About Us
About Sir Luther Center for Research and Innovation
Sir Luther Center for Research and Innovation is a research mentorship program for school students in grades 6 to 12, run as an initiative of Learn with Leaders. Students work one cohort at a time with a Harvard student mentor to take an original research idea from a first question to a paper published in an external peer-reviewed journal, in an 8-week cycle.
Students who complete all 8 modules and submit their paper are supported through revision, resubmission and journal selection until the paper is published in a peer-reviewed journal. More than 400 students have been published to date.
Mission and story
Ambitious students are told that original research sets them apart, and then left without a route to it. Schools rarely have the capacity to supervise a full research project, academic journals are opaque to a first-time author, and families are asked to judge open-ended, expensive mentoring with no defined outcome. That gap is the problem Sir Luther Center exists to close.
Founded in 2020 as a Learn with Leaders initiative, the Center built a structured 8-module curriculum around a single measurable end point: a paper accepted by an external peer-reviewed journal. Since then more than 400 students have been published, in journals including IJRAR, IOSR and IERJ.
Two choices make the approach distinct. The fixed 8-week timeline means students know exactly what happens each week instead of drifting through an indefinite engagement. And the peer-mentor model pairs students with Harvard students in small groups, so the guidance comes from someone close enough to the student experience to be practical about it.
- 2020
- Founded as a Learn with Leaders initiative
- 400+
- Students published in peer-reviewed journals
- 8 weeks
- Standard program cycle to a submission-ready paper
- 12
- Students per Harvard student mentor
How the mentor network works
The most reasonable question a parent asks is how they can be sure the mentors are real and qualified. Here is the honest answer: every mentor in the network is a current Harvard student, matched to students by subject area, working with a small group of up to 12 students through the same 8-module curriculum, and named to families before the cohort starts. Mentors are recruited and reviewed by the Center rather than sourced from an open marketplace.
Harvard students only
Every research mentor is a current Harvard student. We do not use freelance tutors or generic writing coaches, and we do not describe our mentors as faculty.
Matched by subject area
Mentors are assigned to students by field, so a student researching environmental science works with a mentor studying in a related area rather than a generalist.
Small groups, same mentor
Each mentor works with up to 12 students in a cohort and meets the same group every week, so accountability sits with a named person from week one to submission.
A shared curriculum, not improvisation
Mentors deliver the same 8-module research curriculum, with defined checkpoints for topic selection, literature review, methodology, drafting and journal submission.
Students can also put questions directly to mentors before applying through Ask the Mentors, or book a meeting to discuss mentor matching for a specific research area.
Outcomes and proof
400+
Student papers published in external peer-reviewed academic journals, including IJRAR, IOSR and IERJ. Each paper is listed publicly with its author, journal and subject area, and links to the published record where the journal provides one.
- Every student who has completed the program has been published.
- Papers are submitted to journals with editorial boards and real peer review, not pay-to-publish outlets.
- Publication is followed by structured post-publication pathways so students can take the work further.
Named student and parent testimonials will be added to this section once written permission is on file.
Frequently asked questions
Ready to see which program fits
Compare the Young Researchers Program, the Research Publication Fellowship and the Global Impact Fellowship, or speak with our team about a student's research interests.