CURE Summer 2025 Wrap-Up: It Takes a Village
Published 9/9/2025
"It takes a village” to build the cancer research workforce pipeline, the Continuing Umbrella of Research Experiences (CURE) Team is the engine that keeps the mission rolling.
At the recent final presentations August 5-7th, 76 students wrapped up either a 2-month paid summer research placement (the CURE program), a 2.5-year training initiative (the YES for CURE Program), or a paid, full-time post-baccalaureate experience in the Post-Bacc program. Students gave oral presentations on days 1 and 2, and then presented project posters on day 3, demonstrating the same sort of professionalism that one might see at a national scientific conference from tenure-track faculty. Family members and lab mates came to support them, and junior and senior faculty alike could be seen walking around and engaging with presenters as a poignant example of the commitment to mentorship that this program fosters.
“It Takes a Village”
Whether this year, or in years past, a common thread of Karen Burns White’s season-ending speech includes the phrase, “It takes a village.” This year, among the attendees for the final presentations, were a couple members of that village that provides enrichment to CURE, YES for CURE, and Post-Bacc students:
- Boston Public Schools, New Mission High School
- Sabrina Diaz, a ninth-grade success counselor at New Mission High School, part of the Boston Public Schools, collaborates with the CURE program to expose students to various medical professions through a guest speaker series held directly in the classrooms at New Mission HS. The collaboration provides students with opportunities to explore careers in fields like careers in science/healthcare and Diaz highlighted the impact of this program on her students. She expressed personal satisfaction in providing such opportunities, noting the lack of similar programs during her own education.
- Diaz (left) was there to see the poster of her student Ashreen Williams (right) with the CURE program, accompanied by Josie Eliassaint (middle), another of her students taking part in a partner training program.
- Boys and Girls Club, Roxbury Chapter
- Ameera James, a rising junior at UMass Boston and 2nd year YES for CURE student, collaborated with peers in her cohort to develop a pair of scientific lessons for middle school students at the Boys and Girls Club, Roxbury chapter, a new partner this summer for the YES for CURE Program’s Middle School Engagement program. The YES for CURE students delivered lessons on the cardiovascular system and cancer which included an engaging game of ‘tag’ with white and red blood cells. Through this collaboration with the Boys and Girls Club, Ameera was able to gain experience in leadership and collaboration, and as if that weren’t enough, she was able to get valuable exposure to a career in education.
- Ameera James, a rising junior at UMass Boston and 2nd year YES for CURE student, collaborated with peers in her cohort to develop a pair of scientific lessons for middle school students at the Boys and Girls Club, Roxbury chapter, a new partner this summer for the YES for CURE Program’s Middle School Engagement program. The YES for CURE students delivered lessons on the cardiovascular system and cancer which included an engaging game of ‘tag’ with white and red blood cells. Through this collaboration with the Boys and Girls Club, Ameera was able to gain experience in leadership and collaboration, and as if that weren’t enough, she was able to get valuable exposure to a career in education.
- Bethel Institute for Community Development
- Kalya Hamlett Murray, from the Bethel Institute for Community Development, was viewing posters at the CURE final presentations, and we nabbed her for a quick interview. Murray runs a six-week STEAM program for students in grades 7-9 and partnered with the YES for CURE Middle School Engagement program for the second year this year, with YES for CURE students joining for two weeks to educate on cancer. This partnership benefits both groups: it provides real-world science experience for the Bethel students and valuable teaching experience for the CURE students. The collaboration has been ongoing for several years and offers additional resources, career exposure, and a deeper understanding of cancer to the Bethel students and introduce students to potential careers in research.
- Brockton High School
- This year, our four-year partnership with the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) and Brockton High School reached a new milestone. We were thrilled to double the number of students hosted by CURE for the MLSC High-School Apprenticeship program.
We were also honored to welcome the school principal and the program's lead teacher, who attended two consecutive days of our students' final presentations. Their visit was a testament to the growing success of this collaboration and a highlight of this year's program.
Join the Village: Walk with us
This year, in an effort to explore all opportunities to ensure sustained funding to support the CURE Program’s mission of training the next generation of the STEM workforce, the CURE team created a Jimmy Fund Walk team to raise money for their student training programming. They would love it if you could join them on their walk or contribute to their walk team. All funds raised go directly to CURE, the DF/HCC student training programming.
These collaborations represent only a fraction of the network the CURE team have woven together over the years to provide experiences for CURE students, but on an individual level, student by student, they each mean a world of possibilities. Whether you mentor, donate, or walk with the CURE team, please know that it makes a difference.