START: Students and Teachers Achieving Cancer Research Experiences Together

1-Week Summer Science Camp for students entering 7th grade in Fall 2026

Dates: Monday, July 13, 2026 through Friday, July 17, 2026      

Applications close: February 15, 2026

Hours: 9:00am to 4:00pm daily

Cost: Free and lunch is provided

Location: University of Colorado Anschutz Campus

What can you learn?

• What cancer is and what researchers do
• How the cancer research process works step by step
• How cancer research impacts people – your family, community and the world
• To envision who you are as a scientist and what research areas interest you
• Possible future pathways for you in cancer research

How will you learn?

• By engaging in daily science activities, lab exploration, science creations, group work, lab tours, interactive discussions, presentations, team-building games

What to wear: Closed-toe shoes and long pants/skirt because we will be in a lab classroom space

What to bring: A backpack for carrying personal items; a filled water bottle; 1-2 snacks depending on your needs; a hair tie to hold back long hair (if applicable)

START Summer Camp 2026 Application

1-Week Summer Science Camp for students entering 8th grade in Fall 2026

Dates: Monday, July 13, 2026 through Friday, July 17, 2026      

Applications close: February 15, 2026

Hours: 9:00am to 4:00pm daily

Cost: Free and lunch is provided

Location: University of Colorado Anschutz Campus

What can you learn?

• What goes on in a research lab by observing and engaging in fundamental lab practices
• How to explain cancer research to your friends and family
• How research helps all of us understand cancer
• Ways that science involves trial and error!
• The types of careers there are in cancer research
• Cancer biology, types of cancer, prevention and progression
• Cancer in Colorado and cancer research here at the CU Anschutz campus

How will you learn?

• You’ll be doing science every day through activities, lab exploration and experiments, keeping lab notebooks like a real researcher, interactive discussions, lab tours and team-building games

What to wear: Closed-toe shoes and long pants/skirt because we will be in a lab classroom space

What to bring: A backpack for carrying personal items; a filled water bottle; 1-2 snacks depending on your needs; a hair tie to hold back long hair (if applicable)

START Summer Camp 2026 Application

2-Week Summer Science Camp for students entering 9th grade in Fall 2026

Dates: Monday, July 20, 2026 through Friday, July 31, 2026     

Applications close: February 15, 2026

Hours: 9:00am to 4:00pm daily

Cost: Free and lunch is provided

Location: University of Colorado Anschutz Campus

What can you learn?

• How to be a researcher using fundamental lab techniques, practicing lab safety, and documenting your research progress and discoveries
• How to communicate like a researcher
• What cancer researchers actually do and how breakthroughs are made
• That mistakes are part of learning! We are researching what we don’t know – in order to know!

How will you learn?

• By being in a lab, learning and using lab techniques, exploring case studies, conducting experiments and lab meetings, listening to guest speakers, experiencing a clinical trial, and presenting a capstone project

What to wear: Closed-toe shoes and long pants/skirt because we will be in a lab classroom space

What to bring: A backpack for carrying personal items; a filled water bottle; 1-2 snacks depending on your needs; a hair tie to hold back long hair (if applicable)

START Summer Camp 2026 Application

2-Week Summer Science Camp for students entering 10th grade in Fall 2026

Dates: Monday, July 20, 2026 through Friday, July 31, 2026     

Applications close: February 15, 2026

Hours: 9:00am to 4:00pm daily

Cost: Free and lunch is provided

Location: University of Colorado Anschutz Campus

What can you learn?

• How to master practical lab techniques, how to conduct research and document it
• How to communicate like a scientist and engage with others as a research team member
• The nitty-gritty of electrophoresis, central dogma, PCR and ELISA
• About cancer research as a career path
• How cancer projects are developed and data is collected
• What is a research proposal, peer review and the elements of a scientific poster
• How to develop resilience and learn from failure!

How will you learn?

• You’ll conduct lab experiments, practice pipetting techniques, learn lab safety through activities, hear from guest speakers about animals in cancer research, how to create a science poster and how to analyze cell experiment data. You’ll tour lab facilities, hear from a clinical research panel and work on a capstone project

What to wear: Closed-toe shoes and long pants/skirt because we will be in a lab classroom space

What to bring: A backpack for carrying personal items; a filled water bottle; 1-2 snacks because research makes you hungry; a hair tie to hold back long hair (if applicable)

START Summer Camp 2026 Application

2-Year Commitment for a 7-Week Summer Research Experience for students entering 11th grade in Fall 2026

Summer 1 dates: Monday, June 8, 2026 through Friday, July 31, 2026

Excluding the week of June 29, 2026 through July 3, 2026 for holiday break

Summer 2 dates: Monday, June 7, 2027 through Friday, July 30, 2027

Excluding 1 week surrounding the 4th of July holiday

Applications open: Students are selected by teachers in the program. If you are interested in the program, please share this page with your high school science teacher.

Hours: 9:00am to 4:00pm weekdays

Cost: Free and lunch is provided

Location: University of Colorado Anschutz Campus

Benefits for participation in this unique, comprehensive 2-year commitment:

• Stipend: $5,500 (per summer) plus per diem of $15 per day (per summer)
• College Credit: Earn 8 transferable college credits from Arapahoe Community College. You will earn 3.0 credits for Introduction to Biotechnology (BIO 1160) and 5.0 credits for Cooperative Education in Biology (BIO 2187) in conjunction with your summer lab experiences.
• Lab Mentor: You will work in a faculty mentor’s research lab to plan, design, conduct, analyze, communicate real research.
• Research Team: Summer research teams will consist of one high school teacher and two high school students. Your team will be mentored by a faculty researcher and graduate lab student.
• Symposium: Teacher-student teams will prepare a scientific poster and present your research findings at a Research Symposium on Friday, July 31, 2026.
• College Preparation Events: These events will happen in Fall 2026, Spring 2027, and Fall 2027 to assist START research students and their families in navigating the college application and selection process.
• Eligibility: Students are selected by teachers in the program. If you are interested in the program, please share this page with your high school science teacher. Participants need to have transportation to and from the CU Anschutz campus, be a high school student living in the Denver area, and be entering the 11th grade in Fall 2026.
• Program Policies: Students are required to complete online lab safety trainings prior to starting work in the lab. Requirements for lab safety include wearing closed-toe shoes, long pants/skirt, and personal protective equipment appropriate for and provided by the mentor lab. Students and parents will be required to sign risk assessment forms and provide personal identification information to receive a campus access badge and to receive the stipend and per diem.
  

2-Year Program Duration: February 2026 through December 2027

Spring program hours: 1-2 planning meetings with summer lab mentor arranged by teacher and mentor; 12 hours of asynchronous, online Cancer Biology lessons

Summer program dates: Monday, June 1, 2026 through Friday, July 31, 2026; 40 hours per week

Excluding the week of June 29, 2026 through July 3, 2026 for holiday break

Summer program hours: 9:00am to 4:00pm daily

Fall program hours: Attendance at 1-2 Community Engagement Events on a Saturday

Applications open: Online application opens November 10

Location: University of Colorado Anschutz Campus

Eligibility: You must be a high school science teacher with a Colorado Teaching License and living in the Denver area, and have transportation to and from the CU Anschutz campus.

 

2026-2027 START Teacher Application

 

Stipend: $8,500 per year for 2 years

Graduate credit: Earn 12 graduate credits from the University of Colorado that can be applied to a masters degree

Biomedical Sciences Research Certificate: Earn this certificate concurrently with graduate credits from the University of Colorado

Support for Career & Technical Education (CTE) Certificate: Teachers can receive authorization towards achieving their Secondary CTE in Biotechnology credential and support in navigating the online training

Lab mentor: Teachers will work in a faculty mentor’s research lab to plan, design, conduct, analyze, and communicate real research

Research team: As an integral part of a nested-mentor-model, teachers will work in a team of one high school teacher and two high school students. The team will be mentored by a faculty scientist and a member of their research group

Research Symposium: Teacher-student teams will prepare a scientific poster and present their research findings at a Research Symposium

Bioscience Educator Support & Training (BEST): Teachers will complete 12 classroom hours of professional development on teaching using hands-on bioscience kits

Access to the BEST Lending Library: Once teachers complete the professional development with BEST kits in their first summer, they can checkout kits throughout the academic year

Membership in the START Teacher Network: This network will connect START teachers to share curriculum, activities and ideas year-round

START Teacher Program Summary of Requirements

 

START Teachers

 

Cassie Hayter

 

I’m Cassie Hayter and I was born in Toronto, Canada and have lived in Colorado since I was 5 years old. I graduated with a B.S. in Psychology at the University of Colorado Denver. I have worked all sorts of jobs like being a research assistant in a Neuroscience lab studying chronic stressors on adolescent rats, a phlebotomist for a blood donation center, a medical billing accountant and decided to move to Portland, Oregon to pursue my Master's degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Oregon Health and Science University. While I was there, I volunteered for Girl's Inc. working with middle school girls after school on computer science. That inspired me to pursue a long-time goal of becoming a teacher! I attended MSU for my teaching license and am entering my eighth year as a teacher. I currently teach Chemistry and Biology classes at William Smith and her roles as the D&D sponsor and Unified coach with Crossroads. I love reading, paddle boarding, and watching / talking about scary movies. I am passionate about traveling and trying new types of food. I am trying to learn to bake bread, make soap, speak Spanish, and become more fluent again in her first language, Italian. I am a mom to a lovely old dog named Stevie.

 

Haeyoung Littich

 

Hi, my name is Haeyoung Littich! Born and raised in Seoul, South Korea, I immigrated to the U.S. at age 18 knowing little English, eventually earning my B.S. in Biology and M.A. in Curriculum Design and Instruction from the University of Connecticut. Now in my 11th year as a public educator, I teach integrated, project-based courses like AP Biology and Anatomy at William Smith High School in Aurora. Driven by a passion for equity, I also serve as a student advocate and founder of LittScience, helping Korean-American families navigate the U.S. school system. As a summer fellow in the NCI START Program at CU Anschutz, I am excited to engage in cancer research to translate complex biomedical concepts into innovative curricula for my students. Outside of the classroom and lab, I enjoy cooking Korean food, exploring the outdoors, and passing down my heritage and language to my two young children.

 

Shanna Atzmiller

 

My name is Shanna Atzmiller and I am a biomedical science and biology teacher at Bear Creek High School in Lakewood, Colorado. I am  a native of Colorado.  I earned my bachelor of science degree from Colorado State University and my teaching certification from Metro State University. I started my teaching career in 2005. Throughout my  career, I have enjoyed working with youth of all ages, ranging from 3 years to 12th grade. In my free time, my husband and I love to hike, experience all of the great museums and zoos that Colorado has to offer, and travel. One of the most memorable experiences in her teaching career was the opportunity to have students design and build an experiment to send to the International Space Station in the summer of 2017. 

 

Suchi Panda

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

START Students

 

 Ashlyn Richey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Esau Mejia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Eyoas Desalegn

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Jayda Ricafort Raval

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 NuMei Z Bawi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Piper Jankovich

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Xiomara Moreno