California high schoolers SPARK interest in stem cell research through social media

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I have a job for you today, and it’s a fun one. Open your Instagram app on your phone. If you’re not an Instagrammer, don’t worry, you can access the website on your computer.

Do you have it open? OK, now type in the hashtag #CIRMSparkLab and click on it.

You’ll find around 200 posts with some of the most inspiring and motivating pictures of stem cell research I’ve seen. These pictures are from high school students currently participating in the CIRM summer SPARK program, one of our educational programs, which aims to train the next generation of stem cell scientists.

The SPARK program offers California high school students an invaluable opportunity to gain hands-on training in regenerative medicine at some of the finest stem cell research institutes in the state. While they gain valuable research skills, we challenge them to share their experiences with the general public through blogging and social media.

Communicating science to the public is an important mission of CIRM, and SPARK students are excelling at it by posting descriptive photos on Instagram that document their internships. Some are fun lab photos, while others are impressive data images with detailed explanations of their research projects.

Below are a few of my favorite posts so far this summer. I’ve been so inspired by the creativity of these posts that we are now featuring some of them on the @CIRM_Stemcells account. (Yes, this is a shameless plug for you to follow us on Instagram!)

City of Hope SPARK program.

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Apply to SPARK

I encourage you to follow our talented SPARK students on Instagram this summer. They will continue documenting their exciting journeys.

These students represent the future of stem cell research. CIRM considers supporting their education and training an honor.

This support also advances our mission to accelerate stem cell treatments for patients with unmet medical needs.

Stay tuned for more blog coverage of SPARK and our other educational program, Bridges to Stem Cell Research.

Bridges supports undergraduate and master’s students.

The annual Bridges conference will take place next week. Students will gather there to present their research.

The SPARK conference will take place on August 8 in Berkeley.

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