Applications are open for diaTribe’s 2020 Junior STEM Associate Program for Young Women in San Francisco, California!

In the summer of 2020, diaTribe will hold our fifth annual Junior STEM Associate Program. This program is a four-week mentorship opportunity for women grades 9-12. Throughout the four weeks, young women are introduced to medicine, public health, and basic and clinical science using diabetes and obesity as case studies. The aim of the program is for participants to develop and strengthen research, writing, and public speaking skills and gain insights into the experiences of very senior women leaders in science through an extensive speaker series. Throughout their internship, participants are managed by young and mid-career women leaders. 

The Junior STEM Associate Program hopes to introduce young women to strong, successful senior women and expose them to fields and careers in business, medicine, and advocacy – areas where we feel there currently are not enough females in leadership positions. Junior STEM Associates participate in research, writing, and discussions on diabetes and obesity as well as healthcare in general. They even author articles that wind up being read by tens of thousands of people annually! In addition, each participant leads her own project with guidance and mentorship from associates and volunteers at diaTribe. At the end of the program, each participant presents her accomplishments to the team. Junior STEM Associates will need to find their own housing in the Bay Area (preferably San Francisco). 

Past independent projects:

• Best practices for foot care in diabetes
• Advocacy missive about optimal language to use with patients
• What A1C really means and its limitations as a glycemic metric

Speakers for 2018 Junior STEM Associates:

• Dr. Lori Laffel (Chief of Pediatric and Adolescent Section, Joslin Diabetes Center; Boston, MA)
• Dr. Francine Kaufman (Chief Medical Officer, Medtronic Diabetes; Los Angeles, CA)
• Dr. Trang Ly (Medical Director and Vice President, Insulet; Boston, MA)
• Dr. Laura Schmidt (Professor of Health Policy, UCSF; San Francisco, CA)
• Dr. Judith Fradkin (Director, Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolic Diseases, NIDDK; Bethesda, MD)
• Dr. Donna Ryan (Associate Executive Director for Clinical Research, Pennington Biomedical Research Center; Baton Rouge, LA)
• Dr. Faith Foreman (Assistant Director, Houston Health Department; Houston, TX)
• And many more!

Feedback from past Junior STEM Associates:

• “Hearing all of the guest speakers allowed me to gain a much clearer view of what it takes to become a top woman in medicine.”
• “It was super cool knowing that I don't have to know what I want to do in the future right now. There's still a lot of time to figure it out. All the women were also in different fields of science, so it was really interesting hearing about the different professions they had and all the types of work they did.”
• “I have learned so much, but two parts that I will remember most is the value of mentorship and networking, as well as remembering to ask many questions, to say thank you, and learning to follow what I really want to do in my future.”
• “I think the most valuable part of the JSA program was the speaker schedule. Everyone's different career paths were so fascinating to hear, and it definitely contributed to my decision of what I want to do.”