SHREVEPORT, La. — Enrollment is open for the 2026-2027 Bobbie Cates Hicks Science and Medicine Academic Research Training, or SMART, program, a yearlong research internship for high school seniors interested in medicine and biomedical fields. The application deadline is 4 p.m. on Feb. 28.
The SMART program provides eight academically advanced high school seniors with hands-on research experience under faculty investigators at LSU Health Shreveport. Participants explore careers in medicine, biomedical research and biomedical engineering through direct laboratory and research engagement.
SMART is a partnership among BRF; LSU Health Shreveport; and the Caddo, Bossier and DeSoto parish school boards. BRF has provided funding and program coordination since the program’s inception in 1997.
Over 29 years, SMART has graduated 271 students. According to a survey of program alumni, 100 percent of respondents reported they are currently attending or have attended college. More than 80 percent reported majoring in or having majored in science or health-related disciplines, and 81 percent said they plan to attend or have attended a postgraduate institution.
Funding for the program comes from individual and foundation donors, including the late Bobbie Cates Hicks, the Bruce J. Heim Foundation, the Community Foundation of North Louisiana’s Give for Good donors, the Community Foundation of North Louisiana’s William C. Woolf Fund and the Magale Foundation.
Additional information about eligibility requirements and application procedures is available at LSU Health Shreveport’s website.