Post-baccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP)

Our Post-Baccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP) will accept applications from November 1, 2020 through February 15, 2021. Top candidates will be interviewed. Those who accept our offer will visit in April/May to meet with potential research mentors. Program activities start in June/July.

PREP Provides:

Research experience: Scholars conduct hypothesis-driven research in their Mentor’s lab, with day-to-day guidance by an experienced PhD student or postdoc. Scholars participate fully in weekly lab meetings, attend weekly research seminars in their department, attend a vibrant PhD program retreat and a national conference of their choice.
Community: Scholars come together each month for two-hour ‘chalk-talk’ events to present and discuss their research with Peer-Mentors (PhD students, postdocs) and faculty.
Project (‘mini-thesis’) meetings: Scholars gain confidence by organizing, preparing for, and convening three one-hour ‘mini-thesis’ meetings with two subject-expert faculty, plus their research mentor and the PREP Director. Scholars benefit both scientifically and professionally by building strong working relationships with multiple faculty members at Johns Hopkins who are experts in their field of interest.
Professional training and custom mentoring: Scholars participate in workshops designed to improve their scientific writing skills, and understand ethics in science, and can choose from many other workshops including communication and improvisation. Each Scholar charts an individual development plan with the PREP Director, with custom mentoring both formal (monthly one-hour meetings) and informally as needed.
Preparation for GRE or MCAT exam, graduate school applications and interviews.
Annual salary of $34,000 plus health, retirement, tuition and other benefits

Who Should Apply:

US Citizens or Permanent Residents with a keen interest in entering a PhD or MD/PhD program from populations under-represented in the Biomedical Sciences.
College seniors or recent graduates with a bachelor’s degree in biomedical science— including but not limited to biochemistry, bioinformatics, biology, biomedical engineering, biophysics, chemistry, cell biology, computational sciences, genetics, mathematics, microbiology, molecular biology, neuroscience, tissue engineering, virology and related fields.

We consider a variety of factors that demonstrate scientific potential and motivation for PhD careers. Applicants should have strong grades in science and math (GPA 3.3 or better)— or a strong upward trajectory in science/math grades. Exceptions may be made for students with research experience.

The Complete Application

To apply to PREP, you will need:

Two letters of recommendation (faculty preferred)
Transcripts for each undergraduate institution attended (transcripts can be unofficial)
Current CV or resume
Personal Statement
Your statement can be up to 2 pages, single-spaced, and please use 11-point font. Please tell us about
- yourself (e.g., you; your family/growing up; pathway-guiding and/or formative experiences);
- your previous research experience(s), how they turned out, and what you learned from each;
- your motivation for pursuing an advanced degree(s) and what your ‘dream career’ might look like in about 15 years;
- what you personally hope to gain to be more competitive for entry and success in graduate school.

Please contact PREP-DDP@jhmi.edu with any additional questions.

Learn more.

Quick Links:

Meet our PREP Scholars

Meet our PREP Alumni

Meet our Staff

Meet our PREP Scholars!

	Bella Cabrera Brito BS (BioMolecular Engineering) 2021 Milwaukee School of Engineering Hopkins PREP 2021, mentor: Joshua Modell	Ariana Campbell BA (Biology) 2019 University of North Texas Hopkins PREP 2021, mentor: Sabra Klein.
	Eddie Campos BS (Chemistry) 2020 Lindenwood University Hopkins PREP 2021, mentor: Daniele Gilkes	Jarisa Escalante BS (Biochemistry) 2021 SUNY College at Potsdam Hopkins PREP 2021, mentor: Robert Ivkov
	Sullyann Flecha BS (Microbiology) 2021 University of Puerto Rico: Humacao Hopkins PREP 2021, mentor: Gül Dölen	Adler Guerrero Zuniga BS (Biology) 2021 New York University Hopkins PREP 2021, mentor: Eneda Toska
	Kris Malebranche BS (Biochemistry) 2020 Mississippi State University Hopkins PREP 2021, mentor: Jeff Rubens	Samer Mathkour BS (Microbiology, Immunology, & Mol. Genetics) 2021 University of California: Los Angeles Hopkins PREP 2021, mentor: Elsa Anagnostou
	Patricia Mensah BS (Chemical Engineering) 2021 Howard University Hopkins PREP 2021, mentor: Jennifer Elisseeff	Justin Nwafor BA (Chemistry) 2021 Connecticut College Hopkins PREP 2021, mentor: Mario Amzel & Sandra Gabelli
	Isiaha Price BA (Biology & Psychology) 2021 Amherst College Hopkins PREP 2021, mentor: Justus Kebschull	Tatiana Prioleau BS (Biology) 2021 College of William and Mary Hopkins PREP 2021, mentor: Eneda Toska
	Jeremy Young BS (Biochemistry) 2021 Hampton University Hopkins PREP 2021, mentor: Caren Freel Meyers
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Meet our PREP Alumni!

(click to view each year: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)

2015 Alumni
	Jesús Acevedo-Cintrón BS (Cell & Molecular Biology) 2015, University of Puerto Rico Hopkins PREP 2015, mentor: Ted Dawson Current: MD/PhD student Washington University (St Louis, MO)	Christopher Anderson BS (Biology) 2015, University of St. Thomas (Texas) Hopkins PREP 2015, mentor: Jennifer Elisseeff Current: Biologic & Biomed. Sciences PhD student Yale University, mentor: Yibing Qyang
	James D. Barnett BS (Biomedical Sciences) 2012, Auburn University (Alabama) US Fulbright Scholar (Spain) 2013-2014 Hopkins PREP 2015, mentor: Robert Ivkov Current: CMM PhD student Johns Hopkins, mentor: Zaver Bhujwalla	Alyssa Florwick BS (Biochemistry & Molecular Biology) 2015, UMBC, mentor: Michael Summers Hopkins PREP 2015, mentor: Katherine Wilson Current: Biochemistry PhD student Duke University, mentor: Michael Boyce
	Jean Garcia-Diaz BS (Microbiology) 2015, Turabo University (Puerto Rico) Hopkins PREP 2015, mentor: Erika Matunis Current: CMM PhD student Johns Hopkins, mentor: Ryan Riddle	Elsie Gonzalez-Hurtado BS (Biochemistry) 2015, University of California, Riverside Hopkins PREP 2015, mentor: Michael Wolfgang Current: MD/PhD student at Yale University, mentor: Vishwa Deep Dixit
	Kevin Justus BA (Psychology) 2014, University of Central Florida Hopkins PREP 2015, mentors: Susan Courtney and Veit Stuphorn Current: Neuroscience PhD student, Wake Forest University	Ismael Munoz BS (Bioengineering) 2015, University of California, San Diego Hopkins PREP 2015, mentor: Daniela Drummond-Barbosa Current: Bioengineering PhD student, UC, San Diego
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2016 Alumni
	Lauren Askew BS (Biology) 2016, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Hopkins PREP 2016, mentor: Janice Clements Current: MD/PhD student Emory University (North Carolina)	Chelsy R. Eddings BA (Molecular & Cellular Biology; Neurobiology) 2016, University of California, Berkeley Hopkins PREP 2016, mentor: Christopher Ross Current: BCMB PhD student Johns Hopkins, mentor: Shigeki Watanabe 2021 HHMI Gilliam Fellowship for Advanced Study Recipient
	Elizabeth Henderson BA (Biophysics) 2013, Hunter College (New York) Hopkins PREP 2016, mentor: Robert Ivkov	Adriana Landeros BS (Molecular Cell Developmental Biology) 2016, UC, Santa Cruz Hopkins PREP 2016, mentor: Tamara O’Connor National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship Current: Microbiology PhD student, Northwestern
	Arena Manning BA (Neuroscience) 2016, Skidmore College (Saratoga Springs, NY) Hopkins PREP 2016, mentor: Barbara Slusher Current: Neuroscience PhD student, University of Washington (Seattle), mentor: Franck Kalume
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2017 Alumni
	Caitlin Corona-Long BS (Psychology) 2016, University of Oregon Hopkins PREP 2017, mentors: Michaela Gallagher and Arnold Bakker Current: Psychology PhD student, Johns Hopkins, mentor: Michaela Gallagher	Cera Hassinan BS (Neuroscience) 2017, Johns Hopkins University, Native Circle Hopkins PREP 2017, mentor: Charlotte Sumner Current: Molecular & Cellular Biology PhD student, University of Washington (Seattle) ARCS Foundation Scholarship
	Ambar Jimenez BS (Biology) 2016, SUNY, Plattsburgh Hopkins PREP 2017, mentor: Rangaramanujam Kannan Current: Pharmacology PhD student, University of Pennsylvania	Cyrianne S. Keutcha BS (Biochemistry) 2017, Georgia State University Hopkins PREP 2017, mentor: Sean Prigge National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship Current: PhD student, Harvard SPH, mentor: Manoj Duraisingh
	Alejandra Patino BS (Neural Science) 2017, New York University Hopkins PREP 2017, mentors: Gül Dölen and Loyal Goff Current: MD/PhD student Duke University School of Medicine
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2018 Alumni
	Melissa E. Fajardo BS (Biological Science) 2016, Florida International University Hopkins PREP 2018, mentor: Nicholas Maragakis Current: Neuroscience PhD student, Northwestern University (Chicago)	Kelly A. Fogelson BS (Neuroscience) 2017, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Hopkins PREP 2018, mentor: Kishore Kuchibhotla Current: Biomedical Sciences PhD student, UC, San Diego
	Gabriella Muwanga BS (Biomedical Sci) 2018, Makerere University (Uganda) Johns Hopkins PREP 2018, mentor: Michael Caterina Current: Neuroscience PhD student Stanford University	Diego R. Ramos Ortiz BS (Chemistry) 2018, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Johns Hopkins PREP 2018, mentor: James M. Berger Current: Biophysics PhD student UC, Berkeley
	Jordan Wilson BS (Genetics & Genomics) 2018, UC, Davis Hopkins PREP 2018, mentor: Patrick Cahan Current: XDBio PhD student Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
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2019 Alumni
	Aitana Azurmendi BE (Earth & Atmospheric Sciences) 2019, Cornell University (New York) Hopkins PREP 2019, mentor: Sandra Gabelli Current: TBA	Dezmond Cole BS (Biology) 2019, University of Montevallo (Alabama) Hopkins PREP 2019, mentor: Brendan Cormack Current: TBA
	Sergio L. Crespo BS (Chemistry) 2019, New Jersey City University Hopkins PREP 2019, mentor: Jungsan Sohn Current: Molecular Biosciences PhD student Rutgers University	Hannah Navarrete BS (Biochemistry) 2019, University of California Riverside Hopkins PREP 2019, mentor: Erika Matunis Current: Biomedical Sciences PhD student University of Michigan
	Kyndall Nicholas BS (Biochemistry) 2019, Hampton University (Virginia) Hopkins PREP 2019, mentor: Keri Martinowich Current: Neuroscience PhD student University of Pennsylvania	Jareb J. Pérez BS (Medical Microbiology) 2019, University of Puerto Rico, Arecibo Hopkins PREP 2019, mentor: Dionna Williams Current: Interdisciplinary PhD student Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
	Alexa Perez-Torres BS (Biology) 2019, University of Puerto Rico, Cayey Hopkins PREP 2019, mentor: Loyal Goff Current: MCO PhD student Harvard University	Yishak Woldestsadik BS (Cell & Molecular Biology) 2019, Towson University Hopkins PREP 2019, mentor: Sabra Klein Current: Biomedical Sciences PhD student Tufts University
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2020 Alumni

	Kaleem Coleman BS (Biochemistry, Bioinformatics, & Molecular Biology) 2018, Towson University Hopkins PREP 2020, mentor: Barbara Slusher Continuing PREP research for 2021	Milan Dower BE (Biomedical Engineering) 2020, University of Miami Hopkins PREP 2020, mentor: Jeff Gray Current: TBA
	Tawnjerae Joe BS (Biochemistry) 2020, Fort Lewis College Hopkins PREP 2020, mentor Barbara Slusher Continuing PREP research for 2021	Ashley Melendez BS (Biology) 2019, University of Puerto Rico: Mayaguez Hopkins PREP 2020, mentor: Karen Reddy Continuing PREP research for 2021
	Asha Murrell BS (Health Science) 2020, Spelman College Hopkins PREP 2020, mentor: Dionna Williams Current: TBA	Victor Quiroz BE (Biomedical Engineering) 2020, Illinois Institute of Technology Hopkins PREP 2020, mentor: Joshua Doloff. Current: TBA
	Alex Rendon Jonguitud BS (Biology) 2020, University of South Carolina: Beaufort Hopkins PREP 2020, mentor Katherine Wilson Continuing PREP research for 2021	Nuri Smith BS (Biology and Experimental Psychology) 2020, University of South Carolina: Upstate Hopkins PREP 2020, mentor: Keri Martinowich Continuing PREP research for 2021
	Hannah Tsingine BS (Biology) 2020, Fort Lewis College Hopkins PREP 2020, mentor: Richard Roden Continuing PREP research for 2021	Marcus Williams BS (Biochemistry) 2020, Fort Lewis College Hopkins PREP 2020, mentor: Deok-Ho Kim Continuing PREP research for 2021
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Meet our Staff!

	Dr. Katherine Wilson, (she/her) - PREP Director Professor of Cell Biology (School of Medicine) Professor of Biomedical Engineering (Whiting School of Engineering) 725 N. Wolfe Street - WBSB G10 Baltimore MD 21205 klwilson@jhmi.edu
	Kristina Nance, (she/her) - PREP Manager Assistant Director, Graduate Student Experience and Diversity Office of Graduate Biomedical Education 1830 E. Monument St, Office 619 Baltimore MD 21205 knance2@jhmi.edu
	Sage Magness, (they/them) - PREP Coordinator Graduate Student Experience Coordinator Office of Graduate Biomedical Education 1830 E. Monument St, Suite 620 Baltimore MD 21205 smagnes1@jhmi.edu
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PREP Logo

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School of Medicine

Post-baccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP)

PREP Provides:

The Complete Application

Quick Links:

Meet our PREP Scholars!

Bella Cabrera Brito

Ariana Campbell

Eddie Campos

Jarisa Escalante

Sullyann Flecha

Adler Guerrero Zuniga

Kris Malebranche

Samer Mathkour

Patricia Mensah

Justin Nwafor

Isiaha Price

Tatiana Prioleau

Jeremy Young

Meet our PREP Alumni!

2015 Alumni

Jesús Acevedo-Cintrón

Christopher Anderson

James D. Barnett

Alyssa Florwick

Jean Garcia-Diaz

Elsie Gonzalez-Hurtado

Kevin Justus

Ismael Munoz

2016 Alumni

Lauren Askew

Chelsy R. Eddings

Elizabeth Henderson

Adriana Landeros

Arena Manning

2017 Alumni

Caitlin Corona-Long

Cera Hassinan

Ambar Jimenez

Cyrianne S. Keutcha

Alejandra Patino

2018 Alumni

Melissa E. Fajardo

Kelly A. Fogelson

Gabriella Muwanga

Diego R. Ramos Ortiz

Jordan Wilson

2019 Alumni

Aitana Azurmendi

Dezmond Cole

Sergio L. Crespo

Hannah Navarrete

Kyndall Nicholas

Jareb J. Pérez

Alexa Perez-Torres

Yishak Woldestsadik

2020 Alumni

Kaleem Coleman

Milan Dower

Tawnjerae Joe

Ashley Melendez

Asha Murrell

Victor Quiroz

Alex Rendon Jonguitud

Nuri Smith

Hannah Tsingine

Marcus Williams

Meet our Staff!

Dr. Katherine Wilson, (she/her) - PREP Director

Kristina Nance, (she/her) - PREP Manager

Sage Magness, (they/them) - PREP Coordinator

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