Lulu Wang Scholars

Mentored research and curriculum-building experience for undergraduate students that takes place across 2 consecutive summers.

Applications are open! Access our online application here.

Applications are due on March 1, 2026 at 11:59pm Eastern Time. No exceptions will be made to accommodate late applications.

This cycle’s Lulu Wang Scholars (LWS) program takes place Tuesday May 26 – Thursday, August 9, 2026.

Program Overview

Lulu Wang Scholars are junior and senior undergraduate students who assist research educators with the development, refinement, and dissemination of a research skills building course, packaged in the style of a Course for Undergraduate Research Experiences, or CURE. Representing a novel approach for the co-creation of research skill building courses, the CURE resulting from the Lulu Wang Scholars program will be offered to biology majors attending CUNY Hunter College as a credit-bearing course.

Additional Program Details

 

The Lulu Wang Scholars program is a 2 year cycle. We are beginning the first year of a new cycle.

In Phase 1, Scholars build on our existing CURE curriculum alongside 8 upper-level undergraduate students from our partner institutions, Wellesley College, Wesleyan University, and CUNY Hunter College. We are specifically recruiting undergraduates from these institutions who have had previous research experience.

The 2026 Lulu Wang Scholars will receive mentorship from 2 RockEDU Fellows (postdocs) who collaborate during the spring to build a research curriculum. Scholars and mentors then work together during the summer to test, refine, and expand this curriculum. 

For 2026, the focus of the Lulu Wang Scholars will be on developing experiments and learning materials that integrate bioinformatics and computational methodologies to complement our existing wet lab approaches needed to generate and analyze data.

Over the span of 11 weeks, Lulu Wang Scholars will:

  • Experience the June CURE as students, with the aim of learning our current curriculum, techniques, and nd experimental protocols
  • Learn about the new bioinformatic and computational directions that have been proposed for the CURE curriculum
  • Work in collaboration with mentors to map out experimental design, execution, and analysis;
  • Strengthen the scientific thinking required to reflect on results and iterate on experimental findings;
  • Contribute their own insights based on research results and lived experience as a STEM major and undergraduate

In Phase 2 of the Lulu Wang Scholars program, which takes place summer 2027, the focus will shift toward skills development around teaching, curriculum building, and inclusive pedagogy as it relates to scientific research education. Lulu Wang Scholars will continue working with their RockEDU Fellow mentors, the RockEDU team, and other advisors across 10 weeks. During this time we hope Lulu Wang Scholars will have the opportunity to:

  • Assist with teaching the June cycle of our CURE (which will include the computational elements developed in Phase 1)
  • Participate in course evaluation efforts
  • Use feedback to iterate on CURE curriculum
  • Finalize course materials for publication and broad dissemination

Eligibility and Expectations

 

To be eligible for Lulu Wang Scholars program participation, students must be enrolled as a junior or senior at Wellesley College, Wesleyan University, or CUNY Hunter College. Students must commit to the entirety of the Lulu Wang Scholars program for the summer of 2026 — we can not accommodate attendance gaps. Students do not need to fully commit to the summer of 2027 at this time.