Amgen Scholars Program

Made possible through a 12-year, $50 million commitment from the Amgen Foundation, Amgen Scholars allows undergraduates from across the globe to participate in cutting-edge research opportunities at world-class institutions. 17 leading institutions across the U.S., Europe and Japan currently host the summer program.

Undergraduate participants benefit from undertaking a research project under top faculty, being part of a cohort-based experience of seminars and networking events, and taking part in a symposium in their respective region (U.S., Europe or Japan) where they meet their peers, learn about biotechnology, and hear from leading scientists.

Learn more by visiting amgenscholars.com and following the #AmgenScholars hashtag on Twitter. 

Videos from this campaign

Content from this campaign

Education

Finding Community Beyond Borders in Science
This summer, I was an Amgen Scholar at the National Institutes of Health. I was working at the National Cancer Institute in Dr. Suresh Ambudkar’s lab. The focus of the lab is on p-glycoprotein, which is a membrane protein on all cells capable of pumping out many different substrates from inside the cell. In cancer cells, this protein is over-expressed, meaning there are a lot more on the cell. This causes problems for cancer patients because this protein often will pump out anti-cancer drugs from the cell, making the cells resistant to treatment. My project with p-glycoprotein involved identifying more molecules that are able to be pumped out by the protein, as there are very many known, but new ones are being found frequently.

Education

A Journey From West Philadelphia to Cambridge in Pursuit of Understanding the Human Brain
Ask Ivan Simpson-Kent who his early idols were and he would give a surprising response: criminals. This is despite growing up in a dangerous neighborhood in West Philadelphia, where he lived across from drug dealers, often heard gunshots at night, and nearly daily stories of people, mostly youth, getting murdered. “I perceived these criminals as invincible outlaws going against the limits society had placed upon them,” he says.

Education

Meet Amgen Scholars Alumni Joel Orlando Hernández Ramos
Ever since I was a little kid I was interested in science and thought of becoming a scientist. However, it wasn’t until high school that I realized what biotechnology is and that I wanted to major in that field. I became interested by attending a college talk at my current university about all the majors they offer. Ever since that moment, I started seeking extracurricular courses to learn more about biotechnology and to start gaining knowledge about it.

Education

Inspiring Islanders: Crossing an Ocean to Pursue Biotechnology
At the U.S. Amgen Scholars symposium at UCLA in July, an unexpected reunion occurred. When Janielle Cuala took the stage to explain her summer research at Caltech, Kristina Folta couldn’t believe her eyes: It was a friend of hers from Guam with whom she played rugby. “I was so excited to see someone else coming out of Guam and entering the STEM field,” Folta recalls.

Education

Cool Labs From Amgen Scholars: All About the New Experiences
In this video, Amgen Scholars at the U.S. symposium at the University of California, Los Angeles, and at the Europe symposium at the University of Cambridge talk about the many and varied new experiences they had with the program.

Education

Cool Labs From Amgen Scholars: All About the New Science
We asked Amgen Scholars attending the U.S. symposium at the University of California, Los Angeles, and at the Europe symposium at the University of Cambridge to tell us something cool about their labs this summer. In this video, the scholars answered: the science.

Education

Cool Labs From Amgen Scholars: All About the People
We asked Amgen Scholars attending the U.S. symposium at the University of California, Los Angeles, and at the Europe symposium at the University of Cambridge to tell us something cool about their labs this summer. In this video, the scholars answered: the people.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Amgen Foundation Deepens Commitment To Aspiring Scientists Worldwide By Expanding Amgen Scholars Program
The Amgen Foundation today announced the expansion of the Amgen Scholars Program, a hands-on research program that allows undergraduates to spend a summer at one of many of the world’s premier research institutions. The new four-year, $21 million commitment brings the program to a total of 24 elite institutions across the U.S., Europe, Asia and, for the first time, Australia and Canada. Over the next four years an additional 1,500 undergraduates from hundreds of colleges and universities will have the chance to engage in research opportunities in biomedical and biotechnology fields.

Health & Healthcare

Big Impact in Bio: Innovating to Save Lives
In this video, Amgen Scholars alumni tell their #BigImpactinBio stories, focusing on how to innovate in biotechnology in order to improve and save people’s lives. Marvin Gee (ASP 2011, California Institute of Technology) is co-founder of 3T Biosciences; Ailon Haileyesus (ASP 2015, Harvard University) is a development engineer at K2M, Inc; and Joshua Yang (ASP 2013, University of California, San Diego) is co-founder of Helispot and an M.D./Ph.D. student at Johns Hopkins University.

Since 2006, the Amgen Scholars Program has provided hands-on research opportunities under world-renowned faculty mentors to over 3,500 undergraduate students. 94 percent of the program’s alumni who have completed their bachelor's degree are currently pursuing an advanced degree or career in a scientific field.

Education

Amgen Scholars Program in Singapore
The Amgen Scholars Program provides young scientists across the globe access and opportunity through cutting-edge research experiences and exposure to biotechnology and drug discovery. In this video, Singapore Amgen Scholar, Su Chang Chloe shares her story about participating in the program at Kyoto University, Japan and the opportunities for independent research, networking, and communication skills.

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