History

The CCIS Summer Research Program was founded with a generous donation from a local family. The program was initially part of the Center for Clinical Immunology at Stanford. The goals of the program included increasing interest in biological sciences and immunology among high school students in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, and the United States.

During the first summer, 10 high school juniors and seniors participated. In 2001, the number had increased to 20 students and remained at 20 to 25 students through the summer of 2007. Funding included Genentech, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease's Asofsky Program, FOCiS, and the generous support of private donors.

The Stanford Institute for Immunology, Transplantation and Infection (ITI) began cosponsoring the program.

The program teamed up with five Stanford Institutes that study cancer biology, stem cell biology, neuroscience, immunology and cardiovascular medicine so that students will be able to study in more areas, and so that they can share their experiences. The program was renamed the Stanford Institutes of Medicine Summer Research Program (SIMR).

The department of genetics, bioengineering, and bioinformatics joined the program, increasing the breadth of research opportunities available to participants.

A bioengineering bootcamp option was first provided in the summer of 2014. Students work in teams on a hands-on biodesign project and attend lectures on bioengineering.