
Sponsored by the Center for Health and Wellbeing
Hands-on work in the developed and developing world. Research internships at the forefront of global health. Access to those creating tomorrow’s global health policies.
Princeton’s Center for Health and Wellbeing sponsors the Internships in Global Health, fully-funded internships spanning global health topics overseas and in the U.S. Hands-on experience brings new dimensions to classroom work and can inspire future research, lead to new interests, and influence career directions.
The internships below are open to all Princeton first-years, sophomores, juniors, and graduate students, both in and outside the GHP certificate program, which makes this a great place to begin your global health internship search. Students are welcome to apply for as many of these internships as interest them.
GHP Students: Internships on this list are pre-approved to fulfill the GHP certificate research requirement when completed in the summer after junior year. Students may not pre-fulfill the GHP research requirement during their first or sophomore years, but students can get great experience through these internships at any time, even if they aren't pursued for GHP certificate credit.
The Internships in Global Health are part of Learning and Education in Service (LENS), a University commitment to ensure that every undergraduate student is able to participate in a summer internship in service and social impact funded by Princeton.
Service Focus: Internships on this list are all pre-approved for the Service Focus program.
NOTE: For on-site internships, CHW will cover all expenses for airfare, housing, food, local transportation, and incidentals. CHW will make final determinations on the travel status of each internship in consultation with Princeton University officials, host organizations, and selected interns by the spring semester.
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Round 1, 2, and 3 internship opportunities for summer 2023 are now closed. New opportunities for summer 2024 will be posted in mid-fall 2023.
List of Closed Round 3 Summer 2023 Internships (Click for Details):
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Fiocruz (Oswaldo Cruz Foundation)
Health Research Internships
Location: Manaus, Brazil
Duration: 8-10 weeks
Number of Positions: 2
Stipend: $6,000
To Apply via GPS: Click Here
About: The Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) is a research and development institution in science and technology in health, linked to the Ministry of Health of Brazil, and aims to promote health and social development, generate and disseminate scientific and technological knowledge. Our mission is to produce, disseminate and share knowledge and technologies aimed at the strengthening and consolidation of the Unified Health System (SUS) and contribute to the promotion of health and quality of life of the population and to the reduction of social inequalities and the national dynamics of innovation, with the defense of the right to health and full citizenship as central values.
Fiocruz is involved in 10 states of Brazil. Besides the institutes based in Rio de Janeiro, Fiocruz has units in the Northeast, North, Southeast and South of Brazil. Altogether, there are 16 scientific and technical units, focused on teaching, research, innovation, assistance, technological development and extension in the health sector. There is also an office in Mozambique, and in the beginning of 2020 we inaugurated a laboratory in the new Brazilian Antarctic Station.
There are two (2) potential focus areas for a student intern. When applying, please indicate the one or ones you would like to be considered for.
FOCUS AREA #1 – Amazonian Indigenous Health
About: The research group works in the areas of public health policies for riverside and rural populations in the Amazon, indigenous medicine, and traditional practices of indigenous health, monitoring of traditional midwives in the municipalities of the State of Amazonas.
Intern Responsibilities: The intern will participate in field activities with researchers and graduate students. There will be opportunities to participate in workshops with traditional populations in the Amazon and to visit partner institutions to explore the research group's areas of activity. Field activities are carried out in inland municipalities, and some trips are carried out by boat and/or plane.
Qualifications: The intern should be eager to learn and willing to participate in local activities and culture, including sleeping in a hammock, traveling on a boat, etc.
Note: This internship takes place in the city of Manaus in the Brazilian Amazon.
FOCUS AREA #2 – Viral Infections in the Brazilian Amazon
About: This internship involves two principal research themes: understanding mechanisms of immunopathogenesis and diagnosis and distribution dynamics of viral infections in the Brazilian Amazon. The laboratory studies tropical diseases such as Malaria, Chikungunya, Mayaro, Zika and Dengue, with an emphasis on translational research on immunopathological aspects, as well as the discovery of new drugs and diagnosis. Currently, there are two ongoing longitudinal cohorts in Manaus to understand durability of immune response to COVID-19 booster vaccines among adult population of both sexes (DETECTCoV-19) and immune response in Breastmilk (PROTECTCoV-19).
Intern Responsibilities: The intern will have an overview of how field and laboratory activities integrate and how translational research is performed. Laboratory activities include understanding and performing immunodiagnostic assays (different types of ELISA, ELISpot etc), culture of mammalian cells, and virus cultivation and quantification. Field activities include interview and data collection and collection, sorting, recording, preservation, and storage of biological samples (human and/or animal).
Qualifications: The intern should have an academic background in biological or health science. The intern should have an understanding of participant records according to IRB guidelines to ensure confidentiality, as well as prior use of REDCap software.
Please note that the lab conducts meetings in English, but the lab is transdisciplinary and international with people speaking Spanish, Hindi, Marathi, Portuguese, and English.
Note: This internship takes place in the city of Manaus in the Brazilian Amazon.
Website: portal.fiocruz.br/en
View Internship Summary Posters and Videos from Past Fiocruz Princeton Student Interns:
Summer 2022
Alaina Chiriyankandath Joby ’24 - Combating Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in Brazil (Video Presentation)
Johnson Lin ’25 - Public Health during the Anthropocene: A Survey of Brasil's Unified Health Care System (Video Presentation)
Nhuquynh Nguyen ’23 - Determinants of Healthcare Inequalities in Brazil: A Qualitative Approach (Video Presentation)
Joan Perez ’23 - Maternity and Perinatal Health in Brazil: Understanding the Struggles that Women and Children Face when Diagnosed with Chronic/Infectious Diseases (Video Presentation)
Safiya Topiwala ’24 - Leprosy Research in Rio de Janeiro: A Molecular Approach (Video Presentation)
Tiffany Tsai ’25 - Prevailing Socioeconomic Conditions: Contextualizing Disparities in Healthcare in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Video Presentation)
Michelle Wang ’23 - Assessing the Intersection of Health Outcomes and Disaster and Risk Management (Video Presentation)
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Princeton Madagascar One Health Research Initiative
Location: Antananarivo, Madagascar (with 1-2 weeks of remote prep)
Duration: 9 weeks
Number of Positions: 1
Stipend: All airfare, housing, and onsite food provided free of charge, plus $1,000 cash stipend
To Apply via GPS: Click Here
One Health in Northeast Madagascar: Toxoplasmosis Zoonosis Risk
Faculty Supervisor: Benjamin Rice, Postdoctoral Research Associate and Presidential Postdoctoral Research Fellow of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Lecturer in Public and International Affairs
About: Per the CDC, One Health has “the goal of achieving optimal health outcomes recognizing the interconnection between people, animals, plants, and their shared environment”. In Madagascar, we aim to collect and analyze infectious disease data from human and wildlife hosts to better understand drivers of poor health outcomes.
Toxoplasmosis is a zoonotic pathogen that causes severe illness in pregnant women. Wild and domestic animals serve as the reservoir and hundreds of thousands of severe cases occur each year. In Madagascar, cats are not native but cats and other invasive mammals drive transmission of the parasite. Human communities and endangered endemic animals are both at risk, but few data are available. In partnership with an ongoing ecological monitoring project in NE Madagascar, we aim to collect and analyze data on Toxoplasmosis risk among pregnant women.
Intern Responsibilities:
- The intern will collaborate with Dr. Rice, Dr. Fidisoa Rasambainarivo, and a clinic team in Madagascar to prepare and pilot a survey of pregnant women in the Mananjary cohort and possibly near Betampona Reserve in NE Madagascar.
- The intern will assist with cleaning and analyzing survey data.
Qualifications: Experience with public health suggested. Availability and ability to travel to Madagascar for 7-9 weeks over the summer required.
Website: https://chw.princeton.edu/people/benjamin-rice
View Internship Summary Poster and Video from Past Princeton Student Intern:
Summer 2022
Libby Blazes ’24 – Tracking Malaria Hotspots in Madagascar: One Health Research Initiative (Video Presentation)
Fatima Diallo ’25 – Malaria in Madagascar: A One Health Approach
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Trenton Health Team
Health Data Analytics Internship
Location: Remote and Trenton, New Jersey (Successful candidates will work primarily remotely but will be asked to go into the office 1-2 days per week.)
Duration: 8-10 weeks
Number of Positions: 1-2
Stipend: $5,000
To Apply via GPS: Click Here
About: Trenton Health Team (THT) is an innovative multi-sector partnership dedicated to the health and well-being of the greater Trenton community. Nationally-recognized for results achieved over more than a decade of work, the collaborative is an innovative partnership among St. Francis Medical Center, Capital Health, Henry J. Austin Health Center, the City of Trenton Department of Health and Human Services, and more than 100 community organizations.
The Analytics and Insights team partners with both internal THT stakeholders and external community partners to provide analytics, statistical modeling, machine learning, and business intelligence to support tactical and strategic decision making to drive health equity. The team works with a variety of data, both public and clinical data, to support our work.
Intern Responsibilities:
- Analyze data that generates actionable insights and drives organizational decision making
- Work with staff across THT to define, measure, and track key metrics that inform organizational planning and future programming
- Identify and incorporate novel public and proprietary data sources that can help inform and/or measure THT’s work
- Carry out data documentation processes so that all staff can benefit from data and evaluation efforts
- Adhere to THT’s privacy requirements and ensure the appropriate handling of sensitive information
Qualifications:
Required qualification include:
- Demonstrated experience in analyzing data, including descriptive statistics, in either professional or classroom settings
- Enrollment in an undergraduate program with a quantitative focus, having completed at least two full years of study
- Familiarity with using languages such as R, Python, or SQL, to work with data
- Strong attention to detail
Preferred qualifications include:
- Strong writing, communication and data-driven storytelling skills
- Experience with tools for Geographic Information Systems, such as ArcGIS
- Familiarity with electronic health record and medical claims data
Website: https://trentonhealthteam.org/
New Internships for 2023; no past Princeton interns.
List of Closed Round 2 Summer 2023 Internships (Click for Details):
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University of Malaya
Health Research Internship
Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Duration: 8-10 weeks
Number of Positions: 1
Stipend: $6,000
To Apply via GPS: Click Here
About: University of Malaya (UM), Malaysia's oldest university, is situated on a 922 acre campus in the southwest of Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. UM is committed to advancing knowledge and learning through quality research and education for the nation and for humanity.
The intern will work in the Division of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, University of Malaya under the direction of Dr. Lee-Ling LIM, focusing on the epidemiology of diabetes and complications among adults in Malaysia. The study aims to examine the control of cardiometabolic risk factors and to describe clinical characteristics and patterns of medication use among people with type 2 diabetes in Malaysia. Cross-sectional data collection will be conducted at 13 endocrinologist-led diabetes centers nationwide between January 2023 and June 2023.
Intern Responsibilities: The intern will contribute to the TARGET-T2D study through data cleaning, analysis and reporting (such as abstract submission/presentation and potentially manuscript writing).
Qualifications: Applicants should have skills in Microsoft Excel, statistical analysis software (at least a basic level of SPSS or similar app) and academic writing.
Website: https://medicine.um.edu.my/medicine-department
View Internship Summary Posters and Videos from Past University of Malaya Princeton Student Interns:
Summer 2022
Andrew Hsu ’25 - Cardiometabolic Risk Factor Control and Treatment Among Type II Diabetes Patients Across Greater Kuala Lumpur (Video Presentation)
Summer 2021
Nathan Shin ’24 - Psychosocial Impacts among Type 2 Diabetes Patients during the COVID-19 Pandemic (Video Presentation)
Sarah Yashar-Gershman ’21 - A Scoping Review: What Power and Agency Do Women Maintain in the HIV Disclosure Conversation? (Video Presentation)
Summer 2020
Kamila Radjabova '21 - Consistent Condom Usage Among Intimate Partners of HIV Positive Men Who Inject Drugs
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One Health Trust
Vaccine & Antimicrobial Resistance Research
Location: Bangalore, India
Duration: 8-10 weeks
Number of Positions: 2
Stipend: $6,000
To Apply via GPS: Click Here
About: At One Health Trust (OHT), we believe that answers to the world’s most critical questions lie between disciplines. Accordingly, our researchers employ a range of expertise—from economics, epidemiology, disease modeling, and risk analysis to clinical and veterinary medicine, geographic information systems, and statistics—to conduct actionable, policy-oriented research. Our projects address major global health challenges, including Covid-19, antimicrobial resistance, hospital infections, tuberculosis, malaria, pandemic preparedness and response, vaccines, medical oxygen shortages, and noncommunicable diseases.
OHT has offices in Washington, D.C., and Bangalore, India, with researchers based in North America, Africa, and Asia. Our projects lead to policy recommendations and scientific studies published in leading journals. We are experienced in addressing country-specific and regional issues as well as global challenges. Our research is renowned for innovative approaches to design and analysis, and we communicate our work to diverse stakeholders.
Please note that there are two (2) potential focus areas for a student intern. When applying, please indicate the one or ones you would like to be considered for.
FOCUS AREA #1 - The Value of Vaccines in Mitigating AMR in India
About: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a rapidly emerging global public health threat. The rising prevalence of drug-resistant infections challenges modern medicine by limiting life-saving therapeutic options and exacerbating the morbidity and mortality associated with infectious diseases, especially for those who cannot afford more expensive antimicrobials. Vaccines are a critical yet underutilized tool for mitigating AMR. They prevent infections, lower the demand for treatment, reduce overall antimicrobial use, and thereby mitigate one of several factors that accelerate the emergence and spread of drug resistance. Recent studies by OHT researchers and collaborators in the ARVac consortium provide compelling evidence of the significant health and economic impact of several vaccines (potential, new and current) and their contribution to reducing AMR. However, despite accumulating evidence linking vaccination to AMR mitigation, there is little awareness, recognition, and interdisciplinary funding for such efforts at the clinical and policy levels. This project will involve generating evidence on the added value of vaccines to reduce AMR and engaging with stakeholders and policymakers to translate this evidence into policy action.
Intern Responsibilities: The position involves researching and synthesizing data on infectious disease burden, antimicrobial resistance, and vaccine coverage from databases, reports, and scientific literature. In addition, it may involve the writing of reports and the development of slide decks as communication material.
Qualifications: Familiarity with basic epidemiology and statistics, and experience reading the scientific and social science literature are an asset, as are good writing skills, and ability to work independently.
FOCUS AREA #2 - The National Oxygen Grid in India
About: India faces a significant burden of morbidity and mortality due to the lack of access to medical oxygen. The OxygenForIndia initiative was founded by CDDEP/OHT and partnering institutions to address critical oxygen shortages — a problem revealed and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. During the devastating humanitarian crisis of April 2021, OxygenForIndia deployed 20,000 reusable oxygen cylinders and 3,000 oxygen concentrators in 57 urban and rural centers across India. Currently, the OHT team and partners are working to build a stable and reliable oxygen supply system, a national oxygen grid (NOG), to avoid preventable deaths and improve pandemic preparedness.
Intern Responsibilities: The position involves working with a broader team that is designing a national oxygen grid. The intern is expected to support this team and to provide backup analytics for the grid design.
Qualifications: Analytic and writing skills and ability to work independently.
Website: onehealthtrust.org
View Internship Summary Posters and Videos from Past One Health Trust (formerly CDDEP) Princeton Student Interns:
Summer 2022
India Behl ’24 - Bacteria Knows No Border: Antimicrobial Resistance Across Africa (Video Presentation)
Srista Tripathi ’25 – Fighting Infectious Diseases, Antimicrobial Resistance and Misinformation (Video Presentation)
Summer 2021
Varun Devraj ’23 - An Unseen and Deadly Fungal Infection: Documenting the Global Burden of Mucormycosis with a Systematic Literature Review (Video Presentation)
Sameed Sayeed ’23 – CDDEP Research Internship (Video Presentation)
Summer 2020
Chirag Kumar '23 - One Step Ahead: Predicting Antimicrobial Resistance from Geographic Variables in India (Video Presentation)
Summer 2019
Daniel Liu '21 - The End of Modern Medicine: The Rise of Antimicrobial Resistance
Summer 2018
Nell McKenna '20 - The Rising Threat of Antimicrobial Resistance: A Look into Effects of Primary Care, Medical Standards, and Antibiotic Consumption
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Telethon Kids Institute
Various Research Internships
Location: Perth, Australia
Duration: 8-10 weeks
Number of Positions: 2
Stipend: $7,000
To Apply via GPS: Click Here
About: The Telethon Kids Institute (TKI) is a research organization that brings together communities, researchers, practitioners, policy makers and funders, who share a vision to improve the health and wellbeing of children through excellence in research. TKI’s research focus areas include aboriginal health; brain and behavior; chronic and severe diseases; and early environment.
Please note that there are two (2) potential focus areas for a student intern. When applying, please indicate the one or ones you would like to be considered for.
FOCUS AREA #1 – Communicating Malaria Risk through Maps
About: The Geospatial Health and Development team brings together researchers with expertise in a range of disciplines from public health to mathematics, geography and epidemiology. The team will focus on addressing global and local health challenges using innovative analysis methods. Our flagship project is the Malaria Atlas Project which tracks the global distribution of malaria, its risks and the intervention coverage.
Intern Responsibilities: The intern will create innovative visualizations for communications of malaria risk maps. The intern will also work with ArcGIS/R/other software packages for map making and/or working with Indesign/Photoshop/other creative suite for visualizations.
Qualifications: Preferred prior experience writing code or using ArcGIS/R. Background or interest in geography and/or graphic design useful.
FOCUS AREA #2 – Mapping Tuberculosis Mortality Rate in Ethiopia Using Geospatial Analysis
About: The Geospatial and Tuberculosis (GeoTB) Research Group is based at Telethon Kids Institute within the Geospatial Health and Development (GHD) Team. The GeoTB Research Group focuses on designing innovative approaches to improve the efficacy of public health interventions that aim to control and ultimately eliminate TB in low- and middle-income countries. The GooTB Research group focuses on geospatial modelling and other quantitative methods to improve the understanding of the TB burden at global, national, and local levels and to generate new evidence that can be applied to achieve the global end TB targets. In addition to work on TB, the GeoTB Research Group has also undertaken research on other infectious diseases including malaria, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections. Recently, the GeoTB Research Group has also been actively involved in Coronavirus-2019 (COVID- 19) related research to provide evidence supporting the national and global response efforts against the pandemic.
Tuberculosis (TB) is a preventable and treatable disease, yet it remains the second leading cause of death from an infectious disease worldwide, killing more than one million people every year. The geographical distribution of TB varies across the globe, and across districts within countries. Africa is the second most affected region, accounting for a quarter (25%) of the global TB deaths. Despite the availability of various interventions such as vaccination and preventive treatment, TB continues to be an endemic disease in several countries including in Ethiopia. The emergence of multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) with resistance to rifampicin and isoniazid (the two most important first line therapeutic agents) has also posed an additional challenge for global and national TB control efforts. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study and the World Health Organization (WHO) have produced national-level estimates of mortality from TB on an annual basis. However, mortality rate for administrative units of countries such as districts may differ significantly from the national average. Sub-national level analyses are important for planning purposes and to determine where services can further be enhanced. Thus, the overall aim of this project is to estimate the morality rate of TB at national, sub-national and local levels in Ethiopia using advanced geospatial modelling techniques. The outputs of this study will provide evidence for policymakers to help reduce the mortality rate of TB in highly affected areas.
Intern Responsibilities: The intern will be working on data management, geospatial analysis, and manuscript writing with the support of the supervisor.
Qualifications: Qualifications in public health, epidemiology, statistics, biostatistics, economics or a health-related field are preferred. Prior knowledge and application of statistical methods and prior professional or research experience in infectious diseases both desirable.
Website: www.telethonkids.org.au
View Internship Summary Posters and Videos from Past Telethon Kids Institute Princeton Student Interns:
Summer 2022
Tiffany Cao ’24 - Adapting clinical research to different cultures: A case study for Aboriginal children (Video Presentation)
Carlos Cortez ’24 - Developing a Cure for HGG: The Deadliest and Most Aggressive Form of Brain Cancer (Video Presentation)
Elena Montgomery ’23 – Blow, Breathe, Cough (BBC): A Telehealth-facilitated Randomized-controlled Trial Utilizing a Health Promotion Intervention to Resolve Otitis Media with Effusion for Children on Specialist Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) Waiting Lists (Video Presentation)
Tia Rozario ’23 - Breakfast Skipping and Academic Outcomes (Video Presentation)
Katelyn Ryu ’24 - Developing a Predictive Algorithm for Identifying Infants at Risk of Intellectual Disability (Video Presentation)
Christine Shin ’25 - Viral Respiratory Diseases HMPV in Western Australia (Video Presentation)
Emily Trieu ’23 - TKI: Child Home Learning Environment and sibling influence on child development (Video Presentation)
Anagam Udebiuwa ’23 - Rats and Radiosensitization: A Deep Dive Into Radiosensitizing Agents in the Treatment of Pediatric Brain Cancer (Video Presentation)
Kennedy Walls ’24 - Visualizing the Burden of Impetigo and Scabies in Remote Aboriginal Communities (Video Presentation)
Summer 2021
Cindy Cheng ’23 - Exclusionary Discipline and Mental Health of Children and Adolescents (Video Presentation)
Nathalie Rodilosso ’22 - Early Childhood Education Quality & Children’s Development in Lao PDR
Summer 2019
Coco Chou '20 - Missing Piece Surveillance Study
David Cordoba '20 - Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Youth with Type 1 Diabetes in Western Australia
Jocelyn Galindo '21 - The Measurement of Adequate Housing Conditions in Aboriginal Households Living in Urban Settings
Rachel Kim '20 - Quality of Life and Child Intellectual Disability
Lucy Wang '21 - SToP Trial: Assessing Impetigo and Scabies in Remote Aboriginal Communities
Summer 2018
Ellen Anshelevich '19 - Developing an Effective Community Care Program for Skin Infections in Aboriginal Communities
Andy Zheng '20 - Evaluating and Supporting Suicide Prevention: Addressing Social and Emotional Wellbeing
Summer 2017
Patrick Dinh '18 - Racism & Skin Disease in Aboriginal Communities in the Western Desert
Aaron Gurayah '18 - Beat CF: Overview of an Adaptive Clinical Trial in Respiratory Medicine
Danielle Victoriano '19 - AusVaxSafety: Descriptive Analysis for Zostavax
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The Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI)
Health Research Internships
Location: Pretoria, South Africa
Duration: 10 weeks
Number of Positions: 1-2
Stipend: $6,000
To Apply via GPS: Click Here
About: CHAI is a global health organization committed to strengthening integrated health systems in the developing world and expanding access to care and treatment for HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. CHAI’s solution-oriented approach focuses on improving market dynamics for medicines and diagnostics; lowering prices for treatment; accelerating access to life-saving technologies; and helping governments build the capacity required for high-quality care and treatment programs.
Please note that there are two (2) potential focus areas for a student intern. When applying, please indicate the one or ones you would like to be considered for.
FOCUS AREA #1 – Malaria Program
About: Malaria is one of the world's most significant causes of illness, death and lost economic productivity. Over the past decade, dramatic increases in donor funding have facilitated scale-up of effective interventions to prevent, diagnose, and treat malaria. CHAI’s malaria program provides direct management and technical support to South Africa to strengthen their malaria program and reduce the burden of this preventable, treatable disease. We support governments to scale up effective interventions, with the goals of sustainably reducing the number of malaria-related illnesses and deaths worldwide in the short-term and accelerating progress towards malaria elimination in the long term.
One of the key areas CHAI has been supporting the national malaria program is in the development and deployment of a web based (DHIS2) national information system to strengthen malaria surveillance in line with the country’s National Strategic Plan for malaria elimination. Continuous monitoring and evaluation of the system is necessary to ensure that it’s fit for purpose and to understand how digital tools are used effectively for malaria surveillance, in order to inform system improvements; inform supervision and trainings; quantify the impacts of digital solutions, particularly on reporting rates and data quality; and understand the overall usefulness of digital solutions on the disease surveillance and health interventions. Key to this will be understanding the outcomes of a new surveillance system and if the use of data from a strong and suitable surveillance system has led to improved delivery of interventions and surveillance activities.
Intern Responsibilities:
- Report on impact of digital surveillance tools
- Epidemiological analysis
- Intervention impact write up for the FOCI clearing program
- World Health Organization malaria elimination requirements - documentation of processes
FOCUS AREA #2 – HIV Prevention Program: STIs & Prevention Integration
About: CHAI South Africa works closely with and supports the Ministry of Health’s HIV prevention program. Within the HIV prevention program, CHAI SA is working on HIV self-testing (referred to HIV self-screening in SA), the national roll-out of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), integration of HIV prevention services (STIs, PrEP, condoms, PEP, etc.), the national roll-out of the dual HIV/syphilis rapid diagnostic test in ANC settings to eliminate congenital syphilis, and general STI support.
Intern Responsibilities:
Integration HIV Prevention Program:
- Perform time-motion studies at facilities that have implemented HIV prevention integration interventions to establish the impact that the interventions have had
- Map the linkages that are observed and sample a select number of patient records to identify gaps and best practices
- Establish the effectiveness of mental health integration in primary healthcare facilities in West Rand, Gauteng
STI Program:
- Development of a demand generation strategy for the dual HIV/syphilis rapid diagnostic tests in key population groups, which include antenatal care (ANC) attendees, men, adolescent girls and young women
- Intervention impact analysis and write-up of implementing dual HIV/syphilis rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) into ANC settings
- Cost-benefit analysis of the universal introduction of rapid diagnostic hepatitis tests in ANC services in South Africa through a national tender process.
Website: https://www.clintonhealthaccess.org/
New Internship for 2023; no past Princeton interns.
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UNICEF South Africa
Health Research Internships
Location: Pretoria, South Africa
Duration: 8-10 weeks
Number of Positions: 2
Stipend: $6,000
To Apply via GPS: Click Here
About: UNICEF works in the world’s toughest places to reach the most disadvantaged children and adolescents – and to protect the rights of every child, everywhere. Across more than 190 countries and territories, we do whatever it takes to help children survive, thrive and fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence. The world’s largest provider of vaccines, we support child health and nutrition, safe water and sanitation, quality education and skill building, HIV prevention and treatment for mothers and babies, and the protection of children and adolescents from violence and exploitation. Before, during and after humanitarian emergencies, UNICEF is on the ground, bringing lifesaving help and hope to children and families. Non-political and impartial, we are never neutral when it comes to defending children’s rights and safeguarding their lives and futures.
UNICEF South Africa aims to support national efforts to accelerate the realization of children’s rights in South Africa and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with a focus on bridging the deep-seated inequities and alleviating widespread child poverty in the country. One of the outcome areas is improve child health and well-being in South Africa.
Please note that there are two (2) potential focus areas for a student intern. When applying, please indicate the one or ones you would like to be considered for.
FOCUS AREA #1 – Feasibility Study of Using AI Cohort Monitoring of HIV Infected Pregnant Adolescent Girls and Young Mothers and Their Infants in Antenatal and Postnatal Care
One of the largest challenges on the path to controlling the HIV epidemic is the persistently high vulnerability of adolescents to HIV, as well as inequities in HIV testing and uptake of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), indicate a need for innovative strategies to improve implementation of HIV prevention. The intern will conduct a feasibility study on using machine learning algorithms to improve identification of people at high risk of HIV acquisition to optimize delivery of PrEP.
Qualifications: Experience in AI, with creativity, problem solving and research skills.
FOCUS AREA #2 – Analyses of National District Health Information System Data
In the context of multiple child deprivation in the country, the overall study will seek to understand where children are not immunized, where children with severe acute malnutrition are not treated and where HIV infected children are not managed. The intern will focus on analyzing national district health information system data and based on the results to develop recommendation to improve child health services at primary health care level.
Qualifications: Experience in quantitative data analysis and strong writing skills.
Websites: https://www.unicefusa.org/about and https://www.unicef.org/southafrica/
View Internship Summary Posters and Videos from Past UNICEF South Africa Princeton Student Interns:
Summer 2022
Ariza Francisco, MPA ’23 - Zero-dose Children in South Africa: Reaching the Unreached (Video Presentation)
Osama Safeer, MPA ’23 - Good Lessons from Bad Data: The case of Peer Mentors for HIV Positive and Expecting Women in South Africa (Video Presentation)
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Princeton Madagascar One Health Research Initiative
Location: Antananarivo, Madagascar (with 1-2 weeks of remote prep)
Duration: 9 weeks
Number of Positions: 2
Stipend: All airfare, housing, and onsite food provided free of charge, plus $1,000 cash stipend
To Apply via GPS: Click Here
Faculty Supervisor: Benjamin Rice, Postdoctoral Research Associate and Presidential Postdoctoral Research Fellow of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Lecturer in Public and International Affairs
About: Per the CDC, One Health has “the goal of achieving optimal health outcomes recognizing the interconnection between people, animals, plants, and their shared environment”. In Madagascar, we aim to collect and analyze infectious disease data from human and wildlife hosts to better understand drivers of poor health outcomes.
Please note that there are two (2) potential focus areas for a student intern. When applying, please indicate the one or ones you would like to be considered for.
FOCUS AREA #1 – Malaria Surveillance in a Hotspot: Southeast Madagascar
About: Since 2017, Princeton researchers Jessica Metcalf and Benjamin Rice have been studying the distribution of malaria infection in Madagascar. Malaria transmission varies greatly across Madagascar, and, concerningly, transmission has increased in recent years in hotspots (defined as areas of elevated burden). We have an ongoing cohort study of 500 households in one such hotspot (Mananjary district, in southeast Madagascar). The objectives are to identify the ecological drivers of malaria risk and characterize the contribution of environmental disturbance, extreme weather events, and barriers to access to care. Current objectives are to integrate incoming malaria survey data and climate data, and to create a real-time data visualizations (e.g., a ‘dashboard’) to monitor data quality and to communicate results to health authorities.
Intern Responsibilities:
- The intern will collaborate with Dr. Rice and a clinic team in Madagascar to clean, visualize, and present data on malaria prevalence.
- The intern will integrate climate and extreme weather event data (including Cyclone Batsirai from February 2022) into a disease surveillance database to investigate associations.
- The intern will assist creating an online dashboard (similar to this COVID dashboard: https://www.covid19mg.org/) to provide real-time access to malaria surveillance data for researchers and health authorities.
Qualifications: Experience with data cleaning and coding in R preferred but not required, (a desire to learn is required). Experience with public health suggested. Availability and ability to travel to Madagascar for 7-9 weeks over the summer required.
FOCUS AREA #2 – One Health in Northeast Madagascar: Toxoplasmosis Zoonosis Risk
About: Toxoplasmosis is a zoonotic pathogen that causes severe illness in pregnant women. Wild and domestic animals serve as the reservoir and hundreds of thousands of severe cases occur each year. In Madagascar, cats are not native but cats and other invasive mammals drive transmission of the parasite. Human communities and endangered endemic animals are both at risk, but few data are available. In partnership with an ongoing ecological monitoring project in NE Madagascar, we aim to collect and analyze data on Toxoplasmosis risk among pregnant women.
Intern Responsibilities:
- The intern will collaborate with Dr. Rice, Dr. Fidisoa Rasambainarivo, and a clinic team in Madagascar to prepare and pilot a survey of pregnant women in the Mananjary cohort and possibly near Betampona Reserve in NE Madagascar.
- The intern will assist with cleaning and analyzing survey data.
Qualifications: Experience with public health suggested. Availability and ability to travel to Madagascar for 7-9 weeks over the summer required.
Website: https://chw.princeton.edu/people/benjamin-rice
View Internship Summary Poster and Video from Past Princeton Student Intern:
Summer 2022
Libby Blazes ’24 – Tracking Malaria Hotspots in Madagascar: One Health Research Initiative (Video Presentation)
Fatima Diallo ’25 – Malaria in Madagascar: A One Health Approach
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Mpala Research Centre
Nutrition Education and Survey Project
Location: Laikipia County, Kenya
Duration: 8-9 weeks
Number of Positions: 2
Stipend: All airfare, housing, and onsite food provided free of charge, plus $1,500 cash stipend
To Apply via GPS: Click Here
Faculty Supervisor: Gugulethu Moyo, Postdoctoral Research Associate at Princeton University’s Global Health Program
About: The Mpala Research Centre and Wildlife Foundation is located on the Laikipia Plateau in north central Kenya. The facility is operated as a partnership involving Princeton University, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, the Kenya Wildlife Service and the National Museums of Kenya. Mpala facilitates and promotes the advancement of human livelihoods and sustainable human-wildlife coexistence through basic science, education, and community outreach.
Per the World Health Organization, about 45% of deaths in children under five years are linked to malnutrition (World Health Organization, 2021). With Kenya experiencing its worst drought in four decades, malnutrition rates are on the rise. Mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) is a good predictor of mortality risk in malnourished children. In Kenya, community health workers are responsible for active case finding of acute malnutrition using MUAC, and refer children with malnutrition for treatment at nearby health centers. However, due to high workloads and resource limitations, community health workers are not always able to reach every child. Mothers and caregivers are uniquely positioned to detect signs of nutritional deficiency, since they spend a lot of time with their children. Training mothers and caregivers to regularly screen by MUAC could mean that treatment is sought earlier, improving recovery rates and overall outcomes. We aim to investigate the effectiveness of UNICEF’s MUAC training in equipping mothers with the skills required to identify acute malnutrition in Laikipia, Kenya.
Intern Responsibilities:
- The intern will collaborate with Dr. Moyo and a team in Kenya to implement a pilot study within the communities near Mpala Research Centre.
- The intern will be trained in anthropometry and may carry out anthropometric measurements (height, weight and mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) of women and children enrolled in the study.
- The intern must be willing to travel to study sites (sometimes difficult terrain) and work/interact with communities in a rural setting.
- The intern must be flexible and willing to work on a wide variety of project aspects as the need arises (e.g. conducting community-based fieldwork and data collection, development of project materials).
- The intern will be responsible for documentation through photographs and videos (multi-media narrative).
- The intern will assist in data collection and entry, data cleaning, analysis, visualization, and the presentation of data.
Qualifications:
- The intern will be encouraged to incorporate their background and interests to support the future direction of the project.
- Interest in the topic and eagerness to give input, ideas and thought into how this project can evolve or improve.
- Community-based projects require flexibility and adaptability.
- Experience with data cleaning and coding in R preferred.
Websites: https://chw.princeton.edu/people/gugulethu-moyo and https://mpala.org/
View Internship Summary Posters from Past Mpala Research Centre Princeton Student Interns:
Summer 2021
Kaleb Boyd ’24 – Understanding the Effect of Environmental Changes on the Human Gut Microbiome: An Analysis of the Turkana in Kenya (Video Presentation)
Zhudi Pan ’23 – Dams, Nasty Freezers, and Everything in Between: Working with the Turkana Health Genomics Project
Summer 2019
Nourhan Ibrahim ’20 – Secondary School Conservation Biology Education in Laikipia County Kenya
Summer 2018
Carly Bonnet ‘19 – Medicinal Herb and Clinic Use in Mpala, Kenya
Ayo Foster-McCray ’20 – Health Education and Healthcare Implementation in Rural Kenya
Gabriela Rivera ’20 – Health Education and Mobile Health Outreach
Sebastian Silveira ‘19 – The Importance of Nutrient Availability and Parasitic Risk on the Foraging Behaviors of Grevy’s & Plains Zebra
Summer 2017
Annabel Lee ’20 – LaikipiaRabies Vaccination Campaign
Maria Malik ’19 – Evaluating the Biodiversity of the Local Anopheles Mosquito Population at MPALA through Larval Sampling
Lily Reisinger ‘18 – The Function of Zebra Stripes in Thermoregulation & the Deterrence of Disease-Carrying Biting Flies
Madeleine Sumner ‘20 – Faces of Rural Kenya: A Journey through the Kenyan Public Health System
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University of Sunderland
Reducing Social Isolation through the Arts and Community-Based Approaches
Location: Sunderland, England
Duration: 8-10 weeks
Number of Positions: 1
Stipend: $6,000
To Apply via GPS: Click Here
About: Internships at the Helen McArdle Nursing and Care Institute, based in the School of Nursing and Health Sciences, Faculty of Healthcare Sciences at the University of Sunderland, focus on social prescribing, described as a range of non-clinical interventions designed to support health and wellbeing and reduce health inequalities. There is established evidence on the positive impact of social prescribing for both service users and the health care system. Our internships are in collaboration with the Institute’s external partners who deliver a range of social prescribing interventions across Sunderland. The Institute is home to the Sunderland Social Prescribing Research and Knowledge Exchange Centre, which aims to collect evidence of the effectiveness and impact of social prescribing in Sunderland and contribute to delivery of our Healthy City Plan 2020-2030.
The internships are within the external organizations, with protected time in the Institute and mentoring by our team of academics to enhance the Sunderland experience. Upon arrival at Sunderland, the intern will take part in a comprehensive induction program to learn more about the history of Sunderland, health inequalities, our University and Institute and our partnership model of working across the City. Following this, interns will commence their internships in their respective organizations, but there will be synergy across the internships and opportunities for the interns to work collaboratively.
Supporting the Health and Wellbeing of Veterans in Sunderland
About: In collaboration with Veterans in Crisis Sunderland (VICS), this internship will explore the role of the voluntary sector in engaging and supporting the health and wellbeing of the veteran community in Sunderland. The intern will work closely with VICS and University staff on supporting delivery of programs offered by VICS, take part in social prescribing activities and work closely with service users.
Intern Responsibilities: Veterans in Crisis Sunderland is a social enterprise dedicated to supporting the welfare of veterans and their families based in the City of Sunderland. VICS offers a range of services and programs to veterans which promote social inclusion and are driven by the health and wellbeing needs of the veterans themselves. VICS carry out their work supported by a range of partners across Sunderland. Current projects include running regular drop-in sessions, a series of arts workshops at the National Glass Centre in Sunderland, walking groups and establishing a network of support services for veterans and their families to access. VICS is a young, dynamic organization, and other projects are in various stages of development, allowing a wide range of experiential learning to be gained.
The internship will be based in Sunderland, but there may be travel involved to activities and events, but the intern will travel with VICS. The intern will work collaboratively with VICS and have close contact with both VICS and the Helen McArdle Nursing and Care Research Institute.
Qualifications: It is important that the intern has in interest in biopsychosocial approaches to health and care, and veteran wellbeing. The intern should possess strong communication skills, be able to demonstrate high levels of empathy and be prepared to be flexible in working across a range of projects with different people and liaising with other organizations. Applicants will be expected to work within a team and work independently. Subject-related mentoring support will be provided by the Faculty of Health Sciences and Wellbeing, University of Sunderland.
Websites: www.sunderland.ac.uk and veteransincrisis.co.uk
View Internship Summary Posters and Videos from Past Sunderland Princeton Student Interns:
Summer 2022
Naomi Frim-Abrams ’23 - The Role of Community Arts Organizations in Health and Wellbeing: Sunderland, England (Video Presentation)
William Koloc ’25 - Social Prescribing in Sunderland: A Holistic Approach to Health and Wellbeing (Video Presentation)
April Yoo ’24 - Combatting Social Isolation with Veterans in Crisis (VICS)! (Video Presentation)
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Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU)
Antibiotic Resistance Internships
Location: Hanoi, Vietnam
Duration: 8-10 weeks
Number of Positions: 1
Stipend: $6,000
To Apply via GPS: Click Here
About OUCRU: The Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU) aims to have a positive and significant impact on global health and, in particular, the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases. OUCRU's key areas of research are: Dengue fever; malaria; tuberculosis; influenza; enterics; HIV and HIV coinfection; central nervous system infections; animal health and zoonoses; pharmacology; and statistics, bioinformatics, modeling, and mapping.
Antibiotic Treatment, Outcomes and Hospitalization Costs of Bloodstream Infections in Hospitals
About: The antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) research team in OUCRU Hanoi group is evaluating the health and economic impact of AMS interventions to improve antibiotic use and patient outcomes and control antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in hospitals. We use various research designs and analysis approaches including implementation research, case-control, cross-sectional surveys and assessments, interrupted time-series analysis, qualitative study, burden of disease analysis, and economic evaluation.
OUCRU has collaborated with different hospitals in the network and generated clinical, microbiological and administrative datasets from the hospital routine information systems with various timeframes. In this proposal, we aim to analyze these datasets to characterize patients with confirmed and suspected bloodstream infections (BSI) in terms of antibiotic therapies, treatment outcomes, and costs of hospitalization to inform the design of stewardship interventions for this clinical syndrome.
Intern Responsibilities:
- Identify patients with confirmed or suspected diagnosis of BSI in the datasets using a combination of ICD codes and text-based diagnosis
- Linking these patients with microbiological data to identify those with confirmed BSI
- Summarize antibiotic treatment therapies in these confirmed and suspected BSI patients
- Summarize the pathogens found in the confirmed BSI patients and their resistance levels
- Summarize the discharge outcomes and hospitalization costs in confirmed and suspected BSI patients
- Further analysis and writing activities are possible
Qualifications:
- Skills and experience in data processing and data analysis using R program (mandatory).
- Studying or having knowledge of biomedical or related fields (preferred).
This internship will take place at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Website: www.oucru.org
View Internship Summary Posters and Videos from Past OUCRU Princeton Student Interns:
Summer 2022
Brad Luo ’23 - A Systematic Review of Gene Mutations Mediating Antimicrobial Resistance (Video Presentation)
Christian Pollard ’23 - Point-Gene Mutations and Antimicrobial Resistance (Video Presentation)
Andrew Tran ’23 - Antimicrobial Resistance in Vietnam: Towards Community-Based Interventions and Systematic Review (Video Presentation)
Isaac Yi ’24 - The Global Landscape of Antimicrobial Resistance in The Environment (Video Presentation)
Summer 2021
Sofiya Yusina ’22 – Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare workers in Nepal, Indonesia, and Vietnam (Video Presentation)
Olivia Chen ’22 – Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on communities in Nepal, Indonesia, and Vietnam
Summer 2020
Taishi Nakase '21 - Temporospatial Model of Measles Epidemics in Vietnam (Video Presentation)
Megan Tang '22 - Factors of Antibiotic Resistance in Vietnam: Prescribing in Primary Healthcare (Video Presentation)
Summer 2019
Jaeyoon Cha '21 - Analysis of 546 M. tuberculosis Genomes from the Indian Subcontinent
Mary DeVellis '21 - Antimicrobial Resistance in Vietnam: A Qualitative Approach
Arielle Lawson '20 and Nikita Nangia '20 - Vaccine Non-specific Effects: A Solution to the Antibiotic Resistance Crisis
Sarah Perkins '21 - Incidence Estimation for Uncertain Events
Summer 2018
Dylan Kim '21 - Child Vaccination Indicators in Developing Countries
Katherine Park '19 - Health Policies Regarding Antimicrobial Resistance in Developing and Developed Countries
Tiffany Pham '20 - Mapping of Resistance Data for Non-Malarial Febrile Illness in South East Asia
Tianyi Wang '19 - Care-Seeking and Antibiotic Use Over Time in Children Under 5 in Vietnam
Summer 2017
Crystal Wang '18 - Post-Viral Burden of Dengue in Vietnam
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Fiocruz (Oswaldo Cruz Foundation)
Health Research Internships
Location: Various cities in Brazil
Duration: 8-10 weeks
Number of Positions: Up to 4
Stipend: $6,000
To Apply via GPS: Click Here
About: The Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) is a research and development institution in science and technology in health, linked to the Ministry of Health of Brazil, and aims to promote health and social development, generate and disseminate scientific and technological knowledge. Our mission is to produce, disseminate and share knowledge and technologies aimed at the strengthening and consolidation of the Unified Health System (SUS) and contribute to the promotion of health and quality of life of the population and to the reduction of social inequalities and the national dynamics of innovation, with the defense of the right to health and full citizenship as central values.
Fiocruz is involved in 10 states of Brazil. Besides the institutes based in Rio de Janeiro, Fiocruz has units in the Northeast, North, Southeast and South of Brazil. Altogether, there are 16 scientific and technical units, focused on teaching, research, innovation, assistance, technological development and extension in the health sector. There is also an office in Mozambique, and in the beginning of 2020 we inaugurated a laboratory in the new Brazilian Antarctic Station.
There are four (4) potential focus areas for a student intern. When applying, please indicate the one or ones you would like to be considered for.
FOCUS AREA #1 – Host-Pathogen Interaction of Toxoplasma Gondii and SARS-CoV-2
About: The Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (IOC) team studies cellular and molecular aspects of host-pathogen interaction, with a special focus on protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii, and most recently SARS-CoV-2. Both pathogens are capable of infecting the central nervous system and our laboratory is primarily interested in investigating cerebral microvascular dysfunctions in infected organisms. Additionally, our group has interest in investigating the effects of Toxoplasma infection on the skeletal muscle system, including studies of myogenesis and repair and metabolism and muscle physiology during infection.
The IOC team uses both in vitro and in vivo models to investigate major changes in the blood-brain barrier during infection with pathogens aforementioned. Cells and tissues are isolated and analyzed by different modalities of microscopy (confocal, electron, etc.). Protein and gene expression are evaluated by RT-qPCR and western blotting and inflammatory markers are assesses by ELISA.
Intern Responsibilities: The laboratory that the intern will work in is located at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, in the traditional Carlos Chagas Pavillion, at the Manguinhos Campus. The laboratory is well equipped to perform most of the proposed studies and, when necessary, has full access to technological facilities at both the Oswaldo Cruz Institute, but at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro as well.
Qualifications: Ideal candidates will have some degree of training in cell biology methodologies. All activities will be held in English for the interns, but some basic online Portuguese study prior to arrival is recommended.
Note: This internship takes place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
FOCUS AREA #2 – Chagas National Institute of Infectious Diseases
About: Evandro Chagas National Institute of Infectious Diseases (INI) is a unit of Fiocruz focused on clinical research, training, referral services and assistance in infectious diseases, and its objective is to produce knowledge and technologies to improve the health of the population, by means of integrated research actions, health care, teaching, and surveillance. There are eight research lines: Health technology assessment; Parasitic diseases in humans and animals; Viral hepatitis, STD, HIV/AIDS; Comprehensive care for infectious diseases; Fungal infections in humans and animals; Pathogenesis, clinical and epidemiological of viral diseases; Infections in critically ill patients; and Tuberculosis and HIV.
Intern Responsibilities: The intern will be assigned activities of assistance, laboratorial diagnosis and clinical research related to the patients with infectious diseases in the outpatient clinics (Tuberculosis, HIV, Chagas disease, Acute febrile diseases, Leishmaniasis/otolaryngology, Infectious dermatology), hospital (Intensive Care Unit-Hospital Center) and laboratories (Parasitology, Mycology, Zoonosis and Anatomic Pathology Service).
The project activities will be performed at Evandro Chagas National Institute of Infectious Diseases, in the main campus of Fiocruz in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Occasionally, there may be travels to field research in the state of Rio de Janeiro.
When applying, please indicate your preferences between: outpatient clinics, research and diagnostic laboratory in infectious diseases.
Qualifications: The intern should have knowledge in anatomy or physiology. The intern should ideally have basic knowledge of Spanish and/or Portuguese.
Note: This internship takes place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
FOCUS AREA #3 – Pharmaceutical Development and Analysis
About: The Laboratory of Development and Analytical Validation (LDVA) of analytical methods is part of the Coordination of the Technological Development (CDT) of the Brazilian Institute of Drug Technology (also known as “Farmanguinhos”). LDVA works in the development of analytical methods for the analysis of drug products developed in Farmanguinhos. The intern will be involved in the research project L-Praziquantel 150 mg orodispersible tablets (ODT). This research aims to conduct the forced degradation study of L-Praziquantel 150 mg orodispersible tablets to develop an indicative stability method to support pharmaceutical development. The research team is investigating the following:
- Forced degradation study of L-Praziquantel 150 mg orodispersible tablets.
- Validation of the indicative stability method.
- Evaluation of accelerated, long-term stability and determination of degradation kinetics of L- Praziquantel.
- Isolation and identification of degradation products.
- Determination of the safety profile of the degradation products.
The results of this research will present a new perspective on the strategic areas of ODT development.
Intern Responsibilities: The intern will be involved in the development of the indicative stability method. In this regard, the intern will work on the following activities:
- Preparation of analytical solutions,
- Sample weight,
- Operate a high-efficiency liquid chromatograph equipment,
- Analyze chromatographic results and discuss/organize data.
The internship will take place at both the main Fiocruz campus in Manguinhos and at the Farmanguinhos Factory.
Qualifications: The intern must have knowledge related to pharmaceutical sciences and, in particular, experience in a general and organic chemistry lab.
Note: This internship takes place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
FOCUS AREA #4 – Viral Infections in the Brazilian Amazon
About: This internship involves two principal research themes: understanding mechanisms of immunopathogenesis and diagnosis and distribution dynamics of viral infections in the Brazilian Amazon. The laboratory studies tropical diseases such as Malaria, Chikungunya, Mayaro, Zika and Dengue, with an emphasis on translational research on immunopathological aspects, as well as the discovery of new drugs and diagnosis. Currently, there are two ongoing longitudinal cohorts in Manaus to understand durability of immune response to COVID-19 booster vaccines among adult population of both sexes (DETECTCoV-19) and immune response in Breastmilk (PROTECTCoV-19).
Intern Responsibilities: The intern will have an overview of how field and laboratory activities integrate and how translational research is performed. Laboratory activities include understanding and performing immunodiagnostic assays (different types of ELISA, ELISpot etc), culture of mammalian cells, and virus cultivation and quantification. Field activities include interview and data collection and collection, sorting, recording, preservation, and storage of biological samples (human and/or animal).
Qualifications: The intern should have an academic background in biological or health science. The intern should have an understanding of participant records according to IRB guidelines to ensure confidentiality, as well as prior use of REDCap software.
Please note that the lab conducts meetings in English, but the lab is transdisciplinary and international with people speaking Spanish, Hindi, Marathi, Portuguese, and English.
Note: This internship takes place in the city of Manaus in the Brazilian Amazon.
Website: portal.fiocruz.br/en
View Internship Summary Posters and Videos from Past Fiocruz Princeton Student Interns:
Summer 2022
Alaina Chiriyankandath Joby ’24 - Combating Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in Brazil (Video Presentation)
Johnson Lin ’25 - Public Health during the Anthropocene: A Survey of Brasil's Unified Health Care System (Video Presentation)
Nhuquynh Nguyen ’23 - Determinants of Healthcare Inequalities in Brazil: A Qualitative Approach (Video Presentation)
Joan Perez ’23 - Maternity and Perinatal Health in Brazil: Understanding the Struggles that Women and Children Face when Diagnosed with Chronic/Infectious Diseases (Video Presentation)
Safiya Topiwala ’24 - Leprosy Research in Rio de Janeiro: A Molecular Approach (Video Presentation)
Tiffany Tsai ’25 - Prevailing Socioeconomic Conditions: Contextualizing Disparities in Healthcare in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Video Presentation)
Michelle Wang ’23 - Assessing the Intersection of Health Outcomes and Disaster and Risk Management (Video Presentation)
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Texas Tech University, Nutrition and Metabolic Health Initiative
Nutrition and Metabolic Health Internships
Location: Lubbock, Texas
Duration: 8-10 weeks
Number of Positions: 1-2
Stipend: $5,000
To Apply via GPS: Click Here
About: The Nutrition and Metabolic Health Initiative (NMHI) is a clinical research facility housed within the Department of Nutritional Sciences, College of Human Sciences at Texas Tech University, Lubbock Texas. The mission of NMHI is to provide state-of-the-art facilities and operational infrastructure to train the next generations of healthcare providers and scientists in nutrition, obesity and nutritional aspects of metabolic diseases while fulfilling the fundamental mission(s) of Texas Tech University (TTU); Research, Education, and Community Outreach. The overarching goal is to improve the health of adults, children and the communities in which they live.
- Research: TTU’s internationally recognized clinical / translational scientists leverage the NMHI facility to continue to expand Texas Tech Department of Nutritional Sciences’ already substantial international research presence. This is achieved through groundbreaking scientific innovation and discovery. NMHI also offers the clinical / translational research facility and expertise to assist a range of scientists across many disciplines in the broader Texas Tech Community.
- Education: NMHI provides a home to train future generations of clinical / translational scientists and healthcare providers via hands on training and educational experiences. NMHI offers the most scientifically advanced training and education in treating obesity and nutritional / lifestyle factors related to metabolic diseases. Trainees include TTU undergraduate and graduate students from many disciplines and also faculty and healthcare providers both in the TTU system and in the Lubbock community.
- Clinical Programs - Community Outreach & Engagement: NMHI is home to clinical programs and community outreach programs to improve the health of the Lubbock community and surrounding regions. NMHI offers comprehensive assessments of nutritional status, metabolic health and overall lifestyle-related health. At the facility, people are provided state-of-the-science obesity treatment, nutritional counselling, body composition and metabolic testing, and health coaching. NMHI also offers educational outreach to the local community via the “Request a Speaker program” and “High School Experience” among others.
Intern Responsibilities: The internship is an immersive and varied experience. It will vary each year in terms of the specific projects that students will be involved in. Experiences available fall into three broad categories that every student experiences:
- Research at NMHI. NMHI provides training, direct shadowing and or research assistant experience for students on any number of clinical trials that are taking place ongoing at NMHI. Students are trained on the use of the facilities and equipment related to conducting research protocols. NMHI has plenty of data available for individual projects also.
- NMHI Student Providers play an integral role in the day-to-day operations of NMHI. Students learn via hands on experience what it takes to build and maintain a vibrant clinical research facility. They assist with every aspect of NMHI daily operations (administrative and clinical).
- Community Outreach and Engagement. NMHI is engaged in ongoing community outreach and engagement to serve the local community. Attendance at health fairs, developing educational and social media outreach and external speaking engagements with your NMHI mentor are possible. NMHI also has a summer High School Experience where undergraduate and graduate students work as instructors and mentors for visiting high school students.
NMHI takes pride in empowering students to work independently where appropriate and also values individual direct supervision and student training activities. NMHI employs a tiered mentoring approach that engages undergraduate and graduate students along with faculty in a shared mentoring experience.
Dr. Martin Binks is the Director of NMHI and will serve as primary mentor for the student interns. However, their educational experience will involve interacting with all TTU graduate and undergraduate students, the medical and administrative staff, and all NMHI faculty.
Qualifications: The successful applicant will have a strong work ethic, be highly motivated and inquisitive and have an interest in learning more about research and clinical care related to nutrition, behavioral health and medical comorbidities related to lifestyle associated diseases (e.g. diabetes, obesity). NMHI also offers experiences in overall health promotion and health coaching. English speaking is required. Ability to work independently is valued.
Website: www.NMHI.ttu.edu
New Internships for 2023; no past Princeton interns.
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Trenton Health Team
Health Data Analytics Internship
Location: Remote and Trenton, New Jersey (Successful candidates will work primarily remotely but will be asked to go into the office 1-2 days per week.)
Duration: 8-10 weeks
Number of Positions: 1-2
Stipend: $5,000
To Apply via GPS: Click Here
About: Trenton Health Team (THT) is an innovative multi-sector partnership dedicated to the health and well-being of the greater Trenton community. Nationally-recognized for results achieved over more than a decade of work, the collaborative is an innovative partnership among St. Francis Medical Center, Capital Health, Henry J. Austin Health Center, the City of Trenton Department of Health and Human Services, and more than 100 community organizations.
The Analytics and Insights team partners with both internal THT stakeholders and external community partners to provide analytics, statistical modeling, machine learning, and business intelligence to support tactical and strategic decision making to drive health equity. The team works with a variety of data, both public and clinical data, to support our work.
Intern Responsibilities:
- Analyze data that generates actionable insights and drives organizational decision making
- Work with staff across THT to define, measure, and track key metrics that inform organizational planning and future programming
- Identify and incorporate novel public and proprietary data sources that can help inform and/or measure THT’s work
- Carry out data documentation processes so that all staff can benefit from data and evaluation efforts
- Adhere to THT’s privacy requirements and ensure the appropriate handling of sensitive information
Qualifications:
Required qualification include:
- Demonstrated experience in analyzing data, including descriptive statistics, in either professional or classroom settings
- Enrollment in an undergraduate program with a quantitative focus, having completed at least two full years of study
- Familiarity with using languages such as R, Python, or SQL, to work with data
- Strong attention to detail
Preferred qualifications include:
- Strong writing, communication and data-driven storytelling skills
- Experience with tools for Geographic Information Systems, such as ArcGIS
- Familiarity with electronic health record and medical claims data
Website: https://trentonhealthteam.org/
New Internships for 2023; no past Princeton interns.
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Families USA
Federal Health Policy Advancement and Advocacy
Location: Washington, D.C.
Duration: 8-10 weeks
Number of Positions: 1-3
Stipend: $6,000
To Apply via GPS: Click Here
About: Families USA, a leading national voice for health care consumers, is dedicated to the achievement of high-quality, affordable health care for all. We advance our mission through public policy analysis, advocacy, and collaboration with partners to promote a patient and community-centered health system. We are respected as trusted messengers who stay grounded in the consumer experience by working with a consumer-first approach to communications; we hold ourselves and others accountable to high standards of leadership, quality, excellence, and integrity; we uphold the consumer voice foremost with pride and honor; and we relentlessly pursue authentic, two-way engagement with intention and deliberation.
There are several possible areas of engagement for the student intern within the following three units at Families USA:
- Working with the Federal Relations Team, which influences federal policy change both on Capitol Hill and within the Biden administration by envisioning and executing integrated policy and advocacy strategy, building key relationships with policymakers and staff, providing thoughtful technical support, and passionately advocating for organization-wide priorities.
- Working with the Policy Team to provide insightful and accurate policy analysis with consideration to various political and coalition strategies.
- Working with the Strategic Partnerships and Health Equity Team to help improve health equity and influence change.
Intern Responsibilities: Interns at Families USA are considered and treated as integral members of the staff who have substantive roles to play in achieving the best health and health care for everyone in the country. Families USA considers its internship program an important opportunity to develop the next generation of health justice leaders. Internships are structured to facilitate professional development, with interns working with their supervisor and a mentor on developing and achieving goals, including taking advantage of the learning opportunities in our nation’s capital.
Families USA is looking for dynamic, enthusiastic interns who are eager to learn more about our work across our four pillars: health care value, health equity, coverage and consumer experience - to help build a stronger health care system for all. This is an excellent opportunity to use your skills to improve health policy, racial and ethnic health inequities, and learn more on how an advocacy organization works to improve people’s lives.
Roles and responsibilities of the student intern may include:
- Assist with research, collecting data, preparing draft memos, fact sheets, publications, presentations, and other materials.
- Track and support work with state-based and national advocates.
- Database administration and help maintain the contacts for our various partners.
- Provide support on a variety of other projects on various teams.
Qualifications:
- Excellent analytical and writing skills with a strong attention to detail.
- Strong data collection and research skills.
- Excellent interpersonal skills and be able to multi-task.
- Must have a basic knowledge of database administration and other content management systems.
- Experience using Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook).
- Ability to work independently and in a team environment.
Website: https://familiesusa.org/
New Internships for 2023; no past Princeton interns.
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Howard University
Improving Health of Asthmatic Children in Public Housing
Location: Washington, D.C.
Duration: 8-10 weeks
Number of Positions: 1-2
Stipend: $6,000
To Apply via GPS: Click Here
About: Asthma is a leading cause of illness and hospitalizations among children. This project focuses on children living in public housing units in the District of Columbia, where one in six residents suffer from asthma and asthma is the leading chronic health condition in the DC public and charter school population. Healthy Home programs have been proposed as one possible way to address this health crisis. Such programs seek to identify physical asthma triggers in public housing such as mold or cockroaches and to teach residents, property managers, and management had to eliminate them.
Intern Responsibilities: Using a community-engaged approach with mixed-methods including focus groups, surveys, and in-depth interviews with tenants, property managers, and administrators, the student intern will assist with tackling the following three aims of this project:
- Determine how Healthy Home programs are understood by tenants in public housing projects, especially in the context of meeting the needs of asthmatic children;
- Determine whether these programs are implemented with fidelity, and what resources public housing management need to do that;
- Assess the extent to which caregivers have an asthma action plan for their asthmatic children and what resources they identify as needed for the implementation of such a plan.
The summer intern will be based at Howard University and will work in collaboration with co-investigators, research assistants, the nonprofit Breathe DC, and the two Principal Investigators: Professor Janet Currie of Princeton University and Meirong Liu of the Howard University School of Social Work.
Qualifications: Previous experience with conducting survey work or with analyzing survey data preferred.
Website: https://breathedc.org/ and https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/healthy_homes/hhi
New Internships for 2023; no past Princeton interns.
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Experiences of Transgender Adolescents
Location: Princeton, New Jersey (in-person only, not remote)
Duration: 6-10 weeks, up to 20 hours/week
Number of Positions: 1
Stipend: Hourly Princeton student RA rate, based on actual hours worked
To Apply via GPS: Click Here
Faculty Supervisor: Kristina Olson, Professor of Psychology and Director of the Human Diversity Lab at Princeton University
About: In recent years there has been skepticism in the public domain about the authenticity of transgender identities of individuals who come out during adolescence (as opposed to those who come out earlier). In this project we interview a group of these adolescents (as well as their parents) about their experiences, including their interests in and access to gender-affirming medical care, the types of support they do and do not receive from family, peers, and their communities, and their experiences with and responses to recent legislation impacting access to gender-affirming medical care.
Research Assistant Responsibilities: The Research Assistant will be involved in transcribing, reading, and coding interviews of transgender teens and their parents, as well as participating in team meetings involving data analysis. It is possible the student may be able to be trained to conduct interviews as well, but that depends on availability, interest, and how far along the project is by summer.
Qualifications: The Research Assistant must be respectful and open to the diverse range of experiences of participants and able to maintain strict confidentiality. The student will also be required to be in-person, on campus this summer.
Website: https://hudl.princeton.edu/people/kristina-olson and https://psych.princeton.edu/person/kristina-olson
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Mapping the Global Health Discipline and its Current Challenges
Location: Remote, with optional in-person meetings on campus for locally-based interns
Duration: 8-10 weeks, up to 20 hours/week
Number of Positions: 1
Stipend: Hourly Princeton student RA rate, based on actual hours worked
To Apply via GPS: Click Here
Faculty Supervisor: Arbel Griner, Associate Research Scholar in Princeton University’s Global Health Program
About: Global Health, a term that was just in the rise in the early 2000s, has now been an established field for at least a decade. Global Health brings together a set of problems to act on, it mobilizes high sums of money, brings together a plurality of institutions and individual actors, fosters technological development and exchange, and has become a consolidated discipline in many academic institutions curricula. The summer Research Assistant will help set a new research agenda on global health as an academic discipline today: how and where it stands, and what are its main challenges for the near future.
Research will be guided by questions such as (a) where are global health academic programs established?, (b) are they equally distributed around the globe?, (c) what kind of opportunities do they create and for whom?, (d) how many students are trained in the discipline?, (e) what kind of training do global health students receive?
Research Assistant Responsibilities: The Research Assistant will work from home and meet weekly with supervisor either remotely or in person (if locally based). Work throughout the summer will involve:
- Creating an annotated bibliography on the main challenges global health faces as an academic discipline today;
- Mapping global health programs – with their different designations – throughout the world;
- Identifying key figures in the field.
Qualifications: Previous experiences with bibliographical research and information management, and familiarity with the basic biomedical research literature on PubMed would be appreciated.
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Exploiting Healthcare Consumerism
Location: Remote
Duration: 6-10 weeks, up to 20 hours/week
Number of Positions: 1
Stipend: Hourly Princeton student RA rate, based on actual hours worked
To Apply via GPS: Click Here
Faculty Supervisor: Adam Goldstein, Assistant Professor jointly appointed in the Department of Sociology and the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs
About: The goal of this research is to understand the relationship between two key trends that are reshaping contemporary U.S. healthcare: the rise of a consumer-centric governance paradigm, and the growing role of investor-owned providers in a sector traditionally organized around a logic of professional expertise.
Healthcare reform in the U.S. over the past decade has sought to reduce costs, improve care quality, and align incentives by placing “empowered” patient-consumers in the driver’s seat. Consumerism works both by encouraging patients to shop around among providers, and by using patient satisfaction surveys to assess provider performance as part of value-based government reimbursement programs.
However, relying on consumers to police quality brings risks, because it is inherently difficult for patients to gauge the quality of medical care. Moreover, consumerism may create incentives for providers to focus resources on the most easily visible patient-facing facets of provision, such as slick websites and hotel-like amenities, while neglecting behind-the scenes investments that play a more direct role in health outcomes (Young and Chen 2020).
Concerns about the disconnect between patient perceptions and healthcare quality are further magnified by the growing presence of for-profit, private equity-backed (PE) healthcare providers. Compared to traditional physician owned practices, the management of these for-profit providers have less commitment to the care ethics of professional practice, and thus may be particularly prone to take advantage of consumers’ limited abilities to perceive correlates of care quality. Indeed, research on the parallel case of higher education finds that investor-owned for-profit schools are especially likely to exploit asymmetric information by focusing on marketing and ease of enrollment while cutting expenditures on instruction (Eaton 2020).
This research asks whether a similar phenomenon is also occurring in healthcare provision. Although recent studies suggest an association between PE-ownership of providers and worse patient outcomes, it is unknown to what extent this reflects a dynamic in which providers are exploiting consumerism by focusing on “frontstage” marketing and amenities to the detriment of “backstage” medical care quality.
Research Assistant Responsibilities: The Research Assistant will work with Professor Goldstein to conduct background research on the policy mechanics, and construct an analytic dataset from government and private database sources.
Qualifications: This position provides an opportunity to learn more about how the business of healthcare shapes the quality of medical care patients receive. It is suitable for a student who is interested in health economics and/or healthcare policy. Strong data management skills are required.
Website: https://sociology.princeton.edu/people/adam-goldstein
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Characterizing the Impact of Climate Drivers on the Environmental Transmission Stages of Two Pathogens
Location: Remote
Duration: 6-10 weeks, up to 20 hours/week
Number of Positions: 1
Stipend: Hourly Princeton student RA rate, based on actual hours worked
To Apply via GPS: Click Here
Faculty Supervisor: Jessica Metcalf, Associate Professor of Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs; Fidisoa Rasambainarivo, Postdoctoral Research Associate at the High Meadows Environmental Institute
About: The aim of this internship will be to complete a systematic review of the literature on climate impacts on transmission of two environmentally transmitted pathogens: the protozoa Toxoplasma gondii and Leptospira bacteria. A secondary aim (depending on progress towards the first goal) will be to construct a model encompassing the estimated effects to explore likely consequences of climate change on these two pathogens. The faculty supervisor will work with the Research Assistant to set up the search strategy and then evaluate progress via weekly check-ins.
Research Assistant Responsibilities: The roles and responsibilities of the Research Assistant will be to develop the search strategy for probing the literature, to manage and curate the database emerging from the search strategy, and to contribute to model development.
Qualifications: The ideal candidate will have a vast appetite for delving through the literature and learning the core biology associated with these two pathogens, alongside organizational skills that translate into an ability to organize the resulting data into a comparable form.
Website: https://metcalflab.princeton.edu/about-jess/ and https://environment.princeton.edu/people/fidisoa-rasambainarivo/
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Paternal Depression and School Connectedness
Location: Remote
Duration: 6-10 weeks, up to 20 hours/week
Number of Positions: 1
Stipend: Hourly Princeton student RA rate, based on actual hours worked
To Apply via GPS: Click Here
Faculty Supervisor: Kelly Noonan, Lecturer in Economics
About: This project will investigate the effects of paternal depression on school connectedness using the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study. The Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study is a population-based U.S. cohort of births to mostly unmarried parents, a high-risk population that has rarely been a focus in the research on links between paternal depression and children’s outcomes.
Maternal depression has been linked to a range of adverse child developmental and behavioral outcomes. Relatively few studies have investigated links between paternal depression and child outcomes, particularly in the U.S. Furthermore, most U.S.-based studies have focused on families in which the father lived in the child’s household despite the fact that a large share of births in the U.S. take place outside of marriage and findings that most fathers who were never married to their children’s mothers spend time and do activities with their children, at least in the first year of life. Screening and identification of paternal depression in American pediatric practice is rare but studies have found that rates of perinatal depression among fathers range from 2 to 25%. Fathers who are unmarried are at particular risk for depression and have higher rates than both mothers and married fathers. As such, elucidating links between paternal depression and child outcomes in representative samples of U.S. families, including those with unmarried parents, can inform the design of screening tools and interventions to support families and enhance child development.
The objective of this study is to investigate associations between depression in fathers of infants and their children’s school connectedness, a feeling or sense of belonging or fitting in at school, which is protective against adverse adolescent outcomes.
Research Assistant Responsibilities: The Research Assistant will be responsible for creating a working data set, conduct the statistical analyses, and create summary tables that can be used to help write a paper that will be submitted for publication in a peer reviewed journal.
Qualifications: Experience and strong skills in quantitative social science research using large-scale datasets and programming in Stata required.
Website: https://butlercollege.princeton.edu/people/kelly-noonan and https://ffcws.princeton.edu/people/kelly-noonan
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Creating Community-Centered Content: Art Hx and Accessible Digital Humanities
Location: Remote
Duration: 6-10 weeks, up to 20 hours/week
Number of Positions: 1
Stipend: Hourly Princeton student RA rate, based on actual hours worked
To Apply via GPS: Click Here
Faculty Supervisor: Anna Arabindan-Kesson, Associate Professor of African American and Black Diasporic Art with a joint appointment in the Department of Art and Archaeology
About: Led by Professor Anna Arabindan-Kesson, Art Hx is a cross-disciplinary and multi-media research platform that explores the historical and ongoing entanglements of art, race, and medicine. Through the website and public programming, Art Hx—inspired by Hx, the clinical abbreviation used to represent “history”—brings artists, writers, health professionals, and scholars into dynamic conversations around artworks and archival objects, seeking to expose and dismantle racist and violent structures that shape our present.
Art Hx: Visual and Medical Legacies of British Colonialism seeks to create digitally accessible educational tools (podcast episodes, lesson plans, policy toolkits, etc.) that highlight the intertwined nature of medicine, race, and art. We hope these materials will serve as important, impactful resources to support the anti-racism advocacy work of activists, policymakers, and educators to call attention to healthcare disparities, and we seek to be active participants in the imagining and realization of more equitable systems of care. The Research Assistant will us as we move towards preparing and delivering these resources, particularly those focused on Black maternal healthcare experiences and outcomes, our programming theme for the upcoming 2023-2024 academic year.
Research Assistant Responsibilities: The roles and responsibilities of the Research Assistant will be the following:
- Supporting the development and editorial process for the new Art Hx podcast series
- Create biweekly email newsletters to digitally engage the Art Hx community
- Assist with program development and research in support of our 2023-24 event and research agenda focused on Black maternal healthcare
- Identify potential collaborators, document global efforts to address maternal healthcare disparities
- Locate exemplary interactive digital humanities projects that Art Hx can amplify and/or use as models as we move forward
- Conduct research on best practices as we seek to convey complex narratives and histories in an accessible manner
- Organize existing research materials (such as bibliographies, library and archive collections, other projects) to make them accessible and engaging on the Art Hx site for visitors/users
- The Research Assistant will also have the opportunity to author their own contribution, or “constellation” to be published on the Art Hx site on the topic of their choosing related to the intersections between art, medicine, race, and colonialism.
Qualifications:
- Strong writing and communication skills
- Enjoys creative thinking
- Able to work well independently and on a team
- Excited to be challenged by the material and to contribute to the project’s aims
Website: https://aas.princeton.edu/people/anna-arabindan-kesson and https://cdh.princeton.edu/projects/art-hx-visual-and-medical-legacies-of-british-colonialism/
List of Closed Round 1 Summer 2023 Internships (Click for Details):
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Fiocruz (Oswaldo Cruz Foundation)
Health Research Internships
Location: Various cities in Brazil
Duration: 8-10 weeks
Number of Positions: 10
Stipend: $6,000
To Apply via GPS: Click Here
About: The Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) is a research and development institution in science and technology in health, linked to the Ministry of Health of Brazil, and aims to promote health and social development, generate and disseminate scientific and technological knowledge. Our mission is to produce, disseminate and share knowledge and technologies aimed at the strengthening and consolidation of the Unified Health System (SUS) and contribute to the promotion of health and quality of life of the population and to the reduction of social inequalities and the national dynamics of innovation, with the defense of the right to health and full citizenship as central values.
Fiocruz is involved in 10 states of Brazil. Besides the institutes based in Rio de Janeiro, Fiocruz has units in the Northeast, North, Southeast and South of Brazil. Altogether, there are 16 scientific and technical units, focused on teaching, research, innovation, assistance, technological development and extension in the health sector. There is also an office in Mozambique, and in the beginning of 2020 we inaugurated a laboratory in the new Brazilian Antarctic Station.
There are seventeen (17) potential focus areas for a student intern. When applying, please indicate the one or ones you would like to be considered for.
FOCUS AREA #1 – The Viral Hepatitis Ambulatory
About: The Viral Hepatitis Ambulatory focuses on acute viral hepatitis, principally hepatitis A, B and C and pregnant women infected with hepatitis B or C. The team at the Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (IOC) also follows and treats patients chronically infected with hepatitis B or C. Rapid diagnostic tests for hepatitis A, B and C are performed on site for prompt diagnosis and early tracking.
Intern Responsibilities: The intern will be responsible for:
- Assisting the IOC team in organizing spreadsheets for:
- Patients on dialysis with hepatitis B or C (co-morbidities, medications, laboratory results, viral sequencing data, and liver staging exams. Pre- and post-treatment results).
- Pregnant women infected with hepatitis B or C (laboratory results, gestational and neonatal complications).
- Patients with acute hepatitis B or C infections (laboratory results) and defining recruitment dates for serial blood draws.
- Assisting the IOC team in performing rapid tests for hepatitis B and C.
- Assisting technicians in PBMC extractions.
- Assisting physicians in preparing spreadsheets of atypical serological results for hepatitis.
- Assisting researchers in preparing abstracts for seminars or scientific conferences.
Most activities will be carried out at the Viral Hepatitis Ambulatory. However, occasional trips can be made to hemodialysis units, refugee centers, or other inner state locations during hepatitis campaigns or investigations of hepatitis outbreaks.
Qualifications: Students in the medical or public health field might be desired as most of the work will be focused on patients and surveillance. However, as the IOC team is engaged in lymphocyte extractions and rapid diagnostic tests other backgrounds are welcome if the interns are interested in the activities proposed. The IOC team is basically composed of biologists, nurses, and physicians. Languages: English and/or Portuguese or Spanish.
Note: This internship takes place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
FOCUS AREA #2 – Antimicrobial Resistance
About: Multiple antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections concern public health systems, as therapeutic options are limited. The indiscriminate use of antibiotics accelerates the selection of resistant bacteria. The resistance mechanisms are diverse and generally encoded in mobile genetic elements - which are quickly disseminated among bacteria that inhabit the same niche, by horizontal gene transfer. Considering such a critical situation, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Brazilian National Agency for Sanitary Surveillance (ANVISA) ranked as urgent priority research and development of new therapeutic approaches. The current proposal is in line with such goals. On the one hand, our group studies the structure, function, and regulation of the expression of bacterial virulence factors. With this approach, we hope to characterize targets for the rational development of virulence inhibitors. In parallel, we evaluate how metabolites produced by the intestinal microbiota modulate pathogen-host interactions - looking for antivirulence molecules. On the other hand, we characterize host signaling pathways modulated during bacterial infection and evaluate if the repurposing of pharmacological agonists and antagonists can favor bacterial elimination and infection resolution. Moreover, we perform phenotypic characterization of virulence and resistance of environmental isolates. Therefore, this project presents complementary approaches to generate knowledge that might provide a ground basis for the proposition of new therapeutic therapies to combat multidrug-resistant bacteria.
Intern Responsibilities: The intern will perform the following tasks:
- Learn and perform microbiological and molecular biology experiments
- Discuss the antimicrobial resistance problem (based on literature, national data, discussion with other researchers, etc.)
- Propose science communication activities related to antimicrobial resistance
Qualifications: The intern should be highly motivated with a knowledge of basic biosafety rules for research labs.
Note: This internship takes place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
FOCUS AREA #3 – Pre-Clinical Drug Development for Infectious Diseases
About: The research group is interested in pre-clinical drug development, especially the target discovery and validation, hit identification and lead development steps. Main targeted areas are infectious diseases (multi-drug resistant bacteria, parasites, and SARS-CoV-2), diabetes and cancer. The team’s focus is on integrating computational and experimental approaches for drug discovery. Current research projects involve development of image-based phenotypic assays for drug screening (high-content screening-HCS), structure-based drug discovery of enzyme inhibitors, Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven drug discovery and On-chip synthesis of AI-generated compounds for acceleration of the DMTA (design-make-test-analyze) cycle.
Intern Responsibilities: Intern activities may include: manipulation of cells and parasites in culture, performing a variety of protein purification and biophysical/biochemical analysis methods, operation of HCS microscope, development of image processing and data analysis pipelines for HCS, performing several computer-aided drug design methods (docking, molecular dynamics simulations, etc.), development of machine learning models for classification and other tasks related to drug discovery, development and application of deep learning models for generative chemical modeling, synthesis of chemical compounds using a microfluid on-chip synthesis system.
Activities will be performed on site at the Laboratory of Experimental and Computational Biochemistry of Drugs (LaBECFar) in Rio de Janeiro.
Qualifications: A solid theoretical background on biochemistry is required. Additionally, practical skills with biochemistry, cell biology or computer science are welcome.
Note: This internship takes place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
FOCUS AREA #4 – Leishmaniasis
About: Leishmaniasis, caused by the parasite Leishmania and transmitted by sandfly vectors, is a very serious disease that affects mostly poor populations from tropical and sub-tropical regions over the world. Our laboratory works on many molecular aspects of the interaction of the parasite Leishmania with its sandfly vector. We have discovered many important aspects of this interaction, that go from immune responses of infected insect to genes expressed inside the vector by the parasite, that might be important for infection success. More recently we are using this knowledge to identify and test candidates for the development of transmission blocking vaccines, that are altruistic vaccines the interfere with the transmission of diseases by vectors.
Intern Responsibilities: The intern will participate in hands-on experiments that will be carried out in the laboratory and will focus on the development of a sub-project to be defined.
Qualifications: The intern must have genuine interest in the project topic.
Note: This internship takes place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
FOCUS AREA #5 – Host-Pathogen Interaction of Toxoplasma Gondii and SARS-CoV-2
About: The Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (IOC) team studies cellular and molecular aspects of host-pathogen interaction, with a special focus on protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii, and most recently SARS-CoV-2. Both pathogens are capable of infecting the central nervous system and our laboratory is primarily interested in investigating cerebral microvascular dysfunctions in infected organisms. Additionally, our group has interest in investigating the effects of Toxoplasma infection on the skeletal muscle system, including studies of myogenesis and repair and metabolism and muscle physiology during infection.
The IOC team uses both in vitro and in vivo models to investigate major changes in the blood-brain barrier during infection with pathogens aforementioned. Cells and tissues are isolated and analyzed by different modalities of microscopy (confocal, electron, etc.). Protein and gene expression are evaluated by RT-qPCR and western blotting and inflammatory markers are assesses by ELISA.
Intern Responsibilities: The laboratory that the intern will work in is located at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, in the traditional Carlos Chagas Pavillion, at the Manguinhos Campus. The laboratory is well equipped to perform most of the proposed studies and, when necessary, has full access to technological facilities at both the Oswaldo Cruz Institute, but at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro as well.
Qualifications: Ideal candidates will have some degree of training in cell biology methodologies. All activities will be held in English for the interns, but some basic online Portuguese study prior to arrival is recommended.
Note: This internship takes place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
FOCUS AREA #6 - Leprosy Laboratory
About: The main focus of Leprosy Laboratory is the translational research in mycobacterial diseases. The intern will be involved in research projects associated with the evaluation of mechanisms associated with the immunopathogenesis of mycobacterial diseases as well as the clinical studies performed at our laboratory.
Intern Responsibilities: The intern will have training in biosafety and after that they will work at Souza Araujo Outpatient Clinic (ASA), a reference center in Leprosy from the Ministry of Health in Brazil that is part of Leprosy Laboratory. They will monitor the routine and care for patients affected by Hansen’s disease. They will monitor the procedures performed at ASA as skin punch and nerve biopsies and slit skin smear microscopy. Students will also be trained in histopathological routines (preparing and reading of microscopic slides), as well as in the routine serology and PCR for complementary diagnosis of Hansen’s disease. They will have the opportunity to accompany the different clinical research protocols performed at ASA, focusing on the identification of new drugs for the treatment of leprosy and its complications like leprosy neuropathy. In addition, they will accompany the studies carried out in the laboratory that aim to identify the pathways of the immunopathogenesis of the disease, having the opportunity to learn about translational research in Hansen’s disease. After 6-8-week training, students will prepare a project based on the knowledge learned during the internship and will discuss it with their supervisor.
Qualifications: The intern must have genuine interest in the project topic. Basic online Portuguese study prior to arrival is recommended.
Note: This internship takes place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
FOCUS AREA #7 - Drug Utilization Research and Medicines Policy
About: The Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública (ENSP) team’s work is mainly directed to Drug Utilization Research and Medicines Policy, and it focuses on publicly available information from secondary databases. There are three 'umbrella' projects which are ongoing: Policies, prioritization, provision and utilization of medicines in Brazil (Project P3-MU); Research, pharmaceutical services and inequities related to cancer care; Ethics, health emergencies and disasters, and medicines for endemic and rare diseases.
Intern Responsibilities: The intern would have the opportunities to explore and analyze data, review literature, and discuss results. The intern would be invited to attend department talks and graduate courses of universities where several research partners work. There may be the opportunity for data collection of primary data to complement secondary data, in other Brazilian states. The intern would have the chance to work with other graduate students, doctorate students, and post-docs,
Qualifications: Academic interest and/or background in a health field; experience/interest in public health; skills in data analysis/secondary data; interest in medicines policies and/or drug utilization research; and language skills in English, Spanish or Portuguese.
Note: This internship takes place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
FOCUS AREA #8 – Mortality Patterns based on Social Inequality and Poverty
About: The Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública (ENSP) team’s research is related to studies of health transition and mortality patterns by cause groups in the context of social inequality and poverty. The ongoing project is related to deaths from despair and the relationship between the behavior of this mortality group according to some social determinants of health, such as race, age, and context of deprivation.
Intern Responsibilities: The intern will carry out data analysis and will discuss articles to elaborate a conceptual model on social inequities and health.
Qualifications: Some familiarity with using Excel, SPSS, or R databases is desirable.
Note: This internship takes place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
FOCUS AREA #9 – Chagas National Institute of Infectious Diseases
About: Evandro Chagas National Institute of Infectious Diseases (INI) is a unit of Fiocruz focused on clinical research, training, referral services and assistance in infectious diseases, and its objective is to produce knowledge and technologies to improve the health of the population, by means of integrated research actions, health care, teaching, and surveillance. There are eight research lines: Health technology assessment; Parasitic diseases in humans and animals; Viral hepatitis, STD, HIV/AIDS; Comprehensive care for infectious diseases; Fungal infections in humans and animals; Pathogenesis, clinical and epidemiological of viral diseases; Infections in critically ill patients; and Tuberculosis and HIV.
Intern Responsibilities: The intern will be assigned activities of assistance, laboratorial diagnosis and clinical research related to the patients with infectious diseases in the outpatient clinics (Tuberculosis, HIV, Chagas disease, Acute febrile diseases, Leishmaniasis/otolaryngology, Infectious dermatology), hospital (Intensive Care Unit-Hospital Center) and laboratories (Parasitology, Mycology, Zoonosis and Anatomic Pathology Service).
The project activities will be performed at Evandro Chagas National Institute of Infectious Diseases, in the main campus of Fiocruz in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Occasionally, there may be travels to field research in the state of Rio de Janeiro.
When applying, please indicate your preferences between: outpatient clinics, research and diagnostic laboratory in infectious diseases.
Qualifications: The intern should have knowledge in anatomy or physiology. The intern should ideally have basic knowledge of Spanish and/or Portuguese.
Note: This internship takes place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
FOCUS AREA #10 – Pharmaceutical Development and Analysis
About: The Laboratory of Development and Analytical Validation (LDVA) of analytical methods is part of the Coordination of the Technological Development (CDT) of the Brazilian Institute of Drug Technology (also known as “Farmanguinhos”). LDVA works in the development of analytical methods for the analysis of drug products developed in Farmanguinhos. The intern will be involved in the research project L-Praziquantel 150 mg orodispersible tablets (ODT). This research aims to conduct the forced degradation study of L-Praziquantel 150 mg orodispersible tablets to develop an indicative stability method to support pharmaceutical development. The research team is investigating the following:
- Forced degradation study of L-Praziquantel 150 mg orodispersible tablets.
- Validation of the indicative stability method.
- Evaluation of accelerated, long-term stability and determination of degradation kinetics of L- Praziquantel.
- Isolation and identification of degradation products.
- Determination of the safety profile of the degradation products.
The results of this research will present a new perspective on the strategic areas of ODT development.
Intern Responsibilities: The intern will be involved in the development of the indicative stability method. In this regard, the intern will work on the following activities:
- Preparation of analytical solutions,
- Sample weight,
- Operate a high-efficiency liquid chromatograph equipment,
- Analyze chromatographic results and discuss/organize data.
The internship will take place at both the main Fiocruz campus in Manguinhos and at the Farmanguinhos Factory.
Qualifications: The intern must have knowledge related to pharmaceutical sciences and, in particular, experience in a general and organic chemistry lab.
Note: This internship takes place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
FOCUS AREA #11 – Public Health and Epidemiology in Relation to Health Inequalities
About: This internship focuses on public health, with an emphasis on epidemiology, working mainly on the following subjects: public health, elderly health, gerontology, public oral health, epidemiology, biostatistics and spatial analysis in health (geoprocessing), and health inequalities.
Intern Responsibilities: The intern will work with national or local secondary data about health indicators and epidemiology.
Qualifications: The intern must be eager to help and learn epidemiological methodologies and discussion on health inequalities.
Note: This internship takes place in the city of Recife, Brazil.
FOCUS AREA #12 – Association of Genetic Human Variants and Chronic Diseases and Infections
About: This project focuses on host genetics as the Fiocruz Pernambuco Instituto Aggeu Magalhães (IAM) team studies how the genetic variants of humans can be associated with infections and chronic diseases, including Covid-19, hepatitis C, schistosomiasis, hepatocarcinoma, and clinical phenotypes of sickle cell anemia.
Intern Responsibilities: The intern will work on activities in the laboratory, including:
- DNA/RNA extraction
- qPCR experiments
- Preparation of solutions
- Database organization
- Bioinformatics analysis
The activities will be carried out in the Department of Parasitology.
Qualifications: The intern must have good social communication, computer and bioinformatics skills, in addition to being able to write scientific papers.
Note: This internship takes place in the city of Recife, Brazil.
FOCUS AREA #13 – Virology and Experimental Therapy
About: This internship works with a team of ten people working on protein engineering towards the development of diagnostic markers, biopharmaceuticals and vaccines against viral diseases. The group has a strong focus on arboviruses (e.g., Zika, Dengue, Chikungunya), but also works with HIV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 pseudotyped lentiviruses. Half of the group perform massive parallel computing to design the different synthetic proteins, while the other half conducts wet lab experiments. The computationally designed proteins are synthesized, and their biophysical and immunological properties characterized. Experiments include protein purification chromatography, circular dichroism, microscale thermophoresis, virus and lentivirus microneutralization, PRNT, ELISA, and general molecular biology techniques.
Intern Responsibilities: The intern will have the opportunity to apply computational protein engineering techniques to the design of biopharmaceuticals, and/or perform wet lab biophysical and immunological assays to characterize the therapeutic potential of the biopharmaceuticals developed in the group.
All activities would be performed at the Department of Virology and Experimental Therapy of the Aggeu Magalhães Institute, Fiocruz in Recife, Brazil.
Qualifications: It is preferred that the intern have reasonable knowledge of Unix, basic programming skills and some background on statistical thermodynamics. Basic knowledge of biophysics, immunology or cell biology is desired to perform experiments.
Note: This internship takes place in the city of Recife, Brazil.
FOCUS AREA #14 – Diagnostic and Prognostic Markers of Infectious and Chronic Diseases
About: The Fiocruz Pernambuco Instituto Aggeu Magalhães (IAM) research team studies the immunogenetic aspects of infectious diseases (Zika and COVID-19), chronic-degenerative diseases and cancer (cervix and children), in search of new diagnostic and prognostic markers and knowledge on the pathophysiology of these diseases.
Intern Responsibilities: The intern will work with immunohistochemistry activities to assess the expression of a specific marker in pediatric solid tumors and will participate in molecular qPCR analysis to determine gene expression. The intern can also join in gene amplification, sequencing, and analysis activities to associate genetic markers with disease development. This work will take place in the Immunogenetic laboratory at the Institute Aggeu Magalhães.
Qualifications: The intern must have academic experience in molecular biology/genetics and immunology. The intern must know the procedures for working in a laboratory environment and with human biological samples and be able to pipette small volumes.
Note: This internship takes place in the city of Recife, Brazil.
FOCUS AREA #15 – Amazonian Indigenous Health
About: The research group works in the areas of public health policies for riverside and rural populations in the Amazon, indigenous medicine, and traditional practices of indigenous health, monitoring of traditional midwives in the municipalities of the State of Amazonas.
Intern Responsibilities: The intern will participate in field activities with researchers and graduate students. There will be opportunities to participate in workshops with traditional populations in the Amazon and to visit partner institutions to explore the research group's areas of activity. Field activities are carried out in inland municipalities, and some trips are carried out by boat and/or plane.
Qualifications: The intern should be eager to learn and willing to participate in local activities and culture, including sleeping in a hammock, traveling on a boat, etc.
Note: This internship takes place in the city of Manaus in the Brazilian Amazon.
FOCUS AREA #16 – Viral Infections in the Brazilian Amazon
About: This internship involves two principal research themes: understanding mechanisms of immunopathogenesis and diagnosis and distribution dynamics of viral infections in the Brazilian Amazon. The laboratory studies tropical diseases such as Malaria, Chikungunya, Mayaro, Zika and Dengue, with an emphasis on translational research on immunopathological aspects, as well as the discovery of new drugs and diagnosis. Currently, there are two ongoing longitudinal cohorts in Manaus to understand durability of immune response to COVID-19 booster vaccines among adult population of both sexes (DETECTCoV-19) and immune response in Breastmilk (PROTECTCoV-19).
Intern Responsibilities: The intern will have an overview of how field and laboratory activities integrate and how translational research is performed. Laboratory activities include understanding and performing immunodiagnostic assays (different types of ELISA, ELISpot etc), culture of mammalian cells, and virus cultivation and quantification. Field activities include interview and data collection and collection, sorting, recording, preservation, and storage of biological samples (human and/or animal).
Qualifications: The intern should have an academic background in biological or health science. The intern should have an understanding of participant records according to IRB guidelines to ensure confidentiality, as well as prior use of REDCap software.
Please note that the lab conducts meetings in English, but the lab is transdisciplinary and international with people speaking Spanish, Hindi, Marathi, Portuguese, and English.
Note: This internship takes place in the city of Manaus in the Brazilian Amazon.
FOCUS AREA #17 – Development of Point-of-Care Laboratory Diagnostic Tests
About: The Fiocruz Paraná Instituto Carlos Chagas (ICC) research team is devoted to creating solutions that allow laboratory diagnostic tests to be used at the point-of-care or in areas with little-to-none infrastructure. They apply techniques from different fields, namely biochemistry, molecular biology, paper microfluidics and 3D printing, to develop simplified protocols for molecular diagnostic tests, without losing their specificity and sensitivity.
Intern Responsibilities: The intern will follow the graduate students of the lab closely in performing one of the many routine experiments of developing new protocols: preparation of solutions and standard dilutions, set up/running/analysis of PCR/qPCR/LAMP protocols, 3D design and printing, oligonucleotide design, paper crafting for microfludics devices. Specific experiments will be tailored towards the intern's knowledge, abilities, and interests.
Qualifications: The intern should have academic backgrounds in health-, biology-, or biotechnology- related fields. Minimal qualifications include basic knowledge of laboratory practices, such as pipet handling/use and bio/chemistry safety. Ideally, the intern would have basic knowledge of molecular biology, or 3D/paper design & printing.
Note: This internship takes place in the city of Curitiba, Brazil.
Website: portal.fiocruz.br/en
View Internship Summary Posters and Videos from Past Fiocruz Princeton Student Interns:
Summer 2022
Alaina Chiriyankandath Joby ’24 - Combating Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in Brazil (Video Presentation)
Johnson Lin ’25 - Public Health during the Anthropocene: A Survey of Brasil's Unified Health Care System (Video Presentation)
Nhuquynh Nguyen ’23 - Determinants of Healthcare Inequalities in Brazil: A Qualitative Approach (Video Presentation)
Joan Perez ’23 - Maternity and Perinatal Health in Brazil: Understanding the Struggles that Women and Children Face when Diagnosed with Chronic/Infectious Diseases (Video Presentation)
Safiya Topiwala ’24 - Leprosy Research in Rio de Janeiro: A Molecular Approach (Video Presentation)
Tiffany Tsai ’25 - Prevailing Socioeconomic Conditions: Contextualizing Disparities in Healthcare in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Video Presentation)
Michelle Wang ’23 - Assessing the Intersection of Health Outcomes and Disaster and Risk Management (Video Presentation)
- Assisting the IOC team in organizing spreadsheets for:
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International Care Ministries
Community-Based Health Impact Assessment
Location: Manila, Philippines
Duration: 8-10 weeks
Number of Positions: 1
Stipend: $6,000
To Apply via GPS: Click Here
About: International Care Ministries (ICM) is a non-governmental organization that has been serving the ultrapoor in the Philippines since 1992. In partnership with community leaders from thousands of slum communities, ICM delivers programs that transform the lives of more than 100,000 destitute people each year. These multidisciplinary interventions address values, health and livelihood. ICM is a Christian faith-based non-governmental organization; however, interns may be from any background, and the analytical work is secular.
Intern Responsibilities: Interns will partner with the ICM Health Services and Research Teams to develop a research strategy that either analyzes survey and operational data collected from community-based health interventions or collects novel data from patients to better understand intervention design and acceptance. They can use statistical and epidemiological methods to understand the outcomes of these interventions or qualitative methods to collect patient experiences and insight. Interns may also have the opportunity to participate in health program design efforts. If the internship is in-person and it is safe to travel domestically, it may be recommended for interns to travel to project sites on islands in central Philippines to interview stakeholders and collect data.
The student will be given an opportunity to work with a real dataset collected through an intervention that is currently running in the Philippines. The households receiving the interventions live in extreme poverty; therefore, the student will also get an understanding of the challenges associated with working in these contexts. As the interventions will continue to run, the outcomes of analyses could be utilized to benefit future protocols and delivery strategies.
Past projects also include preparing frameworks for the revision of ICM’s primary health education curriculum (including qualitative assessment of feasibility and effectiveness in the field); regional epidemic mapping of health needs to assess the applicability of ICM’s health training; assisting in development and revision of current health intervention protocols; and analysis and evaluation of ICM’s overall data collection systems. Additional responsibilities may include writing or assistance with other program activities. The intern will be expected to complete work independently, but will have weekly meetings with a supervisor.
Qualifications: Strong quantitative and qualitative analytical skills, and experience with R, Stata, or Python (strongly preferred). Familiarity with public health issues.
Website: www.caremin.com
View Internship Summary Posters and Videos from Past ICM Princeton Student Interns:
Summer 2022
Nicabec Casido '22 - Working to Improve Healthcare Equity: Learning from the COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout and the Risk Factors of IFDs in the Philippines (Video Presentation)
Summer 2021
Sandra Yang '22 - Assessing Health Intervention Technology and Effectiveness of Early Childhood Education in Ultra-Poor Communities in the Philippines (Video Presentation)
Alaina Joby ’24 - Transforming Ultrapoor Communities in the Philippines: A Qualitative Approach (Video Presentation)
Summer 2020
Abigail Drummond '22 - Health is Wealth: COVID-19 Testing, Healthcare Access, and Inequality in the Philippines and Southeast Asia (Video Presentation)
Summer 2019
Maricar Almeda '22 - Barriers to Maternal Care Access in Resource Limited Areas in the Philippines
Annika Kruse '20 - A Follow-up on Children with Severe Acute Malnutrition Treated with Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food in Rural Philippines
Summer 2018
Mitashee Das '20 - Maternal Care Access in Resource-Limited Settings in the Philippines
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University of Malaya
Health Research Internship
Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Duration: 8-10 weeks
Number of Positions: 1-2
Stipend: $6,000
To Apply via GPS: Click Here
About: University of Malaya (UM), Malaysia's oldest university, is situated on a 922 acre campus in the southwest of Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. UM is committed to advancing knowledge and learning through quality research and education for the nation and for humanity.
The intern will work in the Division of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, University of Malaya under the direction of Dr. Lee-Ling LIM, focusing on the epidemiology of diabetes and complications among adults in Malaysia. The study aims to examine the control of cardiometabolic risk factors and to describe clinical characteristics and patterns of medication use among people with type 2 diabetes in Malaysia. Cross-sectional data collection will be conducted at 13 endocrinologist-led diabetes centers nationwide between January 2023 and June 2023.
Intern Responsibilities: The intern will contribute to the TARGET-T2D study through data cleaning, analysis and reporting (such as abstract submission/presentation and potentially manuscript writing).
Qualifications: Applicants should have skills in Microsoft Excel, statistical analysis software (at least a basic level of SPSS or similar app) and academic writing.
Website: https://medicine.um.edu.my/medicine-department
View Internship Summary Posters and Videos from Past University of Malaya Princeton Student Interns:
Summer 2022
Andrew Hsu ’25 - Cardiometabolic Risk Factor Control and Treatment Among Type II Diabetes Patients Across Greater Kuala Lumpur (Video Presentation)
Summer 2021
Nathan Shin ’24 - Psychosocial Impacts among Type 2 Diabetes Patients during the COVID-19 Pandemic (Video Presentation)
Sarah Yashar-Gershman ’21 - A Scoping Review: What Power and Agency Do Women Maintain in the HIV Disclosure Conversation? (Video Presentation)
Summer 2020
Kamila Radjabova '21 - Consistent Condom Usage Among Intimate Partners of HIV Positive Men Who Inject Drugs
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One Health Trust
Vaccine & Antimicrobial Resistance Research
Location: Bangalore, India
Duration: 8-10 weeks
Number of Positions: 2
Stipend: $6,000
To Apply via GPS: Click Here
About: At One Health Trust (OHT), we believe that answers to the world’s most critical questions lie between disciplines. Accordingly, our researchers employ a range of expertise—from economics, epidemiology, disease modeling, and risk analysis to clinical and veterinary medicine, geographic information systems, and statistics—to conduct actionable, policy-oriented research. Our projects address major global health challenges, including Covid-19, antimicrobial resistance, hospital infections, tuberculosis, malaria, pandemic preparedness and response, vaccines, medical oxygen shortages, and noncommunicable diseases.
OHT has offices in Washington, D.C., and Bangalore, India, with researchers based in North America, Africa, and Asia. Our projects lead to policy recommendations and scientific studies published in leading journals. We are experienced in addressing country-specific and regional issues as well as global challenges. Our research is renowned for innovative approaches to design and analysis, and we communicate our work to diverse stakeholders.
Please note that there are two (2) potential focus areas for a student intern. When applying, please indicate the one or ones you would like to be considered for.
FOCUS AREA #1 - The Value of Vaccines in Mitigating AMR in India
About: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a rapidly emerging global public health threat. The rising prevalence of drug-resistant infections challenges modern medicine by limiting life-saving therapeutic options and exacerbating the morbidity and mortality associated with infectious diseases, especially for those who cannot afford more expensive antimicrobials. Vaccines are a critical yet underutilized tool for mitigating AMR. They prevent infections, lower the demand for treatment, reduce overall antimicrobial use, and thereby mitigate one of several factors that accelerate the emergence and spread of drug resistance. Recent studies by OHT researchers and collaborators in the ARVac consortium provide compelling evidence of the significant health and economic impact of several vaccines (potential, new and current) and their contribution to reducing AMR. However, despite accumulating evidence linking vaccination to AMR mitigation, there is little awareness, recognition, and interdisciplinary funding for such efforts at the clinical and policy levels. This project will involve generating evidence on the added value of vaccines to reduce AMR and engaging with stakeholders and policymakers to translate this evidence into policy action.
Intern Responsibilities: The position involves researching and synthesizing data on infectious disease burden, antimicrobial resistance, and vaccine coverage from databases, reports, and scientific literature. In addition, it may involve the writing of reports and the development of slide decks as communication material.
Qualifications: Familiarity with basic epidemiology and statistics, and experience reading the scientific and social science literature are an asset, as are good writing skills, and ability to work independently.
FOCUS AREA #2 - The National Oxygen Grid in India
About: India faces a significant burden of morbidity and mortality due to the lack of access to medical oxygen. The OxygenForIndia initiative was founded by CDDEP/OHT and partnering institutions to address critical oxygen shortages — a problem revealed and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. During the devastating humanitarian crisis of April 2021, OxygenForIndia deployed 20,000 reusable oxygen cylinders and 3,000 oxygen concentrators in 57 urban and rural centers across India. Currently, the OHT team and partners are working to build a stable and reliable oxygen supply system, a national oxygen grid (NOG), to avoid preventable deaths and improve pandemic preparedness.
Intern Responsibilities: The position involves working with a broader team that is designing a national oxygen grid. The intern is expected to support this team and to provide backup analytics for the grid design.
Qualifications: Analytic and writing skills and ability to work independently.
Website: onehealthtrust.org
View Internship Summary Posters and Videos from Past One Health Trust (formerly CDDEP) Princeton Student Interns:
Summer 2022
India Behl ’24 - Bacteria Knows No Border: Antimicrobial Resistance Across Africa (Video Presentation)
Srista Tripathi ’25 – Fighting Infectious Diseases, Antimicrobial Resistance and Misinformation (Video Presentation)
Summer 2021
Varun Devraj ’23 - An Unseen and Deadly Fungal Infection: Documenting the Global Burden of Mucormycosis with a Systematic Literature Review (Video Presentation)
Sameed Sayeed ’23 – CDDEP Research Internship (Video Presentation)
Summer 2020
Chirag Kumar '23 - One Step Ahead: Predicting Antimicrobial Resistance from Geographic Variables in India (Video Presentation)
Summer 2019
Daniel Liu '21 - The End of Modern Medicine: The Rise of Antimicrobial Resistance
Summer 2018
Nell McKenna '20 - The Rising Threat of Antimicrobial Resistance: A Look into Effects of Primary Care, Medical Standards, and Antibiotic Consumption
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Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU)
Antibiotic Resistance Internships
Location: Hanoi, Vietnam
Duration: 8-10 weeks
Number of Positions: Up to 4
Stipend: $6,000
To Apply via GPS: Click Here
About: The Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU) aims to have a positive and significant impact on global health and, in particular, the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases. OUCRU's key areas of research are: Dengue fever; malaria; tuberculosis; influenza; enterics; HIV and HIV coinfection; central nervous system infections; animal health and zoonoses; pharmacology; and statistics, bioinformatics, modeling, and mapping.
Please note that there are two (2) potential focus areas for a student intern. When applying, please indicate the one or ones you would like to be considered for.
FOCUS AREA #1 – Antibiotic Treatment, Outcomes and Hospitalization Costs of Bloodstream Infections in Hospitals
About: The antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) research team in OUCRU Hanoi group is evaluating the health and economic impact of AMS interventions to improve antibiotic use and patient outcomes and control antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in hospitals. We use various research designs and analysis approaches including implementation research, case-control, cross-sectional surveys and assessments, interrupted time-series analysis, qualitative study, burden of disease analysis, and economic evaluation.
OUCRU has collaborated with different hospitals in the network and generated clinical, microbiological and administrative datasets from the hospital routine information systems with various timeframes. In this proposal, we aim to analyze these datasets to characterize patients with confirmed and suspected bloodstream infections (BSI) in terms of antibiotic therapies, treatment outcomes, and costs of hospitalization to inform the design of stewardship interventions for this clinical syndrome.
Intern Responsibilities:
- Identify patients with confirmed or suspected diagnosis of BSI in the datasets using a combination of ICD codes and text-based diagnosis
- Linking these patients with microbiological data to identify those with confirmed BSI
- Summarize antibiotic treatment therapies in these confirmed and suspected BSI patients
- Summarize the pathogens found in the confirmed BSI patients and their resistance levels
- Summarize the discharge outcomes and hospitalization costs in confirmed and suspected BSI patients
- Further analysis and writing activities are possible
Qualifications:
- Skills and experience in data processing and data analysis using R program (mandatory).
- Studying or having knowledge of biomedical or related fields (preferred).
This internship will take place at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi, Vietnam.
FOCUS AREA #2 - Epidemiological Studies and Interventions to Tackle Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)
About: OUCRU is currently conducting population-based studies in northern Vietnam to understand antibiotic use and AMR in healthcare settings, communities, farms and the environment. The OUCRU team is implementing a full system intervention across hospital, primary healthcare, community and farm settings, to optimize the use of antibiotics and reduce environmental transmission. They are also exploring the association between climate and AMR, through systematic reviews and big data analysis.
Intern Responsibilities: Interns may be involved with literature review, writing, and/or data analysis, depending on their skills and interests. There may be opportunities to work with microbiology data and observe lab work.
Qualifications: Required skills include the ability to review and critically appraise literature. Data analysis skills are desirable but not essential.
Interns will be based at one of the two offices in Hanoi, but there may be opportunities to visit project sites in Nam Dinh Province.
Website: www.oucru.org
View Internship Summary Posters and Videos from Past OUCRU Princeton Student Interns:
Summer 2022
Brad Luo ’23 - A Systematic Review of Gene Mutations Mediating Antimicrobial Resistance (Video Presentation)
Christian Pollard ’23 - Point-Gene Mutations and Antimicrobial Resistance (Video Presentation)
Andrew Tran ’23 - Antimicrobial Resistance in Vietnam: Towards Community-Based Interventions and Systematic Review (Video Presentation)
Isaac Yi ’24 - The Global Landscape of Antimicrobial Resistance in The Environment (Video Presentation)
Summer 2021
Sofiya Yusina ’22 – Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare workers in Nepal, Indonesia, and Vietnam (Video Presentation)
Olivia Chen ’22 – Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on communities in Nepal, Indonesia, and Vietnam
Summer 2020
Taishi Nakase '21 - Temporospatial Model of Measles Epidemics in Vietnam (Video Presentation)
Megan Tang '22 - Factors of Antibiotic Resistance in Vietnam: Prescribing in Primary Healthcare (Video Presentation)
Summer 2019
Jaeyoon Cha '21 - Analysis of 546 M. tuberculosis Genomes from the Indian Subcontinent
Mary DeVellis '21 - Antimicrobial Resistance in Vietnam: A Qualitative Approach
Arielle Lawson '20 and Nikita Nangia '20 - Vaccine Non-specific Effects: A Solution to the Antibiotic Resistance Crisis
Sarah Perkins '21 - Incidence Estimation for Uncertain Events
Summer 2018
Dylan Kim '21 - Child Vaccination Indicators in Developing Countries
Katherine Park '19 - Health Policies Regarding Antimicrobial Resistance in Developing and Developed Countries
Tiffany Pham '20 - Mapping of Resistance Data for Non-Malarial Febrile Illness in South East Asia
Tianyi Wang '19 - Care-Seeking and Antibiotic Use Over Time in Children Under 5 in Vietnam
Summer 2017
Crystal Wang '18 - Post-Viral Burden of Dengue in Vietnam
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University of Sunderland
Reducing Social Isolation through the Arts and Community-Based Approaches
Location: Sunderland, England
Duration: 8-10 weeks
Number of Positions: 3
Stipend: $6,000
To Apply via GPS: Click Here
About: Internships at the Helen McArdle Nursing and Care Institute, based in the School of Nursing and Health Sciences, Faculty of Healthcare Sciences at the University of Sunderland, focus on social prescribing, described as a range of non-clinical interventions designed to support health and wellbeing and reduce health inequalities. There is established evidence on the positive impact of social prescribing for both service users and the health care system. Our internships are in collaboration with the Institute’s external partners who deliver a range of social prescribing interventions across Sunderland. The Institute is home to the Sunderland Social Prescribing Research and Knowledge Exchange Centre, which aims to collect evidence of the effectiveness and impact of social prescribing in Sunderland and contribute to delivery of our Healthy City Plan 2020-2030.
The internships are within the external organizations, with protected time in the Institute and mentoring by our team of academics to enhance the Sunderland experience. Upon arrival at Sunderland, the intern will take part in a comprehensive induction program to learn more about the history of Sunderland, health inequalities, our University and Institute and our partnership model of working across the City. Following this, interns will commence their internships in their respective organizations, but there will be synergy across the internships and opportunities for the interns to work collaboratively.
Please note that there are three (3) potential focus areas for a student intern. When applying, please indicate the one or ones you would like to be considered for.
FOCUS AREA #1 – Supporting the Health and Wellbeing of Veterans in Sunderland
About: In collaboration with Veterans in Crisis Sunderland (VICS), this internship will explore the role of the voluntary sector in engaging and supporting the health and wellbeing of the veteran community in Sunderland. The intern will work closely with VICS and University staff on supporting delivery of programs offered by VICS, take part in social prescribing activities and work closely with service users.
Intern Responsibilities: Veterans in Crisis Sunderland is a social enterprise dedicated to supporting the welfare of veterans and their families based in the City of Sunderland. VICS offers a range of services and programs to veterans which promote social inclusion and are driven by the health and wellbeing needs of the veterans themselves. VICS carry out their work supported by a range of partners across Sunderland. Current projects include running regular drop-in sessions, a series of arts workshops at the National Glass Centre in Sunderland, walking groups and establishing a network of support services for veterans and their families to access. VICS is a young, dynamic organization, and other projects are in various stages of development, allowing a wide range of experiential learning to be gained.
The internship will be based in Sunderland, but there may be travel involved to activities and events, but the intern will travel with VICS. The intern will work collaboratively with VICS and have close contact with both VICS and the Helen McArdle Nursing and Care Research Institute.
Qualifications: It is important that the intern has in interest in biopsychosocial approaches to health and care, and veteran wellbeing. The intern should possess strong communication skills, be able to demonstrate high levels of empathy and be prepared to be flexible in working across a range of projects with different people and liaising with other organizations. Applicants will be expected to work within a team and work independently. Subject-related mentoring support will be provided by the Faculty of Health Sciences and Wellbeing, University of Sunderland.
FOCUS AREA #2 – Supporting the Voluntary, Charitable and Social Enterprise Sector to Deliver Social Prescribing Initiatives
About: Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organizations are at the heart of communities and have a unique understanding of the needs of the communities they serve. They have an important role to play in building resilience, cohesion and increasing local assets to build health and wellbeing, thereby making a significant, but often under-recognized contribution to the healthcare system. In collaboration with the University of Sunderland, the candidates will work across a range of community-based projects, supporting the delivery of social prescribing interventions led by the VCSE sector in Sunderland.
Intern Responsibilities: There is a broad scope of activities available depending on the interests of the interns, including: Face-to-face work with service users of social prescribing interventions, supporting the organization, delivery and administration of social prescribing in the VCSE sector, undertaking research activities in the Helen McArdle Nursing and Care Research Institute e.g. literature searches, data analysis, report writing, opportunities to spend time in partner organizations to learn about organizing, commissioning and delivery of health care services in NHS and government settings, and spending time in arts and cultural organizations supporting social prescribing projects. VCSE carry out their work, supported by a range of partners across Sunderland. Current projects include health and wellbeing roadshow interventions across Sunderland, activities for families to improve health inequalities and workplace wellbeing activities that support wellbeing at work.
The internship will be based in Sunderland, but there may be travel involved to activities and projects and the intern will travel with VCSE. The intern will work collaboratively with VCSE and will have close contact with the Helen McArdle Nursing and Care Research Institute.
Qualifications: It is important that the intern has in interest in the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector in relation to health and wellbeing of communities. The intern should possess strong communication skills, be able to demonstrate high levels of empathy and be prepared to be flexible in working across a range of projects with different people and liaising with other organizations. Applicants will be expected to work within a team and work independently. Subject-related mentoring support will be provided by the Faculty of Health Sciences and Wellbeing, University of Sunderland.
FOCUS AREA #3 – Partnership Working to Build Community Resilience
About: Southwick Altogether Raising Aspirations (SARA) is a partnership that offers help to the community to access support and gives people in the Southwick ward a say about what the priorities should be for the area. The partnership is a joint approach to build community confidence with a range of services coming together in one community hub.
Intern Responsibilities: In collaboration with SARA this internship will explore the role of engaging and supporting residents in the community and understanding their needs. Candidates will work closely with SARA and University staff in supporting delivery of programs and projects along with a broad scope of activities depending on the interests of the interns, including: Face-to-face work with residents, supporting the organization, delivery and administration and undertaking research activities in the Helen McArdle Nursing and Care Research Institute e.g. literature searches, data analysis, report writing, opportunities to spend time in partner organizations to learn about organizing, commissioning and delivery of community services in NHS and government settings.
SARA carry out their work, supported by a range of partners across Sunderland including Sunderland City Council, Northumbria Police and Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue. Current projects include developing the Southwick area using vacant land, with initiatives such as outdoor seating areas, football skills areas, and community outdoor gardens.
The internship will be based in Sunderland, but there may be travel involved to activities and projects, but the intern will travel with SARA. The intern will work collaboratively with both SARA and the Helen McArdle Nursing and Care Research Institute and would suit a variety of academic disciplines, but it is important that the intern has in interest working directly with residents in a community setting and supporting with local topics and the delivery of projects.
Qualifications: The intern should possess strong communication skills, be able to demonstrate high levels of empathy and be prepared to be flexible in working across a range of projects with different people and liaising with other organizations. Applicants will be expected to work within a team and work independently. Subject-related mentoring support will be provided by the Faculty of Health Sciences and Wellbeing, University of Sunderland.
Website: www.sunderland.ac.uk and veteransincrisis.co.uk
View Internship Summary Posters and Videos from Past Sunderland Princeton Student Interns:
Summer 2022
Naomi Frim-Abrams ’23 - The Role of Community Arts Organizations in Health and Wellbeing: Sunderland, England (Video Presentation)
William Koloc ’25 - Social Prescribing in Sunderland: A Holistic Approach to Health and Wellbeing (Video Presentation)
April Yoo ’24 - Combatting Social Isolation with Veterans in Crisis (VICS)! (Video Presentation)
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Telethon Kids Institute
Various Research Internships
Location: Perth, Australia
Duration: 8-10 weeks
Number of Positions: 9
Stipend: $7,000
To Apply via GPS: Click Here
About: The Telethon Kids Institute (TKI) is a research organization that brings together communities, researchers, practitioners, policy makers and funders, who share a vision to improve the health and wellbeing of children through excellence in research. TKI’s research focus areas include aboriginal health; brain and behavior; chronic and severe diseases; and early environment.
Please note that there are nine (9) potential focus areas for a student intern. When applying, please indicate the one or ones you would like to be considered for.
FOCUS AREA #1 – Early Neurodevelopment and Mental Health
About: The Early Neurodevelopment and Mental Health team is focused on preventing childhood mental illness and optimizing children’s development and wellbeing in the first years of their life. TKI is interested in understanding and identifying the factors that contribute to difficulties in mental health and development, as well as developing cost-effective prevention and early intervention approaches for addressing developmental needs and promoting resilience.
This project involves working with parents and early child and parenting support services to co-design and trial a novel, strengths-based digital intervention to support self-regulation in toddlers (24-36 months). Healthy self-regulation is a cornerstone of childhood social and emotional development.
Across developmental stages, self-regulation is consistently associated with positive mental health and adaptive functioning, while self-regulatory difficulties in the first years of life are linked to risk of mental health problems across the lifecourse. TKI aims to develop a strength-based and personalized approach in which parents feel empowered to engage with the intervention in a way that works for them. The team will work with parents and community partners to co-create the user experience elements and determine the need for implementation support resources (e.g., a manual for community partners).
Intern Responsibilities: The intern will be responsible for assisting with co-design workshops, qualitative interviews, and supporting our data analysis and reporting activities. There may also be digital design activities, depending on the technical skills of the intern.
Qualifications: An interest in early child development and co-design is preferred.
FOCUS AREA #2 – Ending Rheumatic Heart Disease Research Program
About: The END RHD Program comprises of 5 multidisciplinary teams whose projects span a wide research portfolio of basic science to translational projects. The END RHD Program sits under the Early Environment theme and the Wesfarmers Centre for Vaccines and Infectious Diseases at the Telethon Kids Institute.
For all staff and students in the END RHD program at Telethon Kids Institute, our vision is simple: to conduct the research needed to eliminate rheumatic heart disease as a public health problem in Australia by 2031. This vision aspires that Aboriginal children have no greater risk of developing RHD than non‐Aboriginal children. It is an ambitious goal and requires cutting edge evidence translated into policy and practice. The team has aligned all research endeavors with the blueprint for ending RHD, and in collaboration with Aboriginal partners, the team will provide the evidence, research translation and policy guidance to have immediate impact. This must be done. Without this strong, clarifying vision and ambitious plan, hundreds more lives will be shortened or lost from an entirely preventable condition.
Intern Responsibilities: With 5 teams working from bush to bench to bedside and beyond, the scope of work available to the intern is flexible to their skill sets and interests.
Qualifications:
- Academic study in a health care field e.g. nursing, medicine or allied health.
- Excellent communication skills.
- Interest in Aboriginal health and wellbeing.
- Become part of a highly innovative team with extensive support and mentorship.
- Be willing to work in partnership with communities.
- Have strong data analysis skills and writing skills.
FOCUS AREA #3 – Western Diagnostic Clinical Pathology Data for ORIGINS Mums and Children
About: The ORIGINS team is a diverse and highly passionate team with backgrounds and experience in psychology, public health, health promotion, biological sciences, data linkage & management, project management, pediatrics and nursing. In addition to the supervisors listed above the student will have the opportunity to spend time and work alongside several members of the ORIGINS team and assist with the day-to-day running of the project, including observing face-to- face clinic appointments with ORIGINS families.
The ORIGINS Project is a decade-long collaborative initiative between the Joondalup Health Campus (JHC) and the Telethon Kids Institute (TKI) to establish a Western Australian (WA) birth cohort of 10,000 families, enrolled during pregnancy. It is currently funded to follow up participating children and their families to five years of age. Comprehensive data and biological samples are collected from participants at up to 15 different timepoints, from the first antenatal clinic visit. This information is collected to study the origins of non-communicable disease and the health and wellbeing development of children and family in the first years of life.
Biological samples including, saliva, buccal, blood, urine and faeces from ORIGINS Mums and Children are processed and stored at the Western Diagnostics Pathology facility in Jandakot. Clinical pathology results are significant in diagnosing a patient and are an important puzzle piece in understanding a whole picture of an individual’s health. Whilst some clinical results have been generated for the ORIGINS cohort, they have not yet been transferred to the ORGINS data system and are required for ORIGINS sub-projects and in-house data analysis.
Intern Responsibilities: Working with the ORIGINS Western Diagnostics team, the ORIGINS Biobank and ORIGINS Data team, assist with collation of the ORIGINS clinical results in order to integrate the information into the ORIGINS Data Ecosystem.
- Participate in daily tasks at the Western Diagnostics laboratory
- Observe the processing and storage of samples at Western Diagnostics
- Demonstrate an understanding of the Western Diagnostics laboratory data system
- Extract ORIGINS clinical results
- Link the clinical results to the ORIGINS Data Ecosystem, using ORIGINS identifiers.
- Undertake a small analysis project of the Western Diagnostics clinical results
The intern would spend time at multiple ORIGINS sites, including: JHC and TKI Joondalup (a northern suburb in the Perth Metropolitan area), TKI (Nedlands near Perth city) and Western Diagnostics Pathology Laboratory (Jandakot, a southern suburb in the Perth Metropolitan area).
Qualifications:
- Experience with and understanding of basic lab techniques including pipetting, labelling and cryo-preservation.
- Experience with and understanding of sterile technique.
- Ability to work in a high-throughput environment which requires strict attention to detail.
- Vaccination status in accordance with Western Diagnostics requirements including Hep B and multiple COVID vaccinations.
- An understanding of population health data, REDCap survey collection and health data identifiers.
- The student is expected to have an understanding of good clinical practice and knowledge of chronic disease from the life course perspective.
FOCUS AREA #4 – Calibrating Cluster Detection for Causal Discovery
About: The Geospatial Health and Development team brings together researchers with expertise in a range of disciplines from public health to mathematics, geography and epidemiology. The team focuses on addressing global and local health challenges using innovative analysis methods. Our flagship project is the Malaria Atlas Project which tracks the global distribution of malaria, its risks and the intervention coverage.
Intern Responsibilities: The intern will run statistical (Monte Carlo) simulations to create fake datasets of rare diseases in a population and use them to calibrate the satscan software to be used for understanding the role of environmental risk factors. The intern will also perform the following activities:
- Simulate statistical distribution in R to write a script that writes out and reads in inputs from satscan
- Produce visualizations and summaries of results
- Write a report
Qualifications: Preferred experience with writing code or using statistical analysis packages.
FOCUS AREA #5 – Communicating Malaria Risk through Maps
About: The Geospatial Health and Development team brings together researchers with expertise in a range of disciplines from public health to mathematics, geography and epidemiology. The team will focus on addressing global and local health challenges using innovative analysis methods. Our flagship project is the Malaria Atlas Project which tracks the global distribution of malaria, its risks and the intervention coverage.
Intern Responsibilities: The intern will create innovative visualizations for communications of malaria risk maps. The intern will also work with ArcGIS/R/other software packages for map making and/or working with Indesign/Photoshop/other creative suite for visualizations.
Qualifications: Preferred prior experience writing code or using ArcGIS/R. Background or interest in geography and/or graphic design useful.
FOCUS AREA #6 – Investigating Bias in African Mosquito Records to Improve Malaria Risk Mapping
About: The Malaria Ecology team focuses on developing model-based, data-informed research methods to guide public health decision-making on infectious diseases.
As part of the work on the Vector Atlas, TKI is interested in understanding sources of bias in the collection of mosquito occurrence data in Africa, as a means to improve modelling and therefore understanding of malaria risk. This internship will involve the collection and exploration of bias in mosquito occurrence data by systematic reviews of literature and public data sources.
Intern Responsibilities: The interns work will consist of project design and self-management, searching and reading scientific literature and public data sources, recording data, and may involve basic data programming and graphing in R if the intern is interested in learning these skills. The intern will work from the TKI Perth Children's Hospital campus.
Qualifications: The intern must have basic familiarity with scientific literature. Interns with knowledge of scientific data management and/or literature searching experience are preferred. Knowledge of the statistical programming environment R or similar is preferred.
FOCUS AREA #7 – Mapping Tuberculosis Mortality Rate in Ethiopia Using Geospatial Analysis
About: The Geospatial and Tuberculosis (GeoTB) Research Group is based at Telethon Kids Institute within the Geospatial Health and Development (GHD) Team. The GeoTB Research Group focuses on designing innovative approaches to improve the efficacy of public health interventions that aim to control and ultimately eliminate TB in low- and middle-income countries. The GooTB Research group focuses on geospatial modelling and other quantitative methods to improve the understanding of the TB burden at global, national, and local levels and to generate new evidence that can be applied to achieve the global end TB targets. In addition to work on TB, the GeoTB Research Group has also undertaken research on other infectious diseases including malaria, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections. Recently, the GeoTB Research Group has also been actively involved in Coronavirus-2019 (COVID- 19) related research to provide evidence supporting the national and global response efforts against the pandemic.
Tuberculosis (TB) is a preventable and treatable disease, yet it remains the second leading cause of death from an infectious disease worldwide, killing more than one million people every year. The geographical distribution of TB varies across the globe, and across districts within countries. Africa is the second most affected region, accounting for a quarter (25%) of the global TB deaths. Despite the availability of various interventions such as vaccination and preventive treatment, TB continues to be an endemic disease in several countries including in Ethiopia. The emergence of multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) with resistance to rifampicin and isoniazid (the two most important first line therapeutic agents) has also posed an additional challenge for global and national TB control efforts. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study and the World Health Organization (WHO) have produced national-level estimates of mortality from TB on an annual basis. However, mortality rate for administrative units of countries such as districts may differ significantly from the national average. Sub-national level analyses are important for planning purposes and to determine where services can further be enhanced. Thus, the overall aim of this project is to estimate the morality rate of TB at national, sub-national and local levels in Ethiopia using advanced geospatial modelling techniques. The outputs of this study will provide evidence for policymakers to help reduce the mortality rate of TB in highly affected areas.
Intern Responsibilities: The inter will be working on data management, geospatial analysis, and manuscript writing with the support of the supervisor.
Qualifications: Qualifications in public health, epidemiology, statistics, biostatistics, economics or a health-related field are preferred. Prior knowledge and application of statistical methods and prior professional or research experience in infectious diseases both desirable.
FOCUS AREA #8 – Dads and Development: Exploring the Role of Fathers in Promoting the Health and Development of their Children
About: This project contributes to Dr. Vincent Mancini’s broader vision for healthy fathers, healthy families, healthy children. This newly formulated research group housed within the School and Community Wellbeing Team at Telethon Kids Institute seeks to understand the various mechanisms through which fathers can transform the lives of their children, for the better. The work of the team is expansive, though is mostly situated within a psychological or health promotion context. The work that is undertaken by Dr. Mancini is also supported by The Fathering Project (www.TheFatheringProject.org), Australia’s largest non-for- profit organisation dedicated to support children by supporting fathers. Particular research interests are given to those populations or contexts with established risk for poorer child outcomes (e.g., incarcerated populations, rural and remote locations, Indigenous Australian populations, mental health difficulties, child disability, etc.).
One in five people living in Australia are biological fathers, and many more are “father figures”. With nearly all Australian children exposed to a father figure, empowering fathers to be able to support the positive development of their children, throughout their lives, is a critical component of population health. However, fathers have been largely underrepresented in the field of child health research, despite the increasing presence than many fathers have in child caring responsibilities. The research undertaken as part of this internship will seek to help address this gap in knowledge. At the discretion of the supervisor and the internship student, the project has several branches that students can be involved in. These are:
- An evidence-review of fathering programs designed for incarcerated men
- An evidence-review of fathering programs designed for fathers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Assisting in the collection, analysis, and reporting of data pertaining to the experiences of fathers who have children born very preterm and admitted to a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
- Research studies examining the association between father’s mental health, family functioning, and children’s health and developmental outcomes.
Intern Responsibilities: Interns may undertake the following activities:
- Developing search terms suitable for a PRISMA-Style systematic review of the literature (including potential meta-analysis).
- Evidence Synthesis
- Data Collection and Analysis
- Academic Writing (i.e., journal article style – note that students contributing to formal writing will have this work recognized through a co-authorship arrangement)
- Stakeholder engagement (e.g., helping to facilitate community reference groups, etc.).
- Regular activities held by the School and Community Wellbeing Team (Team Meetings, workshops, etc.).
The intern will work from the TKI Perth Children's Hospital campus.
Qualifications: Relevant background in health, policy, or social sciences (e.g., psychology) preferred. Experience with research methods (either quantitative or qualitative analyses) is also preferred.
FOCUS AREA #9 – Sleep Pattern Impact on Early Child Development and Mental Health
About: The Early Neurodevelopment and Mental Health team is focused on preventing childhood mental illness and optimizing children’s development and wellbeing in the first years of their life. The team is interested in understanding and identifying the factors that contribute to difficulties in mental health and development, as well as developing cost-effective prevention and early intervention approaches for addressing developmental needs and promoting resilience.
This project aims to engage service providers, pediatric sleep specialists, and parents of infants and young children, to co-design the content, user experience and engagement strategies for an online health promotion resource and manual for service providers that models a series of evidence-based sleep strategies for children of different ages (0-3 years). Difficulty sleeping in infancy has been associated with an increased risk of physical and mental health difficulties in later life, and problematic infant and child sleep patterns are challenging for many parents. TKI aims to develop the suite of sleep resources and test the feasibility and acceptability of the program with families and service providers.
Intern Responsibilities: The intern will be responsible for assisting with co-design workshops, provide support for data analysis, and assist with report writing. The intern may assist with the development of a communication plan to disseminate findings to enable the use of the intervention on a broader scale. There may also be digital design activities, depending on the technical skills of the intern.
Qualifications: An interest in early child development and co-design is preferred.
Website: www.telethonkids.org.au
View Internship Summary Posters and Videos from Past Telethon Kids Institute Princeton Student Interns:
Summer 2022
Tiffany Cao ’24 - Adapting clinical research to different cultures: A case study for Aboriginal children (Video Presentation)
Carlos Cortez ’24 - Developing a Cure for HGG: The Deadliest and Most Aggressive Form of Brain Cancer (Video Presentation)
Elena Montgomery ’23 – Blow, Breathe, Cough (BBC): A Telehealth-facilitated Randomized-controlled Trial Utilizing a Health Promotion Intervention to Resolve Otitis Media with Effusion for Children on Specialist Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) Waiting Lists (Video Presentation)
Tia Rozario ’23 - Breakfast Skipping and Academic Outcomes (Video Presentation)
Katelyn Ryu ’24 - Developing a Predictive Algorithm for Identifying Infants at Risk of Intellectual Disability (Video Presentation)
Christine Shin ’25 - Viral Respiratory Diseases HMPV in Western Australia (Video Presentation)
Emily Trieu ’23 - TKI: Child Home Learning Environment and sibling influence on child development (Video Presentation)
Anagam Udebiuwa ’23 - Rats and Radiosensitization: A Deep Dive Into Radiosensitizing Agents in the Treatment of Pediatric Brain Cancer (Video Presentation)
Kennedy Walls ’24 - Visualizing the Burden of Impetigo and Scabies in Remote Aboriginal Communities (Video Presentation)
Summer 2021
Cindy Cheng ’23 - Exclusionary Discipline and Mental Health of Children and Adolescents (Video Presentation)
Nathalie Rodilosso ’22 - Early Childhood Education Quality & Children’s Development in Lao PDR
Summer 2019
Coco Chou '20 - Missing Piece Surveillance Study
David Cordoba '20 - Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Youth with Type 1 Diabetes in Western Australia
Jocelyn Galindo '21 - The Measurement of Adequate Housing Conditions in Aboriginal Households Living in Urban Settings
Rachel Kim '20 - Quality of Life and Child Intellectual Disability
Lucy Wang '21 - SToP Trial: Assessing Impetigo and Scabies in Remote Aboriginal Communities
Summer 2018
Ellen Anshelevich '19 - Developing an Effective Community Care Program for Skin Infections in Aboriginal Communities
Andy Zheng '20 - Evaluating and Supporting Suicide Prevention: Addressing Social and Emotional Wellbeing
Summer 2017
Patrick Dinh '18 - Racism & Skin Disease in Aboriginal Communities in the Western Desert
Aaron Gurayah '18 - Beat CF: Overview of an Adaptive Clinical Trial in Respiratory Medicine
Danielle Victoriano '19 - AusVaxSafety: Descriptive Analysis for Zostavax
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The Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI)
Health Research Internships
Location: Pretoria, South Africa
Duration: 10 weeks
Number of Positions: 2
Stipend: $6,000
To Apply via GPS: Click Here
About: CHAI is a global health organization committed to strengthening integrated health systems in the developing world and expanding access to care and treatment for HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. CHAI’s solution-oriented approach focuses on improving market dynamics for medicines and diagnostics; lowering prices for treatment; accelerating access to life-saving technologies; and helping governments build the capacity required for high-quality care and treatment programs.
Please note that there are three (3) potential focus areas for a student intern. When applying, please indicate the one or ones you would like to be considered for.
FOCUS AREA #1 – Country Office Support Program
About: The CHAI country office seeks support for short term bid writing skills, scoping defined health projects, and assisting the Country Director. This would suit a good generalist undergraduate or graduate student interested in global health who wants to understand the range of programs covered by a major NGO.
Intern Responsibilities:
- Landscape scan for innovations in the South African health sector that can be scaled
- Scanning for funding opportunities linked to CHAI priority areas
- Assisting with writing up good practices (and practices that don’t work) in support of the Project Managers
- Working with the supervisor to write grant proposals
FOCUS AREA #2 – Malaria Program
About: Malaria is one of the world's most significant causes of illness, death and lost economic productivity. Over the past decade, dramatic increases in donor funding have facilitated scale-up of effective interventions to prevent, diagnose, and treat malaria. CHAI’s malaria program provides direct management and technical support to South Africa to strengthen their malaria program and reduce the burden of this preventable, treatable disease. We support governments to scale up effective interventions, with the goals of sustainably reducing the number of malaria-related illnesses and deaths worldwide in the short-term and accelerating progress towards malaria elimination in the long term.
One of the key areas CHAI has been supporting the national malaria program is in the development and deployment of a web based (DHIS2) national information system to strengthen malaria surveillance in line with the country’s National Strategic Plan for malaria elimination. Continuous monitoring and evaluation of the system is necessary to ensure that it’s fit for purpose and to understand how digital tools are used effectively for malaria surveillance, in order to inform system improvements; inform supervision and trainings; quantify the impacts of digital solutions, particularly on reporting rates and data quality; and understand the overall usefulness of digital solutions on the disease surveillance and health interventions. Key to this will be understanding the outcomes of a new surveillance system and if the use of data from a strong and suitable surveillance system has led to improved delivery of interventions and surveillance activities.
Intern Responsibilities:
- Report on impact of digital surveillance tools
- Epidemiological analysis
- Intervention impact write up for the FOCI clearing program
- World Health Organization malaria elimination requirements - documentation of processes
FOCUS AREA #3 – HIV Prevention Program: STIs & Prevention Integration
About: CHAI South Africa works closely with and supports the Ministry of Health’s HIV prevention program. Within the HIV prevention program, CHAI SA is working on HIV self-testing (referred to HIV self-screening in SA), the national roll-out of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), integration of HIV prevention services (STIs, PrEP, condoms, PEP, etc.), the national roll-out of the dual HIV/syphilis rapid diagnostic test in ANC settings to eliminate congenital syphilis, and general STI support.
Intern Responsibilities:
Integration HIV Prevention Program:
- Perform time-motion studies at facilities that have implemented HIV prevention integration interventions to establish the impact that the interventions have had
- Map the linkages that are observed and sample a select number of patient records to identify gaps and best practices
- Establish the effectiveness of mental health integration in primary healthcare facilities in West Rand, Gauteng
STI Program:
- Development of a demand generation strategy for the dual HIV/syphilis rapid diagnostic tests in key population groups, which include antenatal care (ANC) attendees, men, adolescent girls and young women
- Intervention impact analysis and write-up of implementing dual HIV/syphilis rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) into ANC settings
- Cost-benefit analysis of the universal introduction of rapid diagnostic hepatitis tests in ANC services in South Africa through a national tender process.
Website: https://www.clintonhealthaccess.org/
New Internship for 2023; no past Princeton interns.
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UNICEF South Africa
Health Research Internships
Location: Pretoria, South Africa
Duration: 8-10 weeks
Number of Positions: 3
Stipend: $6,000
To Apply via GPS: Click Here
About: UNICEF works in the world’s toughest places to reach the most disadvantaged children and adolescents – and to protect the rights of every child, everywhere. Across more than 190 countries and territories, we do whatever it takes to help children survive, thrive and fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence. The world’s largest provider of vaccines, we support child health and nutrition, safe water and sanitation, quality education and skill building, HIV prevention and treatment for mothers and babies, and the protection of children and adolescents from violence and exploitation. Before, during and after humanitarian emergencies, UNICEF is on the ground, bringing lifesaving help and hope to children and families. Non-political and impartial, we are never neutral when it comes to defending children’s rights and safeguarding their lives and futures.
UNICEF South Africa aims to support national efforts to accelerate the realization of children’s rights in South Africa and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with a focus on bridging the deep-seated inequities and alleviating widespread child poverty in the country. One of the outcome areas is improve child health and well-being in South Africa.
Intern Responsibilities: There are three (3) possible internship focus areas for student interns. When applying, please indicate the one or ones you would like to be considered for.
FOCUS AREA #1 – Feasibility Study of Using AI Cohort Monitoring of HIV Infected Pregnant Adolescent Girls and Young Mothers and Their Infants in Antenatal and Postnatal Care
One of the largest challenges on the path to controlling the HIV epidemic is the persistently high vulnerability of adolescents to HIV, as well as inequities in HIV testing and uptake of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), indicate a need for innovative strategies to improve implementation of HIV prevention. The intern will conduct a feasibility study on using machine learning algorithms to improve identification of people at high risk of HIV acquisition to optimize delivery of PrEP.
Qualifications: Experience in AI, with creativity, problem solving and research skills.
FOCUS AREA #2 – Analyses of National District Health Information System Data
In the context of multiple child deprivation in the country, the overall study will seek to understand where children are not immunized, where children with severe acute malnutrition are not treated and where HIV infected children are not managed. The intern will focus on analyzing national district health information system data and based on the results to develop recommendation to improve child health services at primary health care level.
Qualifications: Experience in quantitative data analysis and strong writing skills.
FOCUS AREA #3 – Countering Industry Interference for Better Nutrition in Schools in South Africa
The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, in advocacy and in operations. This includes the right of every child to good nutrition. UNICEF South Africa aims to help the South African government in developing policies and regulatory frameworks to control the influence of the food industry on children’s diets.
Under the supervision of the nutrition team, the intern will work collaboratively with the UNICEF South Africa Country Office (SACO) staff and partners (as relevant) across broad areas of work as described below:
- Perform a literature review on the extent and effects of industry interference on children and young people’s health in the school context in South Africa.
- Develop a policy brief and communication and advocacy pieces using the results of the literature review.
- Support the development of educational materials for children on healthy diets and industry interference.
Qualifications: Academic background and interest in food, nutrition, or public health. Experience with multidisciplinary projects and strong writing and communication skills.
Websites: https://www.unicefusa.org/about and https://www.unicef.org/southafrica/
View Internship Summary Posters and Videos from Past UNICEF South Africa Princeton Student Interns:
Summer 2022
Ariza Francisco, MPA ’23 - Zero-dose Children in South Africa: Reaching the Unreached (Video Presentation)
Osama Safeer, MPA ’23 - Good Lessons from Bad Data: The case of Peer Mentors for HIV Positive and Expecting Women in South Africa (Video Presentation)
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Department of Health, South Africa Western Cape Province
Internships in Emergency and Clinical Services Support
Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Duration: 10 weeks
Number of Positions: 3
Stipend: $6,000
To Apply via GPS: Click Here
About: The South African Western Cape Government creates laws for and provides services to the people of the Western Cape. The Western Cape Government works closely with the national government and municipalities in the Western Cape to ensure that the citizens of the province have access to the services, facilities and information they need. They are committed to delivering an open opportunity society for all.
Please note that there are five (5) potential focus areas for a student intern. When applying, please indicate the one or ones you would like to be considered for.
FOCUS AREA #1 – Service Priorities Coordination
About: Healthcare 2030 outlines the vision, values, mission, and principles guiding the Western Cape Government Health (WCGH) on the road to Wellness.
On the journey towards Healthcare 2030, the external environment is a key consideration and includes demography, socio-economic determinants of health, the burden of disease (BOD) including its associated risk factors, climate change, advances in technology and limited resources.
There is further alignment to the Sustainable Development Goals, African Union Agenda 2063, National Development plan, and Western Cape Government Provincial Strategic objectives (Vision Inspired Priorities) calling for continuous improvement in the patient experience and the provision of sustainable person-centered quality health care6 to address the increasing BOD, towards wellness of the whole system (patients, staff and communities served).
The Service Priorities Coordination (SPC) Directorate is one of five directorates in the Chief Directorate Emergency and Clinical Services Support (ECSS). The unit is responsible to develop, translate and mainstream key policy priority health programs and interventions in the Western Cape health system. As an SPC Directorate, we follow a life course approach to health and wellness.
Intern Responsibilities: As the directorate focus is on policy, an intern can add reasonable value to analyze and draft policy recommendations, carry out literature reviews assist with geospatial analyses using GIS on our key priority areas such as HIV, TB, mental health, violence prevention, maternal and child health, women’s health and wellness. Interns will work with the following:
- Clinical policy and Governance
- Facilitate the development of clinical policy, guidelines, tools, and governance evaluation
- Clinical Practice
- Manage nursing and other professionals' practices
- Early Life Course (ELC)
- Facilitate the development of guidelines and frameworks to strengthen early life-course services across the province. This includes the newborn, perinatal period (first 1000 days), children and adolescents. Lead on Maternal, Child (including EPI & Immunization), Women’s Health and Nutrition, HPV program, Youth and Adolescent Health
- Late (Adult) Life Course (LLC)
- Facilitate the development of guidelines and frameworks to strengthen adult services across the province. This includes early adults, late adults, and the elderly.
- Lead on HIV, AIDS, TB, NCD, Mental Health, Care of the elderly, Rehabilitation, Palliative Care
- Disease outbreak and Communicable Disease Control
- To ensure effective containment and control of communicable diseases and to investigate and coordinate provincial responses to disease outbreaks, including disease surveillance & outbreak response
- Wellness
- To promote healthy lifestyles across multiple settings in both public and private organizations.
- Unit to integrate aspects of Health Promotion, Western Cape on Wellness and Social Mobilization. Covering all health program elements across the life course
- Special purpose funds and projects
- To coordinate planning, business plans, and reporting the service-related special and conditional grants for priority services funding to the Western Cape.
- Covid-19 vaccination, Violence prevention
Qualifications: Preferred academic experience with broader social sciences and public health.
FOCUS AREA #2 – Violence Prevention Unit
About: The Western Cape Department of Health is in the process of establishing a violence prevention unit. This unit will be responsible for providing strategic direction, oversight and coordination of violence prevention initiatives, using a public health approach. It is envisaged that this unit will become function from March 2023 and will be responsible for:
- Development of evidence-based policies to inform strategy.
- Collaboratively influence policy alignment between all spheres of government.
- Guide the development and evaluation of evidence-based violence prevention interventions.
- Coordinate implementation of evidence-based violence prevention interventions.
- Provide guidance and support to Area-Based Teams implementing violence prevention initiatives/interventions.
- Coordinate and conduct planning and reporting on violence prevention initiatives.
Intern Responsibilities: The intern will focus on policy development for violence prevention within the frame of public health and review of evidence-based interventions for violence prevention. Activities that may be assigned to the intern include:
- Systematic review of available evidence-based interventions for violence prevention
- Development of policy briefs for violence prevention utilizing a public health approach
Preferred Qualifications:
- Background in the field of Sociology/Public Policy/Global Health
- Analytical skills
- Literature reviews (including systematic reviews)
- Policy review and policy analysis
- Research
- Strong communication and presentation skills
- Strong writing skills
FOCUS AREA #3 – Clinical Service Improvement
About: The Directorate for Clinical Service Improvement (CSI) is a newly established unit within the Western Cape Department of Health (DOH). They are a small, flexible team exploring conventional and unconventional ways to improve clinical service delivery across our province.
CSI engages directly with clients (clinicians, healthcare facilities etc.) and with DOH top management to find challenges and opportunities. There are three interlinked themes: Innovation and prototyping (“Better results by doing things we haven’t done before”); Improvement sciences (“Better results by doing what we are already doing, just better”); and Service and platform design (“Opportunities to make big leaps forward”).
Intern Responsibilities: The CSI team actively engages with the service platform. There are expectations to explore and experiment to identify project with a potentially high ROI and/or wider systems improvement potential. The quality of each project’s design, outcome, and evidence contribute to impact. An ideal project outcome helps the primary client while generating lessons and opportunities for wider system improvements. Assistance with the following could significantly increase impact:
- Robust data and evidence activities
- Behavioral insights
- Improvement/innovation strategy
The research team would focus on the generation and analysis of evidence in two phases:
- During the initial engagement and design phase of a project
- Assist with review of existing evidence
- Assist with generating data to inform problem analysis and influence design (surveys, process analysis etc.)
- Assist with incorporation of robust evidence-generating activities into each project design
- During the project analysis phase
- Assist with organizing and analyzing data and evidence generated by the project
- Assist with interpretation of this evidence to inform project reports and advocacy for change
It is possible that this role could evolve/expand depending on the project. There are so many opportunities for project design, behavioral insights, improvement strategy development, and more.
Qualifications:
- Project design
- Research methodology
- Public health
- Improvement sciences
- Innovation management
- Behavioral psychology
- Strategy, policy development
FOCUS AREA #4 – Telehealth Evaluation
About: The Directorate for Clinical Service Improvement (CSI) is a newly established unit within the Western Cape Department of Health (WCGH). CSI is a small, flexible team exploring conventional and unconventional ways to improve clinical service delivery across our province. CSI engages directly with clients (clinicians, healthcare facilities etc.) and with WCGH top management to find challenges and opportunities. There are three interlinked themes: Innovation and prototyping (“Better results by doing things we haven’t done before”); Improvement sciences (“Better results by doing what we are already doing, just better”); and Service and platform design (“Opportunities to make big leaps forward”). An ideal project outcome helps the primary client while generating lessons and opportunities for wider system improvements.
Intern Responsibilities: As part of the service and platform design the team has been working on various telehealth projects with the aim of improving access and linking our clients with care, particularly those who have been lost to follow-up. Tuberculosis has been identified as a provincial priority, particularly with the decrease in retention rates for our patients on TB treatment during COVID-19.
Western Cape has initiated a TB Health Systems Strengthening telehealth project, and would need assistance with monitoring and evaluation and economic evaluations and cost-effectiveness.
Activities that may be assigned to the intern include:
- Monitoring and evaluation of the TB health systems strengthening telehealth intervention
- Assessing the cost effectiveness of the TB health systems strengthening telehealth intervention compared to usual care
- Assessing cost effectiveness of implementing similar projects for other health conditions
- The intern will work alongside the Medical Officer and Project Lead
Preferred Qualifications:
- Background in the field of Health Economics or Global Health
- Experience with monitoring and evaluation and economic evaluations
- Analytical skills
- Economic evaluation
- Monitoring and evaluation of health interventions
- Literature reviews (including systematic reviews)
- Research
- Strong communication and presentation skills
- Strong writing skills
FOCUS AREA #5 – CUPs Evaluation
About: The directorate is mandated to move the health system towards a service design that is population health outcomes based and ensures an appropriate seamless person-centered care continuum that offers quality care. All decisions are evidence led, data driven and aligned to the departmental strategic direction, the short-, medium- and long-term goals.
As part of preparing the health system for the national health insurance (NHI) roll out the national department has identified pilot sub-districts (geographic populations) within each province for the implementation of a strategic purchasing platform for primary healthcare providers, and the implementation of a risk-adjusted capitation model for the reimbursement of primary healthcare (PHC) services.
Provincial departments are further mandated to undertake the following activities:
- Contracting Units of Primary Care (CUPs) Area Definition
- Identifying of Health Establishments and Services in the Area
- System for CUPs Management of Budget Allocations and Payments Developed
- CUPs Legal Status Defined
- Content and Process of Accreditation of Providers Developed and Implemented
- Performance Monitoring Requirements Developed and Implemented
- Interoperable Digital Links Established and Prescribed Reporting in Place
- Contracts Developed and Tested Initially for Private Providers
- Processes for the Management and Reimbursement of all Providers Developed and Implemented
- Terms of Reference for the Joint Coordinating Committees Implemented and Participation in such Regular Meetings
- Highlighting and Communicating Requirements for Stop - Gaps for Specific Site Peculiarities
Intern Responsibilities:
- Conduct a progress evaluation of the current CUPs pilot in the Western Cape Province.
- Conduct a review of evidence based public health NHI interventions in middle-low income countries and make implementation recommendations to South Africa.
- Systematic review of available evidence-based interventions for middle -low income countries that have implemented an NHI fund.
- Conduct interviews with key stakeholders of the CUPs pilot to develop a progress report.
Required Qualifications: Background in the field of Health Economics or Global Health.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Analytical skills
- Health Information Systems
- Knowledge of healthcare financing and costing
- Literature reviews (including systematic reviews)
- Policy review and policy analysis
- Research
- Strong communication and presentation skills
- Strong writing skills
Website: https://www.westerncape.gov.za/
New Internships for 2023; no past Princeton interns.
- Clinical policy and Governance
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Princeton Madagascar One Health Research Initiative
Location: Antananarivo, Madagascar (with 1-2 weeks of remote prep)
Duration: 9 weeks
Number of Positions: 2
Stipend: All airfare, housing, and onsite food provided free of charge, plus $1,000 cash stipend
To Apply via GPS: Click Here
Faculty Supervisor: Benjamin Rice, Postdoctoral Research Associate and Presidential Postdoctoral Research Fellow of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Lecturer in Public and International Affairs
About: Per the CDC, One Health has “the goal of achieving optimal health outcomes recognizing the interconnection between people, animals, plants, and their shared environment”. In Madagascar, we aim to collect and analyze infectious disease data from human and wildlife hosts to better understand drivers of poor health outcomes.
FOCUS AREA #1 – Malaria Surveillance in a Hotspot: Southeast Madagascar
About: Since 2017, Princeton researchers Jessica Metcalf and Benjamin Rice have been studying the distribution of malaria infection in Madagascar. Malaria transmission varies greatly across Madagascar, and, concerningly, transmission has increased in recent years in hotspots (defined as areas of elevated burden). We have an ongoing cohort study of 500 households in one such hotspot (Mananjary district, in southeast Madagascar). The objectives are to identify the ecological drivers of malaria risk and characterize the contribution of environmental disturbance, extreme weather events, and barriers to access to care. Current objectives are to integrate incoming malaria survey data and climate data, and to create a real-time data visualizations (e.g., a ‘dashboard’) to monitor data quality and to communicate results to health authorities.
Intern Responsibilities:
- The intern will collaborate with Dr. Rice and a clinic team in Madagascar to clean, visualize, and present data on malaria prevalence.
- The intern will integrate climate and extreme weather event data (including Cyclone Batsirai from February 2022) into a disease surveillance database to investigate associations.
- The intern will assist creating an online dashboard (similar to this COVID dashboard: https://www.covid19mg.org/) to provide real-time access to malaria surveillance data for researchers and health authorities.
Qualifications: Experience with data cleaning and coding in R preferred but not required, (a desire to learn is required). Experience with public health suggested. Availability and ability to travel to Madagascar for 7-9 weeks over the summer required.
FOCUS AREA #2 – One Health in Northeast Madagascar: Toxoplasmosis Zoonosis Risk
About: Toxoplasmosis is a zoonotic pathogen that causes severe illness in pregnant women. Wild and domestic animals serve as the reservoir and hundreds of thousands of severe cases occur each year. In Madagascar, cats are not native but cats and other invasive mammals drive transmission of the parasite. Human communities and endangered endemic animals are both at risk, but few data are available. In partnership with an ongoing ecological monitoring project in NE Madagascar, we aim to collect and analyze data on Toxoplasmosis risk among pregnant women.
Intern Responsibilities:
- The intern will collaborate with Dr. Rice, Dr. Fidisoa Rasambainarivo, and a clinic team in Madagascar to prepare and pilot a survey of pregnant women in the Mananjary cohort and possibly near Betampona Reserve in NE Madagascar.
- The intern will assist with cleaning and analyzing survey data.
Qualifications: Experience with public health suggested. Availability and ability to travel to Madagascar for 7-9 weeks over the summer required.
Website: https://chw.princeton.edu/people/benjamin-rice
View Internship Summary Poster and Video from Past Princeton Student Intern:
Summer 2022
Libby Blazes ’24 – Tracking Malaria Hotspots in Madagascar: One Health Research Initiative (Video Presentation)
Fatima Diallo ’25 – Malaria in Madagascar: A One Health Approach
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NYC Health + Hospitals
System-wide Special Pathogens Program
Emergency Management & Planning Internships
Location: New York City, New York
Duration: 8-10 weeks
Number of Positions: 2
Stipend: $7,000
To Apply via GPS: Click Here
About: NYC Health + Hospitals Emergency Management provides the strategic and operational framework and resources to protect our patients, visitors, staff, communities and infrastructure from natural, technological, and intentional incidents through the mitigation of, preparedness for, response to, and recover from them.
Intern Responsibilities: This is an opportunity for a highly motivated individual to contribute to NYC Health + Hospitals’ systemwide, emergency management-centric approach to special pathogens preparedness and response activities and assist on 1) a local, city scale with the System Special Pathogens Program; 2) national scale with the National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center [NETEC]; and 4) international scale with the Institute for Diseases and Disaster Management.
The Special Pathogens Project Intern, reporting to and working with the System-wide Special Pathogens Senior and Associate Directors, will provide support for the following:
- Support system-wide Ebola and Special Pathogens preparedness activities and ensure all program requirements are fully met, including conduct of annual exercises and training.
- Assist in developing protocols, procedures and processes related to special pathogens and address system-wide Ebola and Special Pathogens preparedness needs.
- Assist with designing and carrying out healthcare preparedness initiatives related to special pathogens and other communicable disease risks, e.g. trainings, etc.
- Provide program management and administrative support, carrying out tasks such as organizing documentation, following-up with appropriate healthcare partners and vendors, setting up and maintaining tracking sheets for preparedness activities, contract deliverable submission; maintain clear and frequent communications and follow- up with facility representatives as needed.
- Carry out administrative oversight for meeting/exercise coordination, calendaring, meeting handouts, presentation materials and other event logistics (e.g., arranging for venue).
- Provide program management and administrative support from an ‘all-hazards’ approach to emergency management related activities.
- Assist in developing HSEEP-content for NETEC for special pathogens exercises and drills.
- Assist in conducting presentations and site-visits on HSEEP-complaint exercise templates for NETEC.
- Assist in coordinating NETEC site visits with exercises and assist with providing exercise technical assistance.
- Assist with all exercise-related technical assistance for NETEC including planning/logistical coordination of HHS ASPR Tranquil series.
Qualifications:
- Previous experience working in fields related to public health, global health, emergency preparedness and response, planning and exercise, data analysis or infectious disease control and prevention is highly desirable.
- Pro-active and self-motivated individual with ability to work in teams, a highly dynamic environment with multiple stakeholders and timelines.
- Excellent written and oral communication skills.
- Ability to research information and prepare reports and other correspondence.
- Experience with Microsoft Office Suite, especially Word and Excel.
- Reliable, outgoing, and able to work independently and collaboratively in a team setting.
- Ambitious, motivated, and enthusiastic.
Website: www.nychealthandhospitals.org
View Internship Summary Posters and Videos from Past NYC Health + Hospitals Princeton Student Interns:
Summer 2022
Britley Jones ‘23 and Tsion Yared ‘24 - 2022 Monkeypox Outbreak: Evaluating NYC H+H Healthcare Facilities’ Readiness and Response (Video Presentation)
Summer 2021
Saorise Bodnar ’22 and Sarah Brown ’23 - Preparedness Matters: Healthcare Systems and Special Pathogens
Summer 2020
Brigitte Harbers '22 and Maddie Winter '22 - Containing COVID-19: Evaluating NYC Public Hospitals’ Screening and Isolation Procedures for Potential COVID-19 Patients (Video Presentation)
Summer 2019
Sanjana Duggirala '21 and Katya Vera '20 - Measles Secret Shopper
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Senator William H. Frist Fellowship in Health Policy
Environment and Health Policy Internship
Location: Nashville, Tennessee
Duration: 8-10 weeks
Number of Positions: 1
Stipend: $5,000
To Apply via GPS: Click Here
About: The office of former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, MD is seeking a summer intern to support the Senator’s work in conservation, nature, environmental health, and health/wellbeing policy. Research and writing/external communications will be emphasized.
Senator Bill Frist is Chair of the Global Board of The Nature Conservancy, the world’s largest conservation organization, and much of the focus of this internship will be at the nexus of health and environment/climate change. He is a heart & lung transplant surgeon who represented Tennessee in the United States Senate from 1995 – 2007, a co-founder of Frist Cressey Ventures, and Chairman of community collaborative NashvilleHealth.
Intern Responsibilities:
- Conducting extensive research and literature review on the intersection of climate and health
- Posting health and environmental content on the Senator’s social media and monitoring social platforms
- Attending some meetings and events with the Senator (any travel costs outside of Nashville will be covered)
- Writing op-eds and blog posts on behalf of Senator Frist
- Providing some support to the Senator’s community collaborative non-profit NashvilleHealth, as well as his weekly podcast, A Second Opinion: Rethinking American Health
The intern will have the opportunity to work relatively independently, with direct supervision from the Senator’s policy advisor, Erin Rogus.
Mandatory Qualifications:
- Excellent writing and communication skills
- Strong interest in healthcare and/or health policy, particularly the impact of climate/nature/environment on health
- Energetic and eager to tackle new projects and ideas
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience with social media platforms Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter & Instagram
- Video and graphic editing skills also a plus
Website: www.nashvillehealth.org
View Internship Summary Poster and Video from Past Princeton Student Intern:
Summer 2021
Richard Stuart ’23 – Interning at the Office of Former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (Video Presentation)
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Task Force for Global Health
Health Campaign Effectiveness Coalition
Global Health Campaign Internships
Location: Atlanta Georgia
Duration: 8-10 weeks
Number of Positions: 1-2
Stipend: $5,000
To Apply via GPS: Click Here
About: The Task Force for Global Health consists of 17 programs and focus areas that cover a range of global health issues including neglected tropical diseases, infectious diseases, vaccines, field epidemiology, public health informatics, health workforce development, and global health ethics. All of their programs have an end goal in sight of eliminating diseases and protecting the health of populations. The Task Force is ranked among the largest nonprofits in the United States due to in-kind contributions of medicines and vaccines from major pharmaceutical companies valued at billions of dollars annually. It has an affiliation with Emory University.
The Health Campaign Effectiveness (HCE) program was established in 2019 at the Task Force for Global Health. The HCE program manages an implementation research portfolio and serves at the Program Office for the HCE Coalition. The Coalition brings together country leaders, donors, multilateral organizations and NGOs from several large-scale health campaign domains, as well as specialists in health systems, ethics, and health economics to be the first partnership for cross-campaign action, promoting promising practices and fostering opportunities for shared resources.
Intern Responsibilities: Interns will be exposed to technical leaders in global health organizations that operate or fund health campaigns in immunizations including polio, malaria, vitamin A supplementation and neglected tropical diseases, including colleagues at World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control, GAVI the Global Vaccine Alliance, The Carter Center and more. Students will have the opportunity for writing of technical synopses or briefs and newsletter articles. Students will have virtual contact with country-based colleagues working in campaigns. Topics of interest should be collaboration, integration, and health systems strengthening.
Interns will engage in several of the following activities based on interest, qualifications, and requirements:
- Writing case studies and newsletter spotlight stories to share important information and disseminate knowledge from the HCE-support Implementation Research (IR) portfolio findings
- Support research translation and knowledge dissemination efforts (writing, website development, webinar support, creative product development (graphics, text, etc)
- Support HCE Coalition workgroup activities on campaign integration, digital tools/digitization, toolkit development, advocacy materials and more
- Support HCE-led IR activities (requests for proposals cycle, capacity-building work, internal management systems, external relationship building with research award recipients, facilitating peer-to-peer knowledge exchange)
Qualifications: Relevant major and academic focus; curiosity, flexibility, and comfort with some level of uncertainty in how activities will be conducted until consensus is achieved; interest in forging relationships with actors in the global health campaign related stakeholder organizations; strong writing and synthesis/analysis skills; interest in health campaign programs and how they can be more effective, with a particular interest in collaboration among organizations and actors; interest in community engagement and involvement in campaigns. Spanish or French language skills are a plus but not required.
Website: campaigneffectiveness.org and taskforce.org
View Internship Summary Posters and Videos from Past Task Force for Global Health Princeton Student Interns:
Summer 2022
Lucia Wetherill ’25 - Integration as a Means to Increase Health Campaign Effectiveness (Video Presentation)
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The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
Technical Advice and Partnership Internship
Location: Remote
Duration: 10 weeks
Number of Positions: 2
Stipend: $4,000
To Apply via GPS: Click Here
About: The Global Fund is a partnership designed to accelerate the end of AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria as epidemics. As an international organization, the Global Fund mobilizes and invests more than $4 billion a year to support programs in more than 100 countries. In partnership with governments, civil society, technical agencies, the private sector and people affected by diseases, we challenge barriers and embrace innovation.
The Global Fund will host remote internships to support the Resilient and Sustainable Systems for Health (RSSH) Team which is part of the Technical Advice and Partnership (TAP) Department.
Intern Responsibilities: The intern will support a scope of work in the following areas that are key focus for the RSSH team:
- Human Resources for Health: Human Resources for Health development in fragile and conflict-affected areas, with a focus on Western and Central Africa region. The scope of work will include a review of the evidence, development of case studies with good practice interventions, and develop of a seminar / brown bag session with engagement of some key experts from WHO, CDC, etc., under the leadership of the Human Resources for Health sub-team in the RSSH team.
- Laboratory Systems Strengthening: strengthening the lab workforce in low-income countries. The scope of work will include a review of learnings from middle-income countries that have over time grown their laboratory workforce. The scope of work will also include exploring linkages with the private sector, with a focus on laboratory and surveillance workforce as they are tied to each other. The intern will help the RSSH team’s laboratory sub-team in formulating approaches for supporting the development of epidemiological cadre ahead of the next funding cycle of the Global Fund.
The intern will be integrated in the day-to-day work of the Human Resources for Health and Laboratory Systems Strengthening sub-teams and will interact with other members of the RSSH team in the Global Fund Secretariat. As the health systems strengthening is a cross-cutting topic, the intern will have to liaise with other departments of the Global Fund Secretariat to accomplish their work. In addition, the intern will participate in a series of curated “virtual coffees” with leading experts in the field of global health to both learn more about specific technical topics, as well hear about their professional journeys.
Qualifications: The ideal candidate will be a self-starter with high quality control, resourcefulness, maturity, clear verbal and written communication skills and the ability to work independently. The intern must have strong analytical skills.
Website: www.theglobalfund.org/en
View Internship Summary Posters and Videos from Past Global Fund Princeton Student Interns:
Summer 2022
Ishita Batra, MPA ‘23 - Furthering Equity in Health Systems
Karla Perez-Gazca ’23 - Health Care Waste Management: Funding Sustainable Systems for Health (Video Presentation)
Summer 2021
Kennedy Walls ’24 - One Step Ahead: A Microanalysis to Cast Foresight into New Funding Model 4 (Video Presentation)
Summer 2020
Naomi Shifrin '22 - The Impact of Cash Transfers on HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis (Video Presentation)
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Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey
Cancer Health Equity Center of Excellence
Research Internships
Location: Remote (Successful candidates may have the opportunity to work in the office one day per week if they are local to New Brunswick, New Jersey.)
Duration: 8-10 weeks
Number of Positions: 4
Stipend: $4,000
To Apply via GPS: Click Here
About: As New Jersey’s only National Cancer Institute (NCI) – designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey’s team of internationally recognized physicians and researchers is driven by a singular focus and mission, to help individuals fight cancer. Through the transformation of laboratory discoveries into clinical practice, we target cancer with precision medicine, immunotherapy and clinical trials and provide the most advanced, comprehensive, and compassionate world-class cancer care to adults and children. This mission is being accomplished in partnership with RWJBarnabas Health. Rutgers Cancer Institute physicians and scientists work side by side to make sure the most sophisticated treatments are delivered to our patients quickly and safely - the future of cancer treatments today.
Please note that there are two (2) potential focus areas for a student intern. When applying, please indicate the one or ones you would like to be considered for.
FOCUS AREA #1 – Cancer Prevention, Education and Support
About: This internship will take place in the Behavioral Sciences section of Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey in Dr. Sharon Manne’s research lab. The intern will gain insight into the research process for NCI-funded research projects related to cancer prevention, education and support. Opportunities for learning and shadowing in participant recruitment and tracking, data entry/cleaning/management, online intervention engagement tracking, cancer survivorship outreach and initiatives available.
Intern Responsibilities: The position in the Manne lab may involve work on multiple cancer prevention and support studies described below.
This internship will involve testing an online intervention for oral and oropharyngeal cancer survivors developed by the CINJ study team called Empowered Survivor. The intern may recruit cancer patients to a randomized two-arm trial, collect qualitative and quantitative data. The intern will gain experience with human subject research, online intervention platforms, direct patient interaction, and qualitative interviews.
This internship also involves utilizing Facebook to conduct a family expansion project for skin cancer prevention. The intern may recruit cancer patients, assist with capturing and documenting information from the participant’s medical provider, and will gain experience working with participant management software called DatStat. Under Dr. Manne’s Survivorship Center, the intern will assist with a study focusing on patients with lymphoma. Interns will sit in on interviews with patients or providers and will use Zoom’s transcription feature to transcribe and clean the interview script. The intern will also be able to use the scripts to synthesize information and conduct a thematic analysis on interview responses. Training will also be available on research document creation/modifications (consent forms, interview guides, scripts, surveys, etc.) in preparation for Institutional Review Board (IRB) review. The intern will work closely with the investigative team, and make valuable contributions to projects that will improve cancer survivor knowledge and support.
Qualifications: Experience/interest in quantitative and qualitative research methods. Interest in cancer prevention, participant interaction, telehealth and/or e-health and social media intervention delivery is a plus.
FOCUS AREA #2 – Improving Cancer Health Equity
About: Under the direction of the Principal Investigator, the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey’s Cancer Health Equity team is looking for a student intern to assist with the recruitment of participants for various Cancer Health Equity research protocols, collect qualitative and quantitative data.
Intern Responsibilities: The intern will gain experience with human subject’s research, have direct patient interaction, work on assisting with data management, including data analysis, work closely with the investigative team, conduct project management, and make valuable contributions to research projects that will improve cancer health equity. The intern will work closely with the Program Director and Lab Manager.
Qualifications: Previous experience with patients is preferred but not required.
Websites: www.cinj.org and www.cinj.org/outreach/center-cancer-health-equity.
View Internship Summary Posters and Videos from Past CINJ Princeton Student Interns:
Summer 2022
Beianka Tomlinson ’24 - The CATALYST Project (Video Presentation)
Summer 2021
Sean Crites ’22 - PINPOINTING the Path to Equitable Cancer Care (Video Presentation)
Yodahe Gebreegziabher ’22 - PINPOINT Project: Interventional Approach in Reducing Disparities in Cancer Care (Video Presentation)
Minji Park ’22 - Empowered Survivor: Developing an Online Platform for Oral Cancer Survivors with CINJ (Video Presentation)
Summer 2020
Zoya Gauhar '22 - Efficacy & Safety of DNMT1 inhibitors in MEN1 Mouse model: Creating a Draft Medical Manuscript (Video Presentation)
Christina Moon '22 - Interning at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey
Shayla Murray '21 - The Effects of Exon 14 Skipping in Lung Cancer Patients (Video Presentation)
Mayowa Oke '22 - The Geography of Cancer: An Analysis of Cancer Risk Factors in the State of NJ (Video Presentation)
Quinn Rademaker '22 - Utilizing Technology: How Web-based Intervention Influences Health (Video Presentation)
Grace Simmons '22 - Project iCare: Fighting Disparities in Cancer Treatment through Technology (Video Presentation)
Summer 2019
Kristen Pagliai '20 - From Pilot to Publication: The Lifecycle of Cancer Prevention Research
Sophia Peifer '21 - The Availability of JUUL Flavored Products near Rutgers Campus