Internship offers yearlong research experience for high school seniors

Enrollment for the 2025-2026 Bobbie Cates Hicks Science and Medicine Academic Research Training (SMART) program is now open, and the deadline to apply is 4:00 p.m. on February 28.

SMART provides a yearlong research experience with faculty investigators at LSU Health Shreveport for eight to 12 academically advanced high school seniors who have a career interest in medicine, biomedical research or biomedical engineering.

SMART is a partnership among BRF; LSU Health Shreveport; and the Caddo, Bossier and DeSoto parish school boards. BRF has provided funding and program coordination for SMART since its inception in 1997.

SMART has graduated 257 students over its 28 years. In a survey of SMART graduates, 100 percent of respondents reported they are currently attending or have attended college, and over 80 percent of respondents reported majoring in or having majored in science or health-related disciplines. Additionally, 81 percent reported they plan to attend or attended a postgraduate institution.

“After almost three decades, SMART continues to be a wonderful way for our region’s students to get a leg up on their careers,” said John F. George Jr., M.D., BRF President and CEO. “The lab experience that these students have with their mentors at LSU Health Shreveport is unique and provides opportunity to gain invaluable knowledge that many of their college peers may not already have.”

“LSU Health Shreveport is pleased to provide in-depth research opportunities for students in the SMART program in partnership with BRF. We highly encourage high school seniors to apply to the SMART program as we have seen firsthand the positive impact this program has had in students gaining admission into their college of choice and in getting a taste for what a career in research is like,” shared Jason Bodily, PHD, Dean of the School of Graduate Studies, LSU Health Shreveport.

More information about eligibility requirements and how to apply to SMART can be found at www.lsuhs.edu/research/smart-program.

Funding for the SMART program comes from the generosity of donors, including the late Bobbie Cates Hicks, the Bruce J. Heim Foundation, the Community Foundation of North Louisiana’s Give for Good donors, the Community Foundation of North Louisiana’s William C. Woolf Fund, and the Magale Foundation.

BRF and its donors support STEM education opportunities and technology-based workforce development initiatives through five additional programs, including the Biotechnology Magnet Academy (BTA) with nearly 200 current participants at Southwood High School, the BioStart senior research laboratory internships at LSU Health Shreveport, the College Navigator at BTA, and Southwood’s Clinical Lab course and FIRST Robotics program. BRF launched the BTA and BioStart programs in conjunction with the Caddo Parish School Board, LSU Health Shreveport, LSU Shreveport, participating biotech companies, and Southwood High School.

To learn more, visit www.brfla.org/edventures.