2020 Online Camps

Due to COVID-19, all miRcore Summer 2020 camps have been moved online. Although the experience is now completely online for the safety of everyone involved, the camp is still immersive, ensuring that students will receive instruction as rich and compelling as if it were in-person. Also, in the past, our camps had been limited by location, but now we’re excited to announce that they are available nationwide.

Our online camps differ from conventional online learning platforms in terms of:

1) Being highly interactive with experienced mentors and peers
2) Our signature group research projects
Click here to read a recent publication based on a summer camp research project.
3) Diverse online bonding activities

 

Despite being online, our camps will still act as launchpads for students to join the free miRcore Volunteer Program, which meets throughout the school year online and in person. MVP students learn more about computational biology, programming, research, teamwork, and community outreach, as well as leadership.

To register for an online camp, please go to the relevant camp page.

Featured Speakers

Note: All campers are invited to join any and all talks, regardless of which camp they signed up for.

Date June 2, 2020 June 23, 2020 July 7, 2020
Time 11 am, Eastern Time 1 pm, Central Time 1 pm, Central Time
Speaker

Eric Green, MD, PhD

Director,
National Human Genome Research Institute,
National Institute of Health

[Read More Here]

Michael Boehnke, PhD

Richard G. Cornell Distinguished University Professor,
University of Michigan

[Read More Here]

Adam Lauring, MD, PhD

Associate Professor,
Department of Internal Medicine,
University of Michigan

[Read More Here]

 

Date July 14, 2020 July 28, 2020 (tentative) August 3, 2020
Time 10 am, Central Time 11 am, Pacific Time 10 am, Pacific Time
Speaker

Philip Maini, PhD

Professor of Mathematical Biology,
University of Oxford

[Read More Here]

David Orentlicher, MD, JD

Cobeaga Law Firm Professor of Law,
University of Nevada Las Vegas

[Read More Here]

Santiago Schnell, PhD

Professor of Molecular & Integrative Physiology,
University of Michigan

[Read More Here]

 

To approximate our original, in-person camps online, we are adding the following:

1) Three days preparation before the original camp dates

a) Because our programs are interactive, it takes time for students to become familiar with various tools to fully participate.
b) We expect online bonding to take more time than in-person. To enhance active group discussion across camp dates, we will spend extra time getting to know each other through various activities beforehand.
c) We will utilize these days to teach and review high school AP biology level knowledge concerning gene expression-related topics.

Date  Wednesday  Thursday  Friday
Activity Getting to know you/Group info Meet your group/instructors

Review biology with your group

Main instructor: Dr. Hilary Archbold

Timeline 9 am: pre-camp module form sent out
4 pm: form submission due

2 hours (time determined by camper availability)

3 – 5 pm on May 28th for CB camp session 1

10 am – noon

2) Lower student number per group leaders

a) Each group will consist of five students.
b) Each group will be led by (one or) two group leaders.

3) Debriefing session after multi-week camp participation

a) We will conduct one-on-one debriefing sessions with multi-week campers to guide them and suggest next steps for individual research projects.

4) Camp dates

a) We highly recommend keeping the original camp dates i) due to the available seats and group leaders and ii) to build connections with regional members to enhance the in-person meeting experience during the 2020-21 school year miRcore volunteer program.
b) However, we will do our best to be flexible to accommodate circumstances as they arise.

“I learned that high schoolers can really make a difference in the scientific community and that scientific research matters to everyone.”

“I’m thankful to have miRcore during this time—it’s one of the only organizations I’m involved in that has a solid online structure, so we are able to continue connecting and learning throughout the pandemic.”

“[The camps are] fast-paced and efficient while still teaching many new skills.”

“Online miRcore is fun! We have bonding activities and learn a lot from each other. Through online platforms we are able successfully interact and engage with one another personally. miRcore camps are very informative and fun and it still can be virtually!”

“We learned about several types of computational tools like …GEO, UCSC, OMIM, etc, …[and] applied these tools to research a disease.”

“I loved all the new people I got to meet and I learnt so many new things that school would’ve never taught me.”

“Our online meetings are jam-packed with interactive learning opportunities and discussion!”