Becoming a Yellowjacket: Turning a Summer Neuroscience Experience into a Degree

“No matter how good your high school science classes are, they cannot teach you what scientific research is really like,” Dana Boebinger, PhD, postdoctoral fellow and a bench mentor in the NEURO-RocHS high school pathway program, said. “Opportunities like NEURO-RocHS allow students to experience the excitement and challenges inherent to basic research, which is hugely informative as they begin to make decisions about what careers they might pursue during college.”

Journey to URochester

Rochester native James Pichardo grew up minutes from the campus and is now a freshman at URochester. Majoring in psychology, on a pre-med track, Pichardo is coming on a full ride after graduating as the valedictorian from Padilla High School in the Rochester City School District (RCSD).

Jacayla Stewart, a graduate of East High School in RCSD, also entered her freshman year at the University as a history and biology major. She spent her time in NEURO-RocHS working in the lab of Martina Poletti, PhD, studying retinal changes in Schizophrenia.

“I am extremely proud of all our students, especially James and Jacayla,” Emily Murphy, MS, research specialist and co-leader of NEURO-RocHS. “Our program would not be possible without the unwavering support of the dedicated teachers and administrators in the RCSD, including Mariel Spano, Jodi Cook, and Laura Delehanty at East High School, as well as Leslie Grant at Padilla High School. Working closely with these educators has given me a profound appreciation for all high school teachers, especially those in the RCSD.”

Jacayla Stewart, East High School

Mentor: Martina Poletti, PhD

Poster Title: OCT Insights: Retinal Changes in Schizophrenia

James Pichardo, Padilla High School

Mentor: Samuel Norman-Haignere, PhD

Poster Title: The Encoding of Naturalistic Music in the Human Auditory Cortex

Pichardo first came to URochester the summer after his sophomore year to study optics as part of the Upward Bound STEM-ternship program. The following summer, in 2025, he was one of seven high school students accepted into the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience Commission’s NEURO-RocHS program. He worked in the lab of Samuel Norman-Haignere, PhD, with Boebinger, as his bench mentor.

“The experience in general was amazing, and I'm both happy and proud to have been able to attend this program,” said Pichardo. “Dr. Boebinger was instrumental in the entire experience. Just her character alone outside the lab was bright, and in the lab, she was a well of knowledge and really put in effort to help me understand many things I will likely find useful in the future at URochester.”

“As someone without a ton of formal one-on-one mentoring experience, serving as a mentor for the Neuro-RocHS program was an eye-opening experience,” said Boebinger. “James was a wonderful summer trainee. He demonstrated a genuine enthusiasm for neuroscience and for learning about the research process, particularly as it relates to understanding the human mind and behavior.”

Since 2021, 34 students from East High and Padilla High School in the RCSD, and three Rochester Brain Bee winners, have attended the program. Many have gone on to graduate from high school and pursue degrees*.

Access to the Scientific Community

The intensive lab experience is just the beginning for these students. Following their summer experience, they head to the world's largest neuroscience conference, hosted by the Society for Neuroscience (SfN). It brings together tens of thousands of researchers and trainees. “The SfN experience was mesmerizing,” said Pichardo. “I think getting to see hundreds of posters of people who have spent weeks or months of their lives advancing the field of neuroscience left a deep feeling of both amazement and sonder.”

The breadth of exposure to a researcher’s day-to-day and life may have been the most impactful part of the experience for Pichardo, who says the self-reflection he had following his NEURO-RocHS experience had a lasting impact. “I became interested in science almost entirely because I seek to have a deeper understanding of the world,” said Pichardo. “I just want to learn more and more about how everything works. Getting to learn more in general is something I love to do, and when it comes to science, there is no limit to how much you can learn.”