. and conduct research on ovarian cancer.
Conducting research at Mayo Clinic
At Mayo Clinic, the students immersed themselves in the research culture of one of the world’s leading medical centers, contributing to cutting-edge, projects that span precision medicine, immunology, neural engineering, cancer therapeutics, and the social determinants of health.
Roselyn Heduvor and Devina Joshi represented Illinois as part of the Health Equity Research Experience (HERE) at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. They worked with Dr. Kim M. Barbel Johnson, Director of Community Clinical Trials Administration at the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center, to explore how community-engaged clinical research can be strengthened through strong partnerships and community input. Both undergraduates valued the chance to see how community immersion grounds the research in real-life circumstances.
“One of the most meaningful experiences I had during the HERE program was interviewing a prostate cancer survivor about the role of mindset in their journey. This experience stood out because everything we had studied and uncovered through our literature review came to life as the survivor shared how their mindset was just as pivotal as their medical treatments,” said Heduvor, a senior in human development and family studies.
Heduvor referred to the project she and Joshi, a senior majoring in molecular and cellular biology, conducted to explore how prostate cancer patients and survivors could use a digital tool to shift their mindset and improve mental health.
Ramesh also worked with Dr. Kai Miller on a project applying machine learning and computational modeling to better understand and map brain activity, with the goal of improving outcomes in functional neurosurgery and neurological care.
“I was able to work on translational research and see how my work directly translated to patient outcomes,” Ramesh said.
Ramesh, who plans to pursue a Ph.D. in computational neuroscience and neuroimaging, even scrubbed in to observe her mentor perform a deep brain stimulation procedure.
During their time at Mayo Clinic, the students represented the Illinois spirit of pursuing knowledge in service of society. With Mayo Clinic mentors, Illinois students showed how cross-institution collaboration accelerates discovery and improves health outcomes.
Mentorship and Recognition
Mayo Clinic mentors praised Illinois students for their preparation, work ethic, and creativity, noting that many exceeded expectations and contributed meaningfully to ongoing projects.
Sharon Ignatius Newton, a senior in bioengineering interested in antibody engineering and development of therapeutics using gene editing techniques, particularly impressed her mentor, Dr. Alexandre Gaspar Maia, a professor and head of the Functional Epigenomics Lab.
“Sharon was certainly one of the most impressive summer students we had in the lab throughout the years. I am sure she will become an amazing scientist if she wishes to follow that path. She was able to develop a small experimental project from the beginning to the end and also started some dry lab bioinformatics analyses on the side. Very independent and curious mind,” Maia shared.
Sophia Witola Reyes also deeply impressed her mentor, Dr. DeLisa Fairweather, a professor of medicine and principal investigator for the Translational Cardiovascular Disease Research Laboratory.
“Sophia will make a great researcher or clinician-scientist because of her curiosity and drive,” Fairweather said. “I was really impressed with how she took initiative and also how generous she was in helping other summer students by mentoring them in things she had learned how to do.”
Maintaining Momentum from Mayo Clinic to Illinois
Spending the summer at Mayo Clinic advanced the students’ academic and professional goals while also contributing to innovative research. Back at Illinois, they are building on that momentum through new coursework, campus lab work, and continued collaboration with Mayo Clinic mentors.
Some are working to develop their research skills. For Rayyan Iqbal, a junior in chemistry, the focus is statistics. Iqbal explained that he wants to become knowledgeable enough to be able to contribute scientifically to data analysis.
Others are considering how to apply their new skills and knowledge to their work at Illinois. Ignatius Newton expects to transfer some of the skills she learned in Dr. Maia’s functional epigenomics lab to her work with biotherapeutics in the lab of her Illinois mentor, Shannon Sirk, a professor of bioengineering, including improved tissue culture skills.
Most of the students are continuing to contribute to Mayo Clinic projects through data analysis, manuscript preparation, and presenting their research. For instance, Ramesh will join Roxana Jafari Haddadian, a junior studying neural engineering, and Darian Tabrizi, a junior in bioengineering, to present posters at the upcoming 2025 Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) Annual Meeting. Jafari Haddadian will also demonstrate the novel real-time visualization tool for intraoperative neural activity that she developed at Mayo Clinic.
Beyond technical achievements, the summer shaped career trajectories. For some, it clarified research interests; for others, it strengthened self-confidence and affirmed their commitment to medicine and research.
“Before my Mayo experience, an M.D.-Ph.D. felt like a far-off dream, but now it feels real and tangible,” Witola Reyes said.
Preparing Future Innovators
The Mayo Clinic & Illinois Alliance fosters collaboration that advances biomedical research and contributes to the health workforce of the future. Programs like SURF, HERE, and CRISP give undergraduates a unique opportunity to apply their training in world-class labs, forging professional networks, and returning with skills and clarity that will continue the incredible momentum they built over ten weeks.
“I want to become the kind of physician who not only treats patients but transforms systems,” Joshi said, reflecting on how her summer experiences have influenced her career trajectory. “I have developed true and grounded reasons to pursue an M.D.-Ph.D., so that I may be able to conduct research and translate it into beneficial outcomes for patient populations with a foundation of health equity principles to build upon.”
The experiences translate to wiser, more passionate and more confident health researchers while advancing innovation and collaboration between our organizations.