"Over My Summer Vacation, I Helped Cure Cancer"

The Foundation’s award-winning Educational Scholarship Program (ESP) offers college and high school students a chance to participate in world-class scientific research. The program’s goal is to stimulate students’ interest in a career in science, medicine, or technology.

In the unique summer internship, outstanding students with an interest in the health professions or science work in the Foundation’s state-of-the-art laboratory doing real research alongside PhD-level scientists.

ESP students actively take part in the Foundation’s high-profile cancer research. Their work is challenging and important. Stehlin interns may contribute to a pioneering cancer treatment, or help develop a new drug that proves effective against the disease.

Interns are paid for their work, with the understanding that the funds will be used for educational expenses. The program is very competitive: on average, seven students are selected for the program annually.

Visit the program’s Eligibility and Guidelines page for more information.

Participants have come to the program from such prestigious universities as Alabama, Baylor, Boston College, Brown, De Paul, Duke, Emory, Harvard, Hollins College, Houston, Justus Liebig (Germany), Loyola, LSU, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Princeton, Rhodes College, Rice, SMU, St. Thomas, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Trinity, Tulane, UCLA, USC, and Washington.

ESP high school interns have represented a number of Houston-area schools including Bellaire, Clear Creek, Clements, Cypress Fairbanks, Cypress Falls, Dulles, Kinkaid, Kempner, Kingwood, Lamar, Memorial, St. Agnes, St. John’s, South Houston, Spring Woods, Strake Jesuit, Stratford, Westbury, and Yates.

Beginning in 2011, ESP interns included two students designated “Royer Scholars.” These new permanently-endowed annual internships were made possible by a generous contribution from CHRISTUS Health to honor the valued service of CEO Emeritus Dr. Tom Royer and his wife Jane.