Diversity, Respect, and Inclusion are Vital for Excellence (DRIVE) in Research Pathway

Funding Details

Students will receive a stipend of $8,500 for 10 weeks full-time (35+ hours/week) over the summer. The stipend includes the student housing supplement.  Students may be eligible for an additional financial need-based supplement of up to $1500. 

Student Program Requirements

During the summer research experience, students are required to: 

• engage in full-time research under the guidance and supervision of the faculty mentor
• attend weekly DRIVE student seminars
• participate in student training workshops and events
• present their research project in a poster symposium at the end of the internship

Eligibility and Assessment Criteria

Stanford FLI undergraduate students who are currently enrolled in their sophomore year, have had minimal or no prior research experience, and are interested in biomedical research and working with Stanford faculty during the summer of 2026 on maternal and child health related research. Stanford FLI freshmen or juniors may also apply if they have had minimal or no prior research experience but have an interest in biomedical research opportunities in maternal child health. Students must be available for 10 weeks starting June 22, 2026 on a full-time basis.

Students will need to provide the following information in their application form:

• Contact Information
• Personal statement (300 words)
• Major (if declared) and list of undergraduate courses taken that are relevant to this opportunity
• Apply for up to 3 projects, list of projects can be found here.
• Paragraph describing their interest in the faculty mentor research project

Eligible students who are already mentored by a Stanford faculty member and a working on a maternal and child health-related project may apply to the DRIVE program to continue their research in Summer 2026. Students should list their current faculty mentor in their application. The MCHRI DRIVE team will contact faculty mentors with instructions to complete the faculty application form and submit a letter of support after the student application deadline (January 20, 2026).

*For more information, please refer to the FY26 RFA and Policy

During February 2026, student applicants will be interviewed by faculty mentors as part of the selection process. Selected students will be notified of their faculty mentor matches in March 2026.

In November 2025, MCHRI sought faculty interested in providing research and mentorship opportunities to FLI sophomore undergraduates.

Faculty mentors must be MCHRI members who hold MCL, UTL, NTL (Research) or CE positions. Applications from CE faculty are subject to approval by DRIVE leadership. All faculty mentors must be established investigators and experienced mentors who hold either extramural funding or MCHRI funding on maternal and child health-related research projects.

Student summer research projects must be relevant to maternal and child health. Please note that most students will have little or no prior experience of academic research. Summer research projects should provide opportunities for student research training and skills development.    

Faculty who are interested in participating in the DRIVE Program for Summer 2026 may either:

1. Submit a summer mentorship and research project plan to the faculty application form. The research project summary will be included in the DRIVE student project list. You will be invited to interview student applicants in February 2026, and you will be matched with a student who will join your research group for Summer Quarter 2026. The deadline for submitting a summer research project to the DRIVE student project list is November 14, 2025.
   
   
2. Be nominated by an eligible student who already works with the faculty mentor, to continue their mentored research project in Summer 2026 with the DRIVE program. The MCHRI DRIVE team will contact faculty mentors with instructions to complete the faculty application form and submit a letter of support before the student application deadline (January 20, 2026). Please note that priority will be given to students who have not had previous research opportunities.