Million reflects on how a summer internship at Sanford Burnham Prebys accelerated his scientific career.

Daniel Million was always fascinated by biology. But, like most high school students, he wasn’t sure what life as a scientist was really like. That all changed when he had the opportunity to complete a summer internship at Sanford Burnham Prebys.

“We thought it would be a strict environment where we were all very serious, with nobody talking,” says Million. “But my mentors both made the work in the research lab exciting. They taught me early on that you can have fun while doing great science.”

For six weeks during the summer of 2013, he and nine other classmates from the Preuss School at UC San Diego—a charter school for students who would be the first in their families to graduate from college—gained valuable laboratory skills while working directly with cancer researchers.

“Now that I’ve had the opportunity to do biological research in college and grad school, I look back and am amazed at what we were able to accomplish while in high school,” says Million. “We were doing PCRs, gel electrophoresis—techniques you usually don’t get to experience until college. They gave us a great preview of what it’s like to work in science.”

Million believes that this experience gave him a leg up that led to his acceptance to the University of Southern California, and to his receipt of a prestigious GATES Millennium scholarship, which covered all of his college costs through graduation. The benefits also extended to when he arrived on campus to start his degree.

“When you go into a research lab, that can be an intimidating place,” says Million. “If I didn’t get the chance to build my confidence in the research setting, I don’t feel that I would have performed as well when I got to college.”

Today, Million is wrapping up his master’s degree in infectious disease at Keck Graduate Institute. Whatever his future holds—perhaps medical school, or a master’s degree in public health—he remains a supporter of the internship program.

“This experience not only changed my life but changed a lot of students’ lives at Preuss,” says Million. “For a student who is going to be a first-generation college student, and who is already going to have a lot of barriers entering higher education, this is the extra push and extra knowledge they need to be successful.”

This internship was funded by the National Cancer Institute’s Continuing Umbrella of Research Experiences (CURE) program, which supports training and career-development opportunities from middle school through junior investigator levels with the goal of increasing diversity in the cancer research workforce.

Usually the opportunity to experience research firsthand is reserved for college seniors or recent graduates. This summer, however, nine talented high school students had the unique opportunity to work alongside scientists conducting cutting-edge biomedical research through the Institute’s Preuss program. 

Hailing from The Preuss School UC San Diego—a distinguished charter school for students who would be the first in their families to graduate from college—the soon-to-be juniors spent two weeks rotating among four labs at Sanford Burnham Prebys. 

Working with fruit flies, worms, zebrafish and mice—excellent models for understanding the heart, aging, tissue regeneration and the immune system, respectively—the students used sophisticated laboratory techniques such as micropipetting, microscopy and gel electrophoresis to experience how biomedical researchers uncover the underlying causes of disease. This was the first time the participants had set foot inside of a real lab. 

At the program’s conclusion, the students presented their research findings to Institute scientists, staff and supporters, including Malin Burnham; the Preuss School’s director of development, Tamika Franklin; and the students’ family members. All attendees were impressed by the students’ grasp of the complex science they learned during the two-week program. 

The Preuss program launched in 2008 thanks to the generous contributions of Peggy and Peter Preuss and Debby and Wain Fishburn. For more than a decade, this summer program has inspired future scientists by introducing high school students to laboratory research. 

Thank you to the labs of Malene Hansen, PhD, Rolf Bodmer, PhD, Duc Dong, PhD, and Linda Bradley, PhD, for hosting the program’s participants.

Daydreaming about prom, finally getting that driver’s license and stressing out about the SAT are common rites of passage for teens. Now, twelve high school students from The Preuss School UC San Diego—a distinguished charter school for students who would be the first of their families to graduate from college—can add undertaking real-world biomedical research to their list of high school memories.

These soon-to-be juniors spent two weeks in July working directly with SBP scientists as part of the SBP Preuss program. Thanks to the generous contributions of Peggy and Peter Preuss and Debby and Wain Fishburn, for more than a decade this summer program has introduced high school students to laboratory research with the hope of inspiring future scientists.

Rotating between four labs during a period of two weeks, these students used laboratory techniques such as micropipetting, microscopy and gel electrophoresis to help reveal the underlying causes of diabetes, aging and heart disease.

At the end of the program, the students presented their findings and experiences to SBP scientists and staff, including SBP’s president, Kristiina Vuori, MD, PhD; the Preuss School’s director of development, Tamika Franklin; program donors; and the students’ family members. For students interested in taking an even deeper dive into the science, they have the opportunity to return for a separate six-week, full-time program at SBP.

We spoke with three students to hear more about their experiences during the two-week program, if a science career is in their future and any surprises they encountered along the way.

Kevin Vo, 16

​

Tell me a bit more about what you have experienced at SBP.
“What I remember most is taking DNA from three mice and figuring out which mouse had been genetically changed. We used enzymes to amplify the DNA, which is a technique called PCR (polymerase chain reaction). Then we waited, and a day later we used a paper [gel electrophoresis] to determine which mouse was wild type (meaning normal, or found in the wild), which had one gene missing (heterozygous) and which of our samples was just water (a negative control).”

Were you surprised by any of your experiences at SBP?
“I learned that there is a lot of waiting in science! But it’s all for a good reason.”

Do you think you want to become a scientist?
“I’ve always been interested in science, but I’m still conflicted about whether I want to be an engineer or a scientist. That’s why I enrolled in this program, so I could “try before I buy.” I learned I really liked how hands-on science is. We’ll see!”

Leo Gonzalez Cazares, 16 

​

Tell me a bit more about what you have experienced at SBP.
“We worked with zebrafish to visualize different parts of the animal. We added a colored dye and used a microscope to see different structures, like DNA and red blood cells. I hadn’t ever used a microscope before, so that was a really interesting experience.”

Were you surprised by any of your experiences at SBP?
“People usually think science is someone working by themselves at their desk. But there is so much communication in science. You have to talk to people about your project, why it works and what you are doing. I really liked that—there is more interaction than I had thought.”

Do you think you want to become a scientist?
“I definitely want to be a scientist, but I’m not sure what kind yet, I also like chemistry and biochemistry. I really liked being part of this program because I could learn what being a scientist is like and see the actual environment. It’s so great that I get to experience this as an incoming junior and learn now if this is what I want to do in the future.”

Ngoc Vo, 16

​

Tell me a bit more about what you have experienced at SBP.
“We visited a lab studying fruit flies to see how they can help people with diabetes, which affects a lot of Americans. They fed the flies a high-fat diet of coconut oil, and their heartbeats are abnormal. We used a microscope to look at the flies’ heartbeats, recorded the heart rate on video and analyzed how fast it was, which was pretty cool.”

Were you surprised by any of your experiences at SBP?
“There were so many fruit flies! There were hundreds of vials of flies. That was pretty incredible to see.”

Do you think you want to become a scientist?
“It was really cool to see how science is practiced. But right now I think I want to be a doctor who delivers babies.” 

Interested in keeping up with SBP’s latest discoveries, upcoming events and more? Subscribe to our monthly newsletter, Discoveries.