About Bridging the Gaps


The Keck School of Medicine’s Bridging the Gaps Summer Research Program will provide an opportunity to outstanding underrepresented students to gain meaningful exposure to the exceptional research and clinical programs at the Keck School of Medicine.

The program’s aim is to address the under-representation of minority students within medicine and the biological sciences. The ultimate goal is that the majority of these students will want to pursue their medical or graduate studies in the biological sciences at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.

Joyce-Richey-phd

“At the Keck School of Medicine, diversity means recognizing the richness of our differences and celebrating them together. We prepare students for the diverse populations they will encounter during their clinical rotations and in their future careers.”
Joyce Richey, PhD
Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion

Program Summary

Students will conduct summer research for eight weeks in the laboratories of Keck faculty who will serve as mentors. Students will be provided with both a clinical and basic science perspective. Additionally, all students will attend weekly seminars on health disparities and receive formal instruction in basic physiology and biostatistics. At the end of the summer session, students will present their research findings to the Keck community. All participants will receive a stipend, roundtrip transportation from home and university housing.

The program will serve to bridge gaps in several areas:

  1. Increase awareness regarding the roles of physician scientists and basic medical scientists.
  2. Increase the number of underrepresented minorities who are physician scientists and basic medical scientists.
  3. Increase the number of underrepresented minorities conducting research aimed at reducing health disparities.
  4. Increase the number of underrepresented minorities interested in pursuing future studies at Keck.