The CCIS/ITI Summer Student Intern Program
2008 Stanford Institutes of Medical Research (SIMR) Summer Intern Program Selections Announced
Congratulations to the students accepted into the 2008 SIM program (click here for the list of students accepted.)
2007 Summer Interns
Congratualtions to out 2007 interns Kanika Agarwal and Rebecca Chen on being named semifinalists in the 67th Intel Science Talent Search for the work they did in the intership program in the summer of 2007.
The entire CCIS/ITI Summer Intership Class of 2007 did an outstanding job.
History
In December 1998, under the aegis of CCIS, a fund was created following an initial $100,000 donation from a local family, which was then increased, by additional donations. The fund was launched to create a summer internship program for Bay Area high school students interested in biology. The idea behind this program is to introduce bright kids to this exciting world, and to entice them to continue their studies in medical research. The eight-week program enables 10-20 students to take part in research, attend introductory lectures by selected faculty, and gain exposure to clinical medicine. Along with an incomparable experience in the realm of medical science, each student receives a modest stipend, parking pass, lunch once a week for a lecture session, and a textbook.
The program was launched during the summer of 2000 with 10 students, and this was increased to 20 students in 2001 and 2002. Each student candidate must submit a Letter of Intent expressing his/her interest in science, a transcript, an application, and a letter of recommendation from a teacher. Applications are sent out to 100 local schools, and students are selected by a committee. In general, only one student from any single high school is selected. Interns in 2002 were from 20 local high schools - San Jose to San Francisco - juniors and seniors (with a couple college returnees). Of the 20 students, 16 were young women.
We have developed a program with the depth and breadth to present immunology research in a friendly yet challenging manner. To this end, the program supplements the student's research projects with informative lectures by Stanford researchers and field trips to different areas of the division. The bulk of the students’ time is spent performing experiments, with required one-on-one mentorship by a graduate student, fellow, or faculty member. Orientation lectures are provided to mentors and to students. Students are required to attend all safety lectures, including biosafety, chemical safety, blood-borne pathogens, and animal safety (even if their lab work will not involve pathogens or animals. Work with radioactive materials is not allowed as the training for this would be too extensive for an 8 week program. All animal experiments, with no exceptions, are performed directly with a mentor.
The primary funding source is CCIS (Clinical Center for Immunology at
Stanford) which is an interdisciplinary group formed to inspire high
school students in research, assist junior faculty with support funding,
and to foster the cross-pollination of ideas among the seemingly disparate
fields of immunology, bioengineering, bioinfomatics, and bone marrow
transplants. Additional support has been generously provided by the Northern
California Arthritis Foundation. Support from other interested parties
will be necessary to extend this very successful program into the future.
We are currently identifying private and corporate donors to continue
this program.
