Educational ActivitiesBRAINYACNCT04728022
Brain Research Apprenticeships in New York at Columbia
A study testing Education program in people with Educational Activities, run by Columbia University at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The objective of the BRAINYAC program is to prepare high school students for, and deliver, the experience of working in a neuroscience research laboratory over a summer. Our program goals are to prepare local students from Upper Manhattan and the South Bronx with the skills necessary to enter a working research… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 15 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Educational Activities
- What is being tested?
- Education program
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 180 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 30 Dec 2020to Aug 2026
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 15 years and older
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- All students and mentors in the program will be invited to enroll
Who cannot join
- None
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
United States1 site, 1 recruiting
- Recruiting
Zuckerman Institute, Columbia University
New York, New York, 10027
Daphna Shohamy, PhD, ds2619@columbia.edu
About this study
Official title: Brain Research Apprenticeships in New York at Columbia (BRAINYAC)
The objective of the BRAINYAC program is to prepare high school students for, and deliver, the experience of working in a neuroscience research laboratory over a summer. Our program goals are to prepare local students from Upper Manhattan and the South Bronx with the skills necessary to enter a working research laboratory over a period of 8 months, and support them in learning key laboratory skills and communicating them to an audience.Our hypothesis is that students' self-reports of scientific effectiveness and science identity will improve over the course of the 8-month long program. Self-reported efficacy measures predict academic performance in science, so an improvement in these self-report measures may indicate a higher likelihood to succeed in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) studies or careers. Likewise, science identity has a positive impact on a student's likelihood of entering a science career, particularly in populations that are under-represented in science.Over a 4-year period we will track students' self-reports of (1) scientific efficacy, including their level of confidence in scientific writing, oral presentation, library and literature search, conducting research and general academic skills, and (2) science identity. We will adopt a mixed-methods approach combining survey data with focus groups and interviews to present a full picture of these changes. We also propose to track students after they leave the program, to measure whether the changes in scientific self-efficacy translate into STEM studies at the level of higher education or career choices. We will also obtain data from scientific mentors in the program to inform us whether we are adequately supporting them in providing the students with training.
Read the detailed description
This study will utilize a mixed methodological approach integrating quantitative and qualitative data elements. It will employ a one-group, pretest-posttest research design, in order to allow us to determine the effect of participation in the BRAINYAC program (i.e., the intervention) on participating students' STEM development (i.e., efficacy and identity). The study will also include retrospective individual and focus group interviews in order to obtain a fuller understanding of the concepts under study (e.g., scientific identity, readiness to pursue science, etc.) from the students' point of reference. To the extent possible, the study will incorporate a longitudinal analysis in order to examine how program participation affects students' academic and career decisions in their final high school and postsecondary years through retrospective surveys of alumni participants. In addition to assessing program impact, the research design will include an evaluation component to examine program implementation. Through an examination of program documentation (e.g., student attendance, descriptions of activities) and retrospective surveys of participants (i.e., students and mentors) this component will determine the extent to which the program was implemented as proposed. It will provide valuable information connecting program elements to observed outcomes and can be used to make modifications to the research and/or program designs, as needed.
- Conditions
- Educational Activities
- Being tested
- Education program
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Education programBehavioural
Mentored high school summer research program
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Students | Experimental | Education program Receives: Behavioral: Education program |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Self-report of scientific effectiveness
Change in Likert score
Measured: 8 months
Self-report of scientific identity
Change in Likert score
Measured: 8 months
Likelihood of studying science in college or going on to a science career
Change in Likert score
Measured: 4 years
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted28 Jan 2021
- Study start30 Dec 2020
- Primary completionAug 2026 (estimated)
- Study completionAug 2026 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Educational ActivitiesStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Columbia UniversityThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Model description
- All students in the study will be in the same group, as it is a pre-post measurement based on a summer mentored high school program. Findings will be supplemented with focus groups and interviews.
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 180 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Columbia University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Daphna Shohamy, PhD, Columbia University
- Investigators
- Daphna Shohamy, PhD, Principal investigator, Columbia University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT04728022
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- AAAT4760
- Other IDs
- 1R25NS115551-01, 2R25NS115551-06
- Acronym
- BRAINYAC
- Status last verified
- Feb 2026
- First submitted
- 21 Jan 2021
- Last updated
- 20 Feb 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 20 Feb 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Brain Research Apprenticeships in New York at Columbia (BRAINYAC)
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT04728022
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- BRAINYAC / AAAT4760
- Conditions
- Educational Activities
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Enrolment
- 180 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Columbia UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
- Study start
- 30 Dec 2020 (actual)
- Primary completion
- Aug 2026 (estimated)
- Study completion
- Aug 2026 (estimated)
- First posted
- 28 Jan 2021 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The objective of the BRAINYAC program is to prepare high school students for, and deliver, the experience of working in a neuroscience research laboratory over a summer. Our program goals are to prepare local students from Upper Manhattan and the South Bronx with the skills necessary to enter a working research laboratory over a period of 8 months, and support them in learning key laboratory skills and communicating them to an audience.Our hypothesis is that students' self-reports of scientific effectiveness and science identity will improve over the course of the 8-month long program. Self-reported efficacy measures predict academic performance in science, so an improvement in these self-report measures may indicate a higher likelihood to succeed in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) studies or careers. Likewise, science identity has a positive impact on a student's likelihood of entering a science career, particularly in populations that are under-represented in science.Over a 4-year period we will track students' self-reports of (1) scientific efficacy, including their level of confidence in scientific writing, oral presentation, library and literature search, conducting research and general academic skills, and (2) science identity. We will adopt a mixed-methods approach combining survey data with focus groups and interviews to present a full picture of these changes. We also propose to track students after they leave the program, to measure whether the changes in scientific self-efficacy translate into STEM studies at the level of higher education or career choices. We will also obtain data from scientific mentors in the program to inform us whether we are adequately supporting them in providing the students with training.
Detailed description
This study will utilize a mixed methodological approach integrating quantitative and qualitative data elements. It will employ a one-group, pretest-posttest research design, in order to allow us to determine the effect of participation in the BRAINYAC program (i.e., the intervention) on participating students' STEM development (i.e., efficacy and identity). The study will also include retrospective individual and focus group interviews in order to obtain a fuller understanding of the concepts under study (e.g., scientific identity, readiness to pursue science, etc.) from the students' point of reference. To the extent possible, the study will incorporate a longitudinal analysis in order to examine how program participation affects students' academic and career decisions in their final high school and postsecondary years through retrospective surveys of alumni participants. In addition to assessing program impact, the research design will include an evaluation component to examine program implementation. Through an examination of program documentation (e.g., student attendance, descriptions of activities) and retrospective surveys of participants (i.e., students and mentors) this component will determine the extent to which the program was implemented as proposed. It will provide valuable information connecting program elements to observed outcomes and can be used to make modifications to the research and/or program designs, as needed.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 1
- Model description
- All students in the study will be in the same group, as it is a pre-post measurement based on a summer mentored high school program. Findings will be supplemented with focus groups and interviews.
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Students | Experimental | Behavioral: Education programEducation program |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 15 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (1 listed)
- All students and mentors in the program will be invited to enroll
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- None
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Education programMentored high school summer research program | Behavioural | Students |
Primary outcome
Self-report of scientific effectiveness
Time frame: 8 months
Change in Likert score
Self-report of scientific identity
Time frame: 8 months
Change in Likert score
Likelihood of studying science in college or going on to a science career
Time frame: 4 years
Change in Likert score
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 20 Feb 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part.
Daphna Shohamy, PhD principal investigator
Columbia University
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Education program in people with Educational Activities, run by Columbia University at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 1 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: looking for participants now, as of the sponsor's last update on 20 Feb 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Contact Daphna L Shohamy, PhD (212 854 7560, ds2619@columbia.edu), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Self-report of scientific effectiveness (time frame: 8 months). The study lists 3 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 20 Feb 2026.