Ted R. Lilley CURE Program
Hands-on research experiences for Portland-area high school students
The Ted R. Lilley Continuing Umbrella of Research Education (CURE) Program research internship program at the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute is supported by a generous gift from the Lilley family. This program offers hands-on research experiences to Portland-area high school students who excel academically and come from socially or economically disadvantaged backgrounds. The goal of this program is to address the issue of health equity by increasing participation of youth from underserved populations in biomedical research and other health-related fields.
What can CURE Interns expect?
- Work a maximum of 40 hours a week (including seminars) for 8 weeks in a lab with a Knight Cancer Institute faculty member
- A stipend (approximately $11 an hour/40 hours a week) and a bus pass for the duration of the program
- Attend weekly seminars, as well as adhere to faculty mentor expectations and curriculum
- Participate in a poster presentation attended by the lab employees, directors, and other staff of the Knight Cancer Institute
Internship dates
The eight-week CURE Research Program is scheduled for Monday, June 23, 2025, through Friday, August 15, 2025. Interns will work a maximum of 40 hours per week (including weekly seminars).
What do I need to do to apply?
Applications for the 2025 Ted R. Lilley CURE Program are closed.
If you have questions or need more information, email the Ted R. Lilley CURE Program at the Knight Cancer Institute ([email protected]) or call 503-260-9050.
Use the checklist below to prepare your application submission:
- List of biology and chemistry courses taken. Include grades received for each.
- High school transcript. Unofficial transcripts are accepted for the application process. You will upload a PDF of your most recent transcript. If you are selected as a CURE Intern, your admission to the program will be pending until an official transcript is received. This file must be in PDF or JPEG form.
- Resume. Include volunteer experience, extracurricular activities, community service, and work history. This file must be submitted in PDF or Word format.
- Essay. Include your career goals, extracurricular activities, intellectual interests, future educational plans, and the reason you would like to participate in this program. Share any obstacles or challenges you have overcome and explain how this internship would further enhance your goals. Describe your areas of research interest and, if applicable, any research you have done. This file must be submitted in PDF or Word format.
- Two letters of recommendation. One of the letters must be from a high school science teacher. The second recommendation can be from a community leader, teacher, coach, counselor, etc. These files must be submitted in PDF or Word format.
If you have questions or need more information, email the Ted R Lilley CURE Program at the Knight Cancer Institute ([email protected]) or call 503-260-9050.
Frequently asked questions
- Students who are sophomores, juniors or seniors from Oregon high schools (preference for selection is given to students with 2 years of high school remaining and those who attend public schools in the Portland Metro area)
- Students from socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds (as defined below)
- Must be 16 or older when the program begins in June
- Must have a 3.0 GPA or higher
- Must have taken at least one lab science class, preferably biology and have an interest in research
- Economically disadvantaged is defined as individuals who come from a low-income family, using low-income levels as specified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
- Socially disadvantaged means students coming from an environment that may limit them from obtaining knowledge, skills or abilities in pursuit of education in a health field. This includes, but is not restricted to, students whose parents did not attend or complete college; and/or students being reared by a single or divorced parent.
We expect to notify all applicants in February.
In compliance with Oregon law, OHSU’s COVID-19 Immunization and Education policy went into effect Oct. 18, 2021. Visitors and volunteers who have an in-person assignment must be fully vaccinated (14 days after last dose). Exception requests from visitors and volunteers will not be accepted. Please be prepared to provide proof of vaccination or to receive a COVID-19 vaccination as a requirement for onboarding for your in-person assignment at OHSU. You will not be allowed to participate within OHSU if you are not compliant with this policy.
Contact us
For more information:
Ted R. Lilley CURE Program intern Faith Isbor presents her research project at the poster symposium in the Knight Cancer Research Building, 2022
“My brother had acute lymphoblastic leukemia. When he passed away I was dumbfounded that not a single treatment was capable of curing a common cancer," says 2018 CURE Program intern Guadalupe. "I questioned everything and it made me want to know why this type of cancer couldn’t be cured in him when the treatment had cured others. It sparked my interest in cancer research.”