Research course
Meet with Texas A&M scientists and your teacher through the spring semester. Read and discuss primary research papers, learn the toxicology of lead, and design a study of your own.
Texas A&M University · Rio Grande Valley
Texas Research EXperience
TREX is a research program for high school seniors and recent graduates in the Rio Grande Valley. You work alongside Texas A&M scientists on an ongoing study of lead in local soil and water, learn how research is done from start to finish, and can contribute to a paper submitted for publication.
Interested in participating in the 2027 TREX program?
Fill out the interest form and the program team will follow up with details and next steps.
What TREX is
Real research on a problem that matters where you live.
TREX is a Texas A&M University program that partners with students and teachers at STISD schools. It is funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health, so there is no cost to participate.
The current study focuses on lead exposure. Counties in the lower Rio Grande Valley have historically had some of the highest rates of children with elevated blood lead levels in Texas, and the sources are not well mapped. TREX students collect soil and water samples near their homes and schools, learn how the results are analyzed and interpreted, and help write the manuscript reporting the findings. Students who contribute to the writing are eligible for authorship when it is submitted.
What you get to do
Four parts. You can take part in one or all of them.
Field sampling
Collect soil and water samples across the Valley using the same protocols the research team uses, record where each one came from, and see the results mapped alongside everyone else's.
Writing workshop
Help write the manuscript that reports the study results. Students who contribute are eligible for authorship, which is unusual to have before graduate school.
Summer internship
If you are 18 and headed to college in the fall, spend two weeks in July at the Texas A&M Higher Education Center at McAllen working on the project full time. The internship includes a stipend, breakfast and lunch, and a career panel with Texas A&M graduate students.
Have a question?
Questions about eligibility, the summer internship, sampling, or the seminar series? Email the program team.
Program Summaries
What past cohorts have done.
A record of each TREX group, from the first semester in 2023 to the most recent summer internship.
2026Summer
Summer internship · July 6 to 17, 2026
Two-week internship in McAllen for graduating STISD students headed to college.
[Summary, outcomes, and photos to be added]
2025Summer
Summer internship · July 7 to 18, 2025
- Two-week internship in McAllen for graduating students headed to college
- Dr. Cannon and Dr. Ming-Whitfield led the first week in person; Ms. Odoms and Ms. Avalos led the second week on site with the Texas A&M team joining remotely
- Students worked on the lead study, learned programming basics, practiced science communication, and heard from graduate students on a career panel
[Outcomes and photos to be added]
2024Spring
Talks and writing workshops
- Weekly seminars from January to April 2024 by Texas A&M researchers, open to students, teachers, and the community
- Writing workshops in May 2024 in which Science Academy students contributed to the lead manuscript
2023Spring
First semester at Science Academy
- The first TREX cohort. A semester-long research experience on lead toxicology with Texas A&M scientists and a Science Academy teacher
- Journal club on primary literature and assignments assessing local lead risk using public data
Past talks
Each spring, Texas A&M researchers present their current work. Talks are open to students, teachers, families, and the community. Some past topics:
Jan 30, 2024Overview of the TAMU School of Public Health lead toxicology outreach program
Feb 6, 2024The St. Louis Baby Tooth Study
Feb 13, 2024"Forever chemicals" and children's health
Feb 27, 2024Aquatic toxicology
Mar 26, 2024Rates of bladder cancer in Texas versus the United States
Apr 2, 2024Restoring the lost resacas: a collection of ecological strategies
Student Testimonials
From past participants.
What TREX students have said about the experience.
[Student quote][Student name][School] · [Cohort year]
[Student quote][Student name][School] · [Cohort year]
[Student quote][Student name][School] · [Cohort year]
Community sampling
Help us map lead in the Valley.
Students and community members can contribute samples to the study. Follow the soil or water guide, then log the sample details in the form.
Protocol · Soil
Soil sampling
Where to sample, how much to collect, and how to bag and label it.
Read the soil guide Protocol · WaterWater sampling
How to collect a tap water sample and record its source.
Read the water guideCollected a sample? Log its location and details so it can be included in the study.
Open the sample formTeam
The people you will work with.
[Photo]
Carolyn Cannon, MD, PhDPrincipal Investigator · Texas A&M School of Medicine[Photo]
Brittni Ming-Whitfield, PhDProgram Manager · Texas A&M University[Photo]
Sylvia OdomsTeacher Facilitator · STISD Science Academy[Photo]
Peggy AvalosTeacher Facilitator · STISD High School for Health Professions