Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships

Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships CURF supports Penn students & alumni interested in research and fellowship opportunities.

We help undergraduates connect with research opportunities, or help them make their own. We also support outstanding students when they apply for the major national and international graduate fellowships and scholarships

09/04/2026

Benjamin Franklin Scholar Melissa Domen (W'27) spent the summer conducting finance research with Prof. Robert Inman. Watch to see what research can look like at Wharton!

As we celebrate 25 years of the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships, we're proud to highlight the alumni w...
09/03/2026

As we celebrate 25 years of the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships, we're proud to highlight the alumni whose journeys reflect the lasting impact of undergraduate research and fellowship advising at Penn.

Shreya Parchure (ENG '21) earned both a B.S.E. and M.S.E. in Bioengineering at Penn and was named a Goldwater Scholar. She continued at Penn in the M.D.-Ph.D. program, pursuing doctoral research in Bioengineering under Dr. Roy Hamilton. Her research brings together structural MRI, machine learning, neurolinguistics, and non-invasive neuromodulation to advance recovery for people with aphasia following stroke. Her work has resulted in several first-author publications and presentations at international conferences, and in 2026, she successfully defended her dissertation and received the Robert M. Toll Prize.

Now completing the final two years of medical school, Shreya is preparing for a career in neurology or a related field, where she hopes to combine patient care with translational research. Reflecting on her journey, Shreya credits CURF's mentorship, research funding, and fellowship support with helping her envision a career that brings those two passions together.

Finding a good fit mentor is an important step in your undergraduate research journey. Join us on Wednesday, September 9...
09/02/2026

Finding a good fit mentor is an important step in your undergraduate research journey. Join us on Wednesday, September 9, from 4:00-5:00pm in ARCH 108 to learn about how CURF can help you identify, contact, and connect with potential faculty mentors!

Click the link in our bio to see more upcoming events.

The Undergraduate Life Sciences Journal Club's first meeting of the semester will be on Wednesday, September 2, from 6:0...
09/01/2026

The Undergraduate Life Sciences Journal Club's first meeting of the semester will be on Wednesday, September 2, from 6:00-6:45pm in Holman Biotech Commons. All are welcome. Join the Slack at the link in our bio and follow them

As we celebrate 25 years of the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships, we're looking back at the milestones ...
08/31/2026

As we celebrate 25 years of the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships, we're looking back at the milestones that shaped CURF—and the generations of Penn students whose paths it has helped launch.

Founded in 2001 and initially housed within the Arts, Research, and Culture House (ARCH), CURF began with a mission to expand opportunities for undergraduate research and nationally competitive fellowships at Penn. Twenty-five years later, it has grown into a campus-wide hub for undergraduate research, scholars programs, and fellowship advising, connecting students with mentors, funding transformative experiences, and supporting Penn students and alumni as they pursue opportunities around the globe.

CURF's impact was evident from the very beginning. In its inaugural year, Amanda Codd (COL '01) and Bart Szewczyk (WH '01) became Penn's first Gates Cambridge Scholars. Lipika Goyal (COL '01) earned Penn's first Rhodes Scholarship in a decade, while Ari Alexander (COL '01) received a Marshall Scholarship—the first time since 1983 that Penn students had earned both a Rhodes and a Marshall Scholarship in the same year.

Twenty-five years later, and now located in College Hall, CURF continues to help Penn students turn curiosity into discovery, ideas into research, and ambition into opportunity.

08/27/2026

Research Peer Advisor Nicole Chung (C'27) received a Pincus-Magaziner Family Undergraduate Research and Travel Fund grant this summer to continue her research at the McCormack lab, a neuroendocrinology lab at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. She is working on developing a multivariate regression model that predicts exercise performance in patients with Friedreich’s ataxia (FA), a rare neurodegenerative disease.

The Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships is hiring friendly, creative student workers for Fall 2026! Applic...
08/25/2026

The Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships is hiring friendly, creative student workers for Fall 2026! Applicants should be undergraduates who are eligible for a work-study grant and have roughly 8-12 hours of regular availability per week from 9:00am to 5:00pm, Monday through Friday.

Apply now on Workday or at the link in our bio! Please attach your resume, cover letter, and a few examples of past design work to your application.

08/21/2026

Marie Dillard (C'28) is doing independent humanities research this summer, funded by a College Alumni Society Undergraduate Research Grant and Benjamin Franklin Scholars Summer Research Grant. Follow along as she spends the day at the Library of Virginia taking full advantage of all the resources they have to offer. Her project examines in*******al kinship, property, and Black family life in postbellum Rappahannock County, Virginia, advised by Dr. William Sturkey. In the library, she works through 19th- and early 20th-century court records, piecing together what life was like at the time. Her mom drove down with her for this trip and spent the day next to her doing her own research!

Incoming first-year students are invited to CURF’s annual NSO Preceptorial: How to Get Started in Research & Fellowships...
08/20/2026

Incoming first-year students are invited to CURF’s annual NSO Preceptorial: How to Get Started in Research & Fellowships!

Join CURF staff and Research Peer Advisors to learn how you can:
- Connect and engage with faculty
- Get started in research
- Find funding for research or social impact projects
- Explore and apply for fellowships

No experience needed—this is your chance to learn what opportunities are available and how to get started from day one.

📅 Saturday, August 22, 2026
⏰ 10:00–11:30 AM
📍 Meyerson Hall, Room B1

Come with questions. Leave knowing your next steps. Register at the link in our bio!

08/19/2026

Sandra Lin (C'27) received a grant from the Pincus-Magaziner Family Undergraduate Research Fund to conduct research at the Monell Chemical Senses Center this summer. Under the mentorship of Dr. Kevin Bolding, she is studying the neuroscience of smell using animal models. Sandra says, "The precision and attentiveness demanded by lab work, especially in a sensitive task like handling specimens, are abilities that are desirable in any field."

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