METEOR Throughout the Years

Our METEOR program attracts, engages and supports high school students through a summer program where they are embedded into both clinical and research labs

Through this experiential mentored research experience, augmented with:

  • inquiry-based curriculum

  • career and peer mentoring

  • college preparation and other experiences

METEOR stimulates students to pursue careers in the biomedical sciences by advances in the translation of discovery from bench to bedside to community which focus on improving the lives of children and families.

Over the years, students have been embedded with several mentorship teams including:

  • Asthma

  • Neonatology

  • Diabetes

  • Nursing

  • Bioengineering

  • Cardiology

  • Hematology

  • Trauma teams and more!

Shadowing opportunities include:

  • Neonatology

  • Radiology

  •  Anesthesia  and surgery

  • Rotations  in the OR, MRI, and CT

  • Human brain dissection in anatomic pathology

The METEOR program has taken students from the following schools

  • McKinley Technology High School

  • E.L. Haynes

  • Washington Latin

  • Jackson Reed

  • Coolidge High School

  • SEED School

  • Thurgood Marshall

  • Frederick Douglass

METEOR Teaching Fellows (MTFs)

Many teachers have come through the METEOR program to do research that would both benefit the content they teach, as well as the students they are teaching!

Kianna Bennett,

MTF from McKinley Tech High School  

What Have our METEOR Alumni Done?

Many of our METEOR scholars have gone on to pursue their undergraduate degrees in STEM fields, with more than half continuing their education into the health sciences! Many of our alumni have also traveled far from home to pursue their degrees

Undergraduate Major

  • Health Science
  • STEM
  • Other
  • Health Science
  • STEM
  • Other
A few of our alumni have also gone on to pursue medical school

See What Universities our Alumni Attend!

What METEOR Students are Saying

“This program showed that women are a powerful source in the world.”
— METEOR Alumni
“The most beneficial part of the METEOR Program was the vast exposure to varying opportunities for professional and career advancements in STEM, from firsthand experiences with my mentor to valuable insight from lunch and learns and touring different departments in the hospital. METEOR was also my first time learning of the wide spectrum of careers, particularly at the intersection of medicine and research. In the program I learned that being both a scientist and physician was possible and that I could also pursue my interests in public health and research career simultaneously”
— METEOR Alumni

METEOR v HS

  • Projects Included

    • "Athletes, Asthma, and Allergies"

    • "If a parent of a child with T1D is depressed will that affect the child’s health negatively?"

    • "Relation Between Hyponatremia and Cerebral Edema"

    • "Child Voice in Patient Satisfaction with Care"

  • Projects Included

    • "The Use of Low Calorie Sweeteners When Managing Type 1 Diabetes"

    • "The Effectiveness of Burn Preventative Strategies Using GIS Mapping"

    • "Nursing Preceptor Satisfaction"

    • "Incentive Spirometry on Respiratory Therapy"

    • "The Making of Fontan's"

    • "Environmental Toxins Affecting Asthma Patients"

  • Projects Included

    "Medical Economics of Operating Room Assignments"

    "Benefits of Phone Apps for Power Mobility Devices"

    "Assessing Fetal Growth Through Volumetric MRI"

    "Patient Satisfaction" Are patients satisfied with having a headache nurse as part of their neurology visit?

    "Measuring Fibrosis in Patients with Heart Transplants"

    "Resource Needs Among Spanish and English Speakers"

    "The Impact of Cooling on Transport and Transition to the Blanketrol III on Temperature Regulation in Babies with HIE"

    "The Difference in Light Intensity Used In Laryngoscope Handles"

  • 2020 METEOR Students Final Presentation Topics

    “The role of intramuscular ceftriaxone as antibiotic treatment for children with acute otitis media”

    “Bench top measurements of the effects of aorta pressure differentials & flow splits on exercise capacity in coarctation repaired aortas”

    “Understanding ways to help children with diabetes control glycemic levels under emotional distress”

    “Intensity of pain in children after cardio vascular surgery”

    “A study evaluating early warning factors before a pain crisis in sickle cell disease”

    “The differences in sepsis patient outcome (length of stay, disposition) based on weight”

    “Prescription opioid use after fracture; are there differences?”

    “Does COVID-19  exposure and/or infection increase health risks in asthma patients?”

    “Utilization of computerized VR ankle rehabilitation in Cerebral Palsy: application to VA patients with stroke”

    “Analysis of electrocardiogram (ECG) abnormalities related to Covid-19 infection in pediatric patients”

  • Projects Included

    • Enhancing Diversity and Inclusion in Medicine 

    • Cross-Validation of Presence of Wheeze in Pediatric Lung Sounds

    • Can Digital Pathology completely supplement the need for physical human analysis?

    • How does the cause of epilepsy affect the likelihood of seizure freedom after a hemispherectomy

    • How were sleep study rates impacted by tonsillectomies both before and during the pandemic?

    • We’ve hypothesized low SOGi data demographic rates, and data collection. Our goal to increase both rates and data to better health care for sexually and gendered youth minorities.

    • Investigate whether gene therapy or exon skipping therapy is more effective in improving the quality of life and outcome in subjects with DMD.

    • Is 3D MRI imaging just as sufficient as 4D MRI imaging when calculating flow rate and wall shear stress?

  • Projects Included

    • Genetic Variation in Pharmacogenomics

    • The Effect of Anthracyclines on the QTc Interval and Development of Cardiomyopathy in Pediatric Cancer Patients 

    • Undergoing Cochlear Implants with other Middle and Outer Ear Surgeries

    • CT-Compatible Needle Based Intervention tools and their ability to possibly increase accuracy during procedures

    • Development of a driving simulator to assess a cognitively demanding real life task in subjects with Urea Cycle Disorders (UCD)

    • The Correlation Between CGM Use, A1C, Diabetes Distress in Teens with T1D

    • Air Quality's Effect on Children with Asthma Hospitalizations 

    • Child Behavioral Checklist (CBCL) Results for Zika Control Group in Rural Colombia

    • Risk factors associated with mortality in pediatric PVS patients

    • Association of Race with Nonadherence to Hip Surveillance Outpatient Medical Follow-up Care and COVID-19 Pandemic in Children with Cerebral Palsy

  • Projects

    • Morphological Characteristics of Fragile X Syndrome Mouse Model in Superior Collicular Neurons

    • Evaluating Foxp2+ neuron number in the MeA of Foxp2+/- mutant mice

    • Exploring KCNN2 Expression In The Motor Cortex of Angelman Syndrome Mouse Model

    • Identifying Brain Cells Through Cre/Lox Recombination Techniques

“The program made scientists seem more accessible. It also made their work seem more diverse than what we’re exposed to in the media and on career day.”
— METEOR Alumni
“METEOR helped me secure another internship within the next academic year which, operating as a cascade, led to acceptance into a Women in STEM research based accelerator program in college. I am eternally grateful for the experiences offered in the program and its immense exposure to medicine. The METEOR program debunked the myth that medicine exists monolithically, integrating interdisciplinary and multidiscipline career options (Practitioners and lawyers; PAs who conduct research; postbacc scholars, and research) into the space for us to explore.”
— METEOR Alumni

METEOR v 3

  • Projects Included

    •The Validation of the Gottingen Minipig in Pre-Clinical Setting

    •Evaluating the ROUTE-T1D Pilot Intervention for Its Impact on Diabetes Distress and HbA1c in Minority Youth

    •How Disadvantaged Neighborhoods Associate with Brain Development in Utero

    • Altered Ultrasonic Vocalizations in MAC21 Mice: Insights into Down Syndrome Communication Deficits