Crystallography: (1) is important for structural studies research, (2) is relatively easy to learn and teach, and (3) is very beautiful and captivating to students. The Structural Nucleic Acid Anticancer Research Society (STARS), a United States 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, uses crystallography as the vehicle to teach students the scientific method and the importance of serving the community.

Studies have shown that students exposed to science when they are younger are more likely to major in STEM fields. Additionally, students who volunteered in the past often reported higher levels of confidence, interpersonal skills, and leadership. STARS offers a unique blend of science education and youth leadership cultivation through STARS branch meetings and outreach activities.

With the club guidelines and experiment handouts that STARS provides, local high school and college students can start their own STARS branches. In the last five years, STARS has collectively organized 33 outreach events, hosted 200 club meetings, and served 614 students. Events such as crystallography workshops and crystal-growing competitions give students the opportunity to work with wet-lab equipment and learn new experimental skills. Furthermore, collaborations with professors and US national laboratories have allowed students to grow protein crystals and collect their own diffraction data.

Students often state that one of their favorite parts of participating includes the micropipetting activities for setting up crystal trays, speaking with invited professors about their research, and seeing students' lab efforts come to fruition when they finally get their first electron density maps!

Our activities activate scientific curiosity of students and cultivate students' interpersonal skills. By leveraging anticancer and nucleic acid therapeutic themes, STARS emphasizes to students the value that science can provide for society.

STARS is currently in a post-pilot, pre-scale state.

What we now lack the most is funding to enable more students in the US and the world to organize STARS events to inspire their peers and local communities.

If our mission to engage and empower students through crystallography and structural biology resonates with you, please consider donating today.

NOTE: The donation items are exemplary and not binding. All funds donated to this STARS 2026 Fundraiser will be allocated based on the discretion of the Board of Directors.

Help 200 students experience hands-on crystallography

Science that Empowers: Cultivating civic-minded youth scientists