The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) Short-Term Research Experience Program to Unlock Potential  (STEP-UP) is a national program designed to provide opportunities in individualized research for high school students in biomedical and behavioral research. The goal of this program is to expose students to hands-on laboratory, clinical and social/behavioral research with the hope of igniting and fostering their interests in scientific research and investigation. The long-term goal of the program is to increase the number of students who are committed to careers in biomedical, clinical and social/behavioral science research in order to strengthen the biomedical and healthcare workforces.

NIDDK's core mission areas are diabetes, endocrinology and metabolic diseases, digestive diseases and nutrition, kidney, urologic and hematologic diseases.
 

The STEP-UP Program is a federally funded program managed and supported by the Office of Health & Engagement Research in the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney (NIDDK) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).