Samuels Family LA-HIP High School Internship Program
The overall goal of the Samuels Family LA-HIP is to remove barriers to participation in medicine and science by giving students the opportunity to learn hands-on laboratory-based research and putting them on the path towards careers as scientists or physician-scientists.
What Is The Samuels Family LA-HIP?
The Samuels Family LA-HIP was founded in 2005 and has trained over 240 high school students from the Los Angeles area since then. The program is a comprehensive, yearlong high school internship that combines biomedical research with intensive college counseling. Our interns have access to college level didactic instruction in biology, SAT prep classes, and college application workshops. Students perform cutting-edge biomedical research experiments under the mentorship of scientists at The Saban Research Institute of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles during the summer before their senior year.
LA-HIP is partly funded by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine Summer Program to Accelerate Regenerative Medicine Knowledge (CIRM SPARK). Students interested in the SPARK program should apply through LA-HIP.
Eligibility and Application Details
LA-HIP’s purpose is to provide students who otherwise have limited access to scientific training the opportunity to experience laboratory research and learn about how careers in science work.
Eligibility Criteria
- Current Junior at a public high school in Los Angeles County
- Documentation to be legally employed in the state of CA
- Demonstrate strong academics and a passion or science
How to Apply
Interested? Complete the online application! For the class of 2025, the application will open on Monday, November 4, 2024 and will close Friday, February 7, 2025. Click here to apply. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered. For questions please contact Emmanuel Obasohan at eobasohan@chla.usc.edu.
The complete application consists of the following components:
- Personal information
- Academic Information
- Extracurricular activities
- Personal Statement and Essay
- Unofficial or Official High School Transcript
- Recommendation Letter from a science or math teacher or counselor. Note that while we only require one letter of recommendation, you may submit two, but no more than two. Please note that a link will not be sent to your recommender until the rest of your application is fully completed, so try to complete it a little early.
A panel of science and education experts select participants based on their academic strength, extracurricular activities in STEM, quality of essay writing, and the recommendations submitted by a teacher or academic counselor. Admission offers will be made in late March.
Program Details
LA-HIP is full-time during the summer, essentially 9 a.m. -5 p.m. Monday-Friday for seven weeks. Thus, if a student is admitted to LA-HIP and accepts the position they are expected to decline all other summer program offers. LA-HIP is a time intensive program that requires students to attend all required program elements. We encourage students to apply to other programs, but if a student does accept an offer to participate in LA-HIP, they will be expected to not participate in any other programs.
Timeline
- An orientation meeting for accepted students and their families will be held in April to review guidelines, expectations, and the on-boarding process. Due to the time commitments required by this program, it is important for students and their families to attend all mandatory meetings.
- College counseling will begin in May, 2025.
- In-lab internships will start on Monday, June 16, 2025 and end with the Science Symposium on August 1, 2025.
- College counseling will continue through the academic (senior) year.
Laboratory Research Training
LA-HIP provides a laboratory-based internship with hands-on experimentation in projects relevant to pediatric health and disease (e.g., regenerative medicine, cancer and blood diseases, diabetes, neuroscience). During the seven-week long summer program, interns work full-time learning and performing research in a laboratory of a faculty scientist in The Saban Research Institute. Students learn cutting-edge techniques and methodologies normally not learned until college or graduate school. Their research is part of the overall program of the laboratory, and thus they participate in making scientific discoveries and advances. Interns are also instructed in the art of keeping a laboratory notebook, interacting with other scientists and presenting their results in laboratory meetings. Interns also write a scientific abstract and present their accomplishments at the Science Symposium at the end of the summer.
Preparing for College
To help prepare students for college, they work with professionals from Mosaic College Counseling and The Princeton Review. College counselors provide personalized insight into the college selection and application process, and financial aid. These mandatory counseling sessions help prepare interns for the complex processes involved in applying for college. LA-HIP takes its interns to local campuses where they participate in informational sessions and campus tours to prepare for recruiting visits later in the year. Furthermore, interns are prepared for college through workshops and readiness exercises (e.g., time management, goal setting, self-advocacy, note taking). These activities help interns to become competitive college applicants and guide them to the schools where they will thrive. Students will also be immersed in an SAT course to prepare them for the standardized testing that is required for admission to many universities and colleges.
What Else Do We Offer?
The Samuels Family LA-HIP provides a stipend, Metro card and meals at the hospital cafeteria to all participating students.
What Are We Looking For In Interns?
LA-HIP is looking for curious students interested in how the living world works, and who have a genuine interest in biomedical science and/or medicine. We want to train students who are dedicated to their education, have an enthusiasm for learning and have a vision for their own professional career. Interns must be dedicated to completing the program and demonstrate professionalism while working in The Saban Research Institute.
LA-HIP Staff
Director
Mark R. Frey, PhD, who joined CHLA in 2010, is a basic and early-translational researcher focused on epithelial biology and intestinal disorders. In particular, he studies how cell-cell interactions driven by growth factors maintain the intestinal stem cell niche but are deregulated in chronic disease. Dr. Frey’s undergraduate work was in the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Science and Medicine at the University of Chicago. From there, he went on to a PhD program in Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics at the State University of New York at Buffalo, where he studied cell cycle regulation in colon cancer, followed by postdoctoral work on intestinal inflammation at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Frey is a Professor of Pediatrics and of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine.
Dr. Frey was appointed Director of LA-HIP in late 2019. Prior to this role, he was a lab mentor for the program for nine years. He also directs the Programs in Biomedical and Biological Sciences (PIBBS) PhD feeder program, an interdisciplinary graduate program that provides USC biomedical graduate students with a core curriculum and laboratory rotations and facilitates placement in topic-specific dissertation programs (cancer biology, stem cells and regenerative medicine, etc.).
Program Administrator
Danielle Nunez, MPA, joined the Saban Research Institute at CHLA as a Program Administrator in September 2023. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Women’s and Gender studies from Loyola Marymount University and holds a Master’s in Public Policy and Administration from California State University, Long Beach. In her role as the LA-HIP Program Administrator, Danielle’s objective is to provide public high school students with the opportunity to learn hands on laboratory-based research and supports them in their goal to become scientists or physician scientists. She is responsible for the coordination and organization of the program within the Training, Education, Career Planning and Development Office. Danielle works to foster a positive learning environment for students that will encourage their academic and personal growth.
Program Coordinator
Emmanuel Obasohan, MHA, was appointed Program Coordinator for the Samuels Family LA-HIP at The Saban Institute of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles in September 2022. He completed his educational journey at Sacramento State University, obtaining a Bachelor's Degree in Communications and a Master's Degree in Healthcare Administration. From there, he applied to work as an LA-HIP Administrative Intern and then was brought on as a Research Training Coordinator to the Training, Education, Career Planning and Development Office in Research Administration team at CHLA. As the LA-HIP Coordinator, his goal is to facilitate an environment that allows students to recognize their full potential so that they can continue to succeed. Emmanuel is responsible for the organization and coordination of the program to promote the advancement of both academic and personal development.
Our Interns
Our interns come from many different high schools in the Los Angeles area. The Samuels Family LA-HIP has accepted more than 200 students since 2005. All alumni have graduated from high school and matriculated to 4-year universities/colleges.
LA-HIP Class of 2023-24 College Decisions
| Name | College/University |
|---|---|
| Jazz Millan | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Roua Ahmed | University of California, Riverside |
| Luke Arizpe | Northwestern University |
| Samuel Carvajal | University of California, Berkeley |
| Itzel Cruz | University of California San Diego |
| Hanna Diop | University of California, Irvine |
| Kelsey Finnigan | University of California, Berkeley |
| Edgar Gomez | Columbia University |
| Alisella Hernandez | Middlebury College |
| Ayman Habib | Northwestern University |
| Hector Hernandez | Yale University |
| Marilee Hernandez | University of Pennsylvania |
| Kaylee Yoxsimer | Brown University |
| Sophia Luna | Air Force Academy |
| Diego Martinez | Yale University |
| Jennifer Medina | University of California, Berkeley |
| Emily Morales | Brown University, PLME (ED) |
| Rachel Moreno | Mount Holyoke College |
| Nnenna Muogboh | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Dana Nava | University of Southern California |
| Kimberly Ruvalcaba | Johns Hopkins University |
| Samuel Sosa | University of Pennsylvania |
| Kaelie Tagle | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Mira Wagabaza | Brown University |
What Do Our Interns Say?
“LA-HIP is a fantastic program that allows high school students to gain lab experience. I enjoyed being a part of the LA-HIP program because it allowed me to meet new people who shared my passion for science.”
— Aura Ramirez Rivas, Class of 2022
“My research experience was by far one of the most amazing and memorable experiences of my life! Becoming a researcher for the summer and working in a lab boosted my confidence and helped me in finding my sense of purpose in the world. I encourage everyone to apply to LA-HIP and become a part of our big and awesome family!”
— Heidy Paniagua, Class of 2022
“My LA-HIP experience was beyond anything I could have imagined, I gained so much knowledge in so little time while thoroughly enjoying my working environment. I met really great people and learned a lot about developmental biology.”
— Andrea Lanz, Class of 2022
“LA-HIP is what opened me up to research and pushed me to pursue an MD/PhD. I owe a lot of my accomplishments to the support I have received from them and from Dr. B. Currently, as a sophomore in college I work within a molecular genetics lab where I can apply what I have learned not only inside the classroom but also what I have learned through my LA-HIP experience.”
— Analeyla Herrera, Class of 2019
“[LA-HIP] was an overall life-changing experience. I was surrounded by people who were exceptional, and I was constantly challenged and encouraged to ask questions and think critically about research, science, and medicine. This program has increased my confidence academically and elevated my focus on reaching my goals in the field of medicine. LA-HIP has definitely shaped me into the person I am today, and it has opened new doors and opportunities such as building connections with other laboratory members and principal investigators, as well as receiving the proper mentorship and guidance into the exact steps that I need to take to achieve my goals.”
— Mirleth De Los Santos, Class of 2017
“LA-HIP has given me a head start on my research career. The techniques I learned in Dr. Frey’s lab at The Saban Research Institute opened the doors to so many other research opportunities. Since finishing the program in 2017, I’ve been able to continue my path in research by being a part of several projects such as running Western Blots to understand the effects of bisphenol-A at Harbor-UCLA’s Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute, to creating and designing scaffolds for the engineering of cardiac muscle tissues within CSULB’s Therapeutic & Regenerative Systems Laboratory. As a junior in college, I would say it’s a big accomplishment to already have so much knowledge about the lab and even a couple of publications under my belt.”
— Gabriela Pena Carmona, Class of 2017
Our Supporters
The Samuels Family LA-HIP is funded by grants and donations, and was initiated in 2005 with a generous gift from Lori and Theodore Samuels. Lori and Ted have consistently supported the program since its inception, and LA-HIP was named in their honor in 2013.
The program has enjoyed strong support for many years from additional donors and foundations including:
California Institute For Regenerative Medicine (CIRM)
The Chuck Lorre Family Foundation
Doris Duke Charitable Foundation
Achieving America Foundation
David and Marianne Fisher
Emil Bogenmann, PhD, EdD
Fletcher Jones Foundation
Leonetti/O’Connell Family Foundation
Mary Adams and O’Connell and Kevin O’Connell
National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Richard and Ruth Lavine Family Foundation
Rose Hills Foundation
We would like to thank all the contributors for their generosity.
If you are interested in donating to the Samuels Family LA-HIP, please contact us at danunez@chla.usc.edu or tecpad@chla.usc.edu.
LA-HIP LinkedIn Group
We have created an LA-HIP LinkedIn Group. We hope that this group will serve as a valuable resource to connect with other alumni, stay up to date with the latest LA-HIP news, and learn about events, job opportunities, and career resources. If you are a LA-HIP student alum or former mentor and would like to stay connected, please click the link here: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14230307/.
