2026 High School Bioinformatics Summer Camp

Class of 2026

Below is a summary of the High School Bioinformatics Summer Camp:

• Four weeks in length, running from July 6, to August 1, 2026

• After being selected to the program, students will receive a welcome email with information, including some pre-course work and administrative paperwork, by the mid of May.

• The pre-course work develops basic programming skills, and these short online courses should be completed prior to the start date of July 6, 2026.

• Participants are expected to be available for lectures, small group sessions, and seminars (all virtual).

• The camp will teach the basic skills of R coding, high performance computing via the command line, and RNA sequencing data interpretation and visualization as a project-based program analyzing various neurodegenerative disease datasets (such as Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1, ALS, Parkinson's disease, and more).

• All participants will present their completed bioinformatics research project on July 29, 2026.

• Participants are invited to present their final project in-person as a research poster at the annual RNA Institute RNA Day on August 1, 2026.

• Applications for an RNA Day travel award will be available to students that are over one hour from Albany, New York. Details will be announced during the program.

• Participants unable to present their final project on RNA Day will submit a virtual poster presentation on July 29, 2026.

• Official Certificate of Completion and Introduction to Bioinformatics Skills digital badge will be awarded based on the successful completion of the program.

• Early Application Deadline: February 1, 2026 (for reduced price)

• Application Deadline: March 31, 2026 (for full price)

• No prior experience needed!
• High school academic level only
• Must have GPA above 3.0
• Time commitment of 15-20 hours per week for four weeks
  • Includes daily lectures, daily small group sessions, weekly seminars, & independent work
• At least one-year high school biology credit
• Access to consistent high speed internet
• Students cannot be enrolled in other courses or programs during the duration of the High School Bioinformatics Summer Camp

• Accepted trainees who apply prior to the Early Application Deadline of February 1, 2026:
  • Price: $1,250.00
• Accepted trainees who apply after Early Application but prior to the final deadline of March 31, 2026:
  • Price: $1,450.00
• Payments will be required within two weeks after confirming acceptance into the High School Bioinformatics Summer Camp. Emails will be sent out starting December 2025.
• Important note: payment waivers may be available based on financial need (details in application form)

Please review the refund schedule below.

Note: This program schedule is subject to change. Last updated 6/8/2026.

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Groups, group leaders and trainees have been assigned and are posted here. Subject to change prior to the program start date.

Those interested in supporting the 2026 RNA Institute High School Bioinformatics Camp can donate the cost of tuition and sponsor an accepted student. Follow these steps to donate:

1. Open the RNA Institute donation form.
2. Type $1,450 (full cost of tuition) in areas requiring donation amount.
3. Select "New Gift" option.
4. Select "Give Now" option.
5. For the comments section there are two options:
   1. If you are interested in sponsoring a specific student, please leave the comment of "For the RNA Institute in honor of [student's name]." Important Note: Student must have already received acceptance into the program
   2. If you are interested in sponsoring any student, please leave the comment of "For the RNA Institute in honor of their bioinformatics programs."
6. Fill in the required contact information. All remaining sections are optional.
7. Select payment method.

Please contact [email protected] with any issues. Thank you for considering a donation to the students of this training camp!