Stanford CARE Scholars

About Our Program

The CARE Scholars Program is a one-year immersive research program focused on training the next generation of leaders in precision Asian health research, anchored by a nine-week summer research immersion in data science for vulnerable populations. This exceptional online program leverages the unique aspects of Stanford’s world-class research, technology, and medical infrastructure to train Scholars to become superb population science researchers.

By the end of the program, Scholars will utilize tools to conduct large database analysis, understand core concepts in health care research, and identify problems/solutions in vulnerable populations. In addition, Scholars will effectively engage with technologists, entrepreneurs, non-profits, and population science researchers.

Throughout the summer, Scholars will participate with Stanford faculty and visiting faculty in ongoing seminars around: Asian health, medical technology, AI, medical research, vulnerable populations, global health, essentials of research, innovation and leadership, scholarship and presentation, and career goals.

The course content aims to facilitate student career development and professional success. We place extra emphasis on mentorship, wellness, and personal career development to ensure that our students have a fulfilling experience that prepares them for careers as Scholars in medicine and research. Our students will build connections with Stanford CARE's global network of thought leaders and professionals, and with each other. 

For more information, see our FAQ below.

Join us for Stanford CARE's Summer Research Symposium

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• About Our Program
• Meet Our Team
  • Core Faculty
  • Program Administrators
  • Mentors
• FAQ
• Scholar Alumni
• Presentations and Publications

Meet Our Team

Core Faculty

Program Administrators

CARE Scholars Research Mentors

CARE Scholars Alumni

Current Presentations and Publications

FAQ

What is the Program Timeline?

From April to June, Scholars will participate in weekly pre-program Innovation Seminars. Beginning in June,  Scholars will participate in a 2-week intensive boot camp to learn research fundamentals. During the summer, followed by 9-week research immersion, Scholars will work on two research projects – a large database research focused on precision medicine (in-seminar), and specific mentored research projects with individual faculty (out of seminar).  All projects will be mentored by leading Stanford CARE faculty. At the end of the program, Scholars will present their work at the CARE Summer Research Symposium, and then work on publishing their results in academic journals over the next six months. Most students are predicted to submit 1-2 manuscripts for publication to a peer reviewed journal. In addition, Scholars may publish additional manuscripts with Stanford Faculty around other projects. 

Will the entire CARE Scholars program be virtual, including the 9-week summer immersion?

Stanford CARE Scholars is entirely conducted virtually, via Zoom.  While we love in-person education, during the pandemic we found that we could build an amazing community virtually, and also help our Scholars achieve their professional goals.  Keeping Stanford CARE Scholars virtual helps us ensure that we keep costs low (the cost of living in the Bay Area is among the highest in the United States) and recruit the most diverse student teams from all over the world.  We have had student teams that consist of Scholars from all over the world, spanning multiple time zones. We are committed to interacting with our Scholars personally, daily, throughout our Summer Research Immersion.

Since this is a year-long program, will we still be able to take courses at our university during the academic year?

Absolutely! While the Summer Research Immersion is a full-time commitment for the 9 weeks over the summer, the year-long component is very flexible, and requires a lower time commitment.  Before the research immersion, the 2-month Innovation Seminars are weekly 2 hour meetings to help Scholars get to know each other and also broaden perspectives in healthcare with phenomenal healthcare innovators.  The homework assignments are limited, and focused on team-building.  Most of our Scholars are still full-time university students at the end of the program.  After the Summer Research Immersion, Scholar’s work over the academic year is bring their work to the public – through presentations at regional/national meetings and getting their manuscripts into print, with their faculty and fellow mentors.  We want you to publish your work, to make your work useful and accessible to the large community – and to create change through thoughtful research. 

Please tell me more about the topics of the research projects that Scholars will cover.

We always offer a variety of subject areas within health and medicine.  Each year, our specific research topics vary, since we want to answer important questions addressing important gaps in disparities in Asian health.  Topics vary depending on what has recently been published, and what additional important research questions we need to answer.  Healthcare research is dynamic, and the topics, research questions and datasets will vary. Some data sets that we have previously used include: mortality and natality data from the National Center for Health Statistics, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the National Health Interview Survey, among others.

Can Scholars choose their interested area/topics?

We try to prioritize student interest in our construction of the research teams.  For that reason, once Scholars are accepted and enrolled into the program, they complete an interest form that ranks the potential available topics for the summer.   These topics might vary from the time of the survey to the summer research immersion – depending on the state of the field and available datasets.  We almost always have Scholars placed within one of their top three options.  Additionally, since Scholars work in teams on 2 projects, Scholar will have twice the opportunity to work on projects about which they are passionate.

What are the Scholar Expectations?

Our program emphasizes Scholars’ growth as researchers and leaders, with a focus on career development and broadening perspectives around health care, innovation, AAHNPI and global health.  We hope to create deep, lasting mentoring relationships between Scholars and Stanford CARE and Stanford CARE Global Faculty.  

Science is meaningful only when it is shared and can impact practice.  As such, Stanford CARE Scholars are expected to write and submit 2 high quality manuscripts for publication within a year, and to work on revisions until the manuscripts are published (which usually takes 12-18 months).   Additionally, Scholars are expected to present their research at regional and national meetings in advance of publication.  

A major goal of our program is to help our young Scholars develop their emerging professional identity as leaders and researchers. Professionals are expected to behave in an ethical, responsible manner, to show up, to be on time, and to be collaborative.  Our “Scholar Expectations and Authorship” policy honors the work of contributing team members and ensures that program sponsored research maintains the academic integrity reflective of Stanford University and the Stanford Center for Asian Health Research and Education. 

See “Scholar Expectations and Authorship” policy

It says, "Program is the equivalent of 8 college credits” What does this mean?

The Stanford CARE Scholars program is the equivalent of 8-12 college credits.   We priced the program at 3-4 Stanford credits, to keep it as affordable as possible for potential Scholars.   After the bootcamp (40 hours per week for 2 week), the formal curricula is 20 hours per week, plus additional time for conducting research (another 15-20 hrs per week).  Through Stanford CARE and the School of Medicine, we offer a formal Stanford CARE Scholars certificate of completion, as well as many other non-credit perks that come with working with our Stanford and Global Faculty.

Is the application process very competitive?

Due to the small size of the program (we only accept around 18-24 Scholars per cycle), Stanford CARE Scholars is a fairly competitive program. Considering this however, we prioritize diverse teams with a variety of skill sets.  We balance the research team with people with quantitative (stats/programming) backgrounds and non-quant backgrounds.  and programming experience is always helpful to the Scholar, since the program is very intense, but not a requirement by any means. We recruit both quantitative and qualitative students to our program.   After acceptance, Scholars will complete pre-requisites prior to the Summer Research Immersion to ensure that they are ready for the program. 

How can we succeed in the application process?

Let us know why you care about Asian health and/or Global Health.  What do you want to do with your career (or your best guess at this life stage)?  Why do you want to spend your time with us?  What have you done that shows us that you would be a great teammate, a quick learner, and can follow through?  Be specific.  We always appreciate seeing a thoughtful application with a clear purpose and signal that you are reliable, excellent collaborator.  Prior research experience is helpful, but not required. 

The precision medicine skills that you learn will be useful most fields of healthcare and medicine.   We want you to be part of the Stanford CARE family.  We care deeply about our learners, and want to mentor them.  We want to invest in you, and to help you succeed.  Show us who you are, why you care about Asian and/or Global Health.  Join us at Stanford CARE Scholars!

Are any scholarships available?

We cannot guarantee a scholarship subsidy for any CARE Scholar.  At times, we have had partial scholarships from private donors, institutions, or academic centers. However, these scholarships are generally not known in advance, and are reserved for Scholars with significant demonstrated financial need (Pell grant awardees, etc).  If scholarships become available, we will advertise in an appropriate timeframe with qualification criteria. 

We have tried to make the program fees fair.  The current program fees actually only cover a fraction of our overall program cost. 

In an effort to aid those seeking financial support, we have created a resource available for university students seeking funding from their schools for programs like CARE Scholars. 

 Download Funding Support Resource Here

2023-2024 Cycle

This year we can offer limited partial scholarships to students from underrepresented backgrounds who are experiencing financial hardship.

Scholarship applications requests must be submitted separately and are contingent on acceptance into the program. 

NOTE: Our application for 2024-2025 scholarship cycle has not been posted yet. 

Pathway to Equity Scholarship: 2023-2024 Cycle

The Pathway to Equity Scholarship is an equity, diversity and inclusion scholarship from the Division of Primary Care and Population Health at Stanford Department of Medicine. This scholarship is intended for low-income students, including historically disadvantaged or underrepresented groups in medicine who may be experiencing financial hardship.

Students accepted into the CARE Scholars program who are applying for the scholarship will complete a separate application about their background, experience, and household income. Selected Scholars will featured as “Pathway to Equity” Awardees on the Stanford Department of Medicine website, etc.

Eligibility:

1. Accepted into the CARE Scholars program 
2. US or Canada Citizen or Permanent Resident 
3. Household income less than $80,000 USD
4. Students applying for this scholarship will need to communicate their passion for equity, diversity and inclusion.
5. The strongest applicants will be active in their community doing work to further equity and justice for all populations.

Note: The CARE Scholars Program and scholarship selection processes adheres to university non-discrimination policies. 

Please see university policy