About

DUNE is a full-time, eight-week summer research program run by the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences (DIBS) exclusively for students enrolled in Durham, NC public or charter high schools. DUNE does not accept out-of-district or out-of-state students, and eligibility is limited to current sophomores and juniors attending one of seventeen named Durham schools. For the students it is designed to serve, it is one of the strongest free research opportunities in the region.

Participants are matched with active neuroscience labs on Duke's campus based on their stated research interests, then spend the full eight weeks — Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm — working on a lab-based research project under the individual mentorship of a Duke postdoctoral fellow, graduate student, or staff scientist. Research topics in past cohorts have spanned gut-brain connections, neural computational modeling, migraine mechanisms, retinal development, and protein detection. The program is commuter-only; students must provide their own daily transportation to Duke's West Campus. Lunch is provided each day.

The week is structured around three parallel tracks. Science Development workshops on Mondays introduce neuroscience principles, lab techniques, and scientific communication. Education and Career Development workshops on Wednesdays provide college application guidance, personal statement coaching, and networking with DUNE alumni currently in college. Community Engagement workshops on Fridays connect students with neuroscience professionals across academia, medicine, and industry. The eight weeks conclude with a research poster presentation attended by peers, family members, and Duke scientists. All participants receive a stipend for their time — the amount is not published, but the program explicitly notes it is structured so that students who would otherwise need to work during the summer can participate in DUNE instead.

Admission is competitive and the cohort is small; exact figures are not published. The application requires two letters of recommendation from non-relatives, three short essays, and no GPA cutoff — the program explicitly welcomes applicants without prior research experience. For 2026, applications opened December 15, 2025 and closed February 8, 2026; decisions were announced in April. Applications for 2027 are expected to open in December 2026. DUNE is entirely free and stipended, and prior research experience is neither required nor advantaged in selection.

DUNE was founded in 2021 by Duke neuroscience graduate students and postdoctoral researchers and has operated continuously since. For a Durham high school student with genuine interest in neuroscience, it is among the most substantive free research opportunities available anywhere — eight weeks of individualized lab mentorship at a top-ten research university, with no cost and a stipend in place of the summer job many participants would otherwise need to take. Students outside Durham's public and charter school system should look elsewhere; the eligibility requirement is absolute.