The authors recently conducted a Student Assessment of Learning Gains (SALG) survey at Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) among students who had participated in mentored research projects. In all ten categories examined, 80-90% of the students agreed that their research experience had been of great benefit, increasing their academic ability and confidence in science, and heightening their general interest and enthusiasm for a possible scientific career. However, the authors did not have any empirical evidence that they had benefited intellectually from this experience. In an effort to accrue data on student learning gains from a research experience, they designed a five-week summer program--the BMCC Summer Research Initiative--in which participating students were taught basic molecular biology and tissue culture techniques. At the end of an initial three-week training session, students conducted short research projects. This article reports the outcomes of the program. (Contains 3 tables and 4 figures.)