Additional information
- Working directly with faculty on research shows focus and benefits students on their graduate school applications.
• This is a full-time program where students have protected time to gain research skills in their area of science.
• Students will be hired and earn up to $6,000 for participation in the program and an additional $500 in travel reimbursement for attending and presenting at scientific conferences.
• The program sometimes allows Scholars to participate in a GRE preparatory course.
• The core curriculum encompasses professional development skills and the tools necessary to succeed in a graduate program.
• The program includes additional components for academic development, such as a journal club, near-peer experiences, a guest lecture series, and experience presenting research at the annual SPROUT symposium.
- Please contact Dr. Morland at kmorlan@calstatela.edu should you need any assistance about the program.
SPROUT Program Directors
Dr. Kimberly Morland
Dr. Morland is an epidemiologist who has focused her career on environmental factors that affect human health for the past twenty years. She is recognized nationally and internationally as a leader in food environment research and recently published the second edition of her textbook, Local Food Environments: Food Access in America. She teaches undergraduate and graduate research courses at Cal State LA in the Department of Public Health and the School of Kinesiology and Nutritional Sciences. She has been the principal investigator of numerous research proposals funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She has included student participation in her research projects, which provides opportunities for hands-on research experiences. Over fifty mentored students have gained experience collecting and analyzing data, presenting findings at local and national conferences, and authoring manuscripts.
Dr. Stefan Keslacy
Dr. Stefan Keslacy obtained his Ph.D. in Physiology at the School of Medicine in Montpellier, France. After a post-doctoral position at the University of Pennsylvania in the pulmonary division, he became a faculty member at Syracuse University in the exercise science department. Since 2014, he has served as an Associate Professor at Cal State LA in the Kinesiology department, specializing in exercise physiology and pathophysiology. With a focus on rehabilitation and spinal cord injury, Dr. Keslacy has led groundbreaking research projects, including the DREAM initiative, evaluating training's impact on cardio-metabolic factors for wheelchair users. His work extends to basic mechanistic studies on aging and Alzheimer's, exploring the interplay between inflammation, exercise, and brain biomarkers. He spearheads research on Brain fitness and exercise, investigating the synergistic effects of virtual reality and physical activity on brain oxygenation and cerebral blood flow. Dr. Keslacy's endeavors have involved over 100 undergraduates and 15 graduate students since he started to work at Cal State LA. Beyond academia, he is a Judo coach at Tenri LA Judo in Boyle Heights, balancing his professional and family life and the joys of raising three active boys.