The room was buzzing. Slides clicked forward. A yeast cell diagram here, a clam DNA sequence there. Eight interns, each at the podium for just 15 -20 minutes, stood before their mentors, peers, and PNRI scientists sharing the projects they had spent the summer pouring themselves into.
For some, it was their first time presenting original research. For others, it was the moment their summer’s work finally crystallized into a story they could tell: how they built a computational pipeline from scratch, trekked across muddy tide flats to collect water samples, or uncovered genetic clues hidden in rare disease datasets.
This was presentation day for PNRI’s 2025 Summer Undergraduate Research Internship (SURI) cohort — the culmination of nine weeks of hands-on research, problem-solving, and discovery.
Of course, the slides only showed part of the picture. Behind them were hours of experiments, new skills learned, plenty of questions asked, and the kind of mentorship that helps young scientists find their footing. Each of the interns brought their own curiosity and energy to PNRI, and left with experiences that will shape where they go next.
Here’s a closer look at their projects and what they’ll take away from their summer at PNRI.
