Four students from the West Valley graduated July 27 from the 17th class of Helios Scholars at TGen, the flagship internship program at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), part of City of Hope.

Designed for incoming and continuing undergraduate, graduate, and medical school students, Helios Scholars at TGen offers a one-of-a-kind summer experience in biomedical research under the guidance of an experienced TGen mentor. The 8-week program supports students from all backgrounds in their efforts to develop foundational skills by placing them alongside faculty and staff where they actively participate on a breadth of research and administrative projects.

Interns from the West Valley are: Lesly Castillo Colin, Akarshi Brar, Willow Leach, Ronuck Patel.

Castillo Colin, Brar, and Leach are from Glendale; Patel is from Surprise.

Castillo Colin attends Stanford, Brar and Leach attend Arizona State University, Patel attends Arizona College of Osteopathic medicine.

Helios Scholars also participate in professional development programs in science communication, public speaking, and business etiquette. A daylong scientific symposium on July 27 capped off the summer, allowing students to celebrate their achievements, as well as compete for awards recognizing their project mastery and presentation skills.

Helios Scholars at TGen is a partnership between TGen and the Helios Education Foundation. Online applications open December 12 for the summer 2024 program.  For more information, visit tgen.org/interns.

Contributed by Kylee Zacharia for the Translational Genomics Research Institute.