AHA Supporting Undergraduate Research Experiences (AHA SURE)
Through a partnership with the American Heart Association, mentored 10-week summer research experiences are available for at least four students.
The AHA SURE Summer Program is an excellent way for undergraduate students to garner a mentored research experience under guided mentorship from experts in the field of cardiovascular and brain research.
AHA BU faculty members awardees will serve as mentors for this program. The AHA SURE Program will be in-person in 2026.
Applications for the 2026 program are now open and will close on January 12th, 2026.
You cannot save your application once you have started it, so please prepare your answers in advance. A Word version of the application is available here.
Eligibility Requirements
- Candidate must be interested in a health care-related field.
- Candidate must be a full-time undergraduate, rolling into their sophomore, junior or senior year.
- Candidate must display exemplary academic performance.
- Candidate must be able to dedicate 8-10 weeks between the end of May and August.
- Candidate must present at a virtual symposium at the end of the program.
- Must meet immigration requirements: At time of application, the student must be a United States citizen, or a foreign national holding a valid student, exchange or permanent resident visa, including an F-1, H1, H1B, J1, PR, TC or TN visa.
Program Benefits
- $6000 compensation/honorarium
- Travel expenses
- Travel costs to Boston
- Room & Board at Boston University (for non-local students)
- Opportunity to travel to an AHA scientific meeting.
Read Program Dates & Application
- Application Deadline: January 12th, 2026
- Acceptances: emailed first week of February 2026
- Onboarding: BU, BMC, BUVAH March-June
- Scholar Virtual Symposium: July 29th-30th, 2026
- Program Dates: Monday, June 1st to Saturday, August 1st, 2026
Current & Past Participants
Professional Development Series
BU AHA SURE Summer 2025
BU AHA SURE Summer 2024
BU AHA SURE Summer 2023
- June 23, 2023 – Networking – with Bryan Medina
- June 29, 2023 – Resilience and Medicine –
- July 13, 2023- Using Social Media to Follow Science and Network – with Debora Kamin Mukaz, PhD, MS
- July 19, 2023 – Turning Research into Policy – with Carl Streed, MD, MPH
Contact Directory
- Assistant Director of Training and Education, BU AHA SURE: Teresa Acosta, tacosta@bu.edu
- Associate Provost for Faculty Development, Boston University Medical Campus
Vice Chair, Faculty Development and Diversity, Dept. of Medicine, Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology, Boston University Schools of Medicine and Public Health: Emelia J. Benjamin, MD, ScM emelia@bu.edu
BU intends that its facilities, programming, and academic offerings will be accessible, inclusive, and diverse. Your experience in this event is important to us. If you require communication access services for the deaf or hard of hearing or require an accommodation for another reason, please contact Teresa Acosta (tacosta@bu.edu) to discuss your needs. Please see Event Accessibility for details on accommodations.