About the CUBE Program
"Without the CUBE program, I may have never fully realized my passion for biostatistics, because it’s not a field that is easily understood with online research."
-Kayla Williams, CUBE 2022 intern & current MS Candidate in Biostatistics at Drexel University
To learn more about Kayla's experience and her advice to undergraduates looking to pursue a career in biostatistics, visit our CUBE News page to read the full article.
The Collaborative Undergraduate Biostatistics Experience (CUBE) is an 8-week training program designed to give motivated undergraduate students in STEM who come from underrepresented or minoritized backgrounds the opportunity to engage in a full-time collaborative data science experience, along with related professional development activities. CUBE is aimed at promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the STEM fields. The CUBE program is built on the following four pillars: 1) training in introductory biostatistics; 2) training in R programming; 3) professional development (PD); and 4) a collaborative research project addressing research questions in various disciplines.
The goal is to offer students an experience working with a real-world dataset under the mentorship of experienced collaborative data scientists, as well as clinical experts, to help them determine if they want to pursue a career in collaborative applied data science, while they develop skills for the workforce or graduate school.
The program includes weekly research and professional development seminars, periodic social events, and a final symposium during which students will present their research. Students will be hosted at either Virginia Tech or University of Virginia during Summer 2024, and will be compensated $4,800 for their participation in the program.* Housing and social outings will also be provided. Students will be responsible for food/meals and roundtrip travel to and from their assigned site.
Media coverage of the CUBE program delivered in summers 2022 and 2023 is provided on our CUBE News Page.
CUBE 2024 is currently funded by the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) NIDA/NIAAA institutes under award number 1R25DA058482-01, AbbVie, as well as by Virginia Tech’s College of Science.
*Payment is taxable income to participating students who are current US Citizens or have a working visa within the US. Please review IRS publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education for additional information.