Internships in Global Health

Oxford University Clinical Research Unit

Antibiotic Resistance Internships

Location: Hanoi, Vietnam

Duration: 8-12 weeks

Number of Positions: 2

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.

Intern Responsibilities: The OUCRU Hanoi research group is evaluating a range of interventions in different settings to tackle inappropriate antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance. This work includes antibiotic stewardship in hospitals and primary healthcare, point-of-care diagnostics to guide better prescribing, health messaging for the public, and community engagement using a one health approach to generate collective solutions. All of these approaches will be evaluated through both qualitative and quantitative research. Epidemiological and modelling work on vaccine-preventable diseases will also be conducted, as well as investigating the role of vaccination as a potential tool in the fight against antibiotic resistance. More recently, the OUCRU Hanoi research group has been exploring the impact of Covid-19 on the incidence of infectious diseases, healthcare utilization, and antibiotic use.

There are many possibilities for what interns could be involved with, depending on their skills and interests. These may include:

Background research, scoping
Compiling reference libraries
Systematic literature review
Statistical analysis, using R or Stata
Analysis of laboratory data
Mathematical modelling
Qualitative data analysis
Drafting research papers

If summer travel is possible, research activities will primarily be based at the OUCRU offices in Hanoi. These are split across two sites, one at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases, and one at the National Institute for Hygiene and Epidemiology. There would also be extensive fieldwork in Nam Dinh Province, to the South East of Hanoi, and there may be opportunities for students to visit the sites. Many of these activities can also be conducted remotely should travel to Vietnam still be difficult by summer 2021.

Qualifications: Interest in public health. Depending on the project, candidates may benefit from experience in mathematical modeling, basic statistical principles, the R programming language (or ability to learn it), Linux command line tools, literature review, visual media methods (photography/film), and geographical information systems. Language skills are not required.

Travel Notice: It is not yet certain whether summer 2021 internships will be on-site or virtual. If health and safety conditions improve, it is possible that some internships may be on-site. CHW will make final determinations on the travel status of each internship in consultation with Princeton University officials, host organizations, and selected interns by spring 2021.

Funding: If travel to the internship site is permitted, CHW will cover all expenses for airfare, housing, food, local transportation, and incidentals. If an intern chooses to stay home, or if travel is not permitted, CHW will provide a $1,500 stipend to remote interns.

Website: www.oucru.org

View Internship Summary Posters from Past OUCRU Princeton Student Interns:

Summer 2020

Taishi Nakase '21 - Temporospatial Model of Measles Epidemics in Vietnam

Megan Tang '22 - Factors of Antibiotic Resistance in Vietnam: Prescribing in Primary Healthcare

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 & 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

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

Technical Advice and Partnership Internship

Location: Geneva, Switzerland (Remote)

Duration: 8-10 weeks

Number of Positions: 1

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 the diseases, we are challenging barriers and embracing innovation.

Intern Responsibilities: The Global Fund has one opening for a remote internship to support the Resilient and Sustainable Systems for Health (RSSH) Team which is part of the Technical Advice and Partnership (TAP) Department. The intern will assist in reviewing the Technical Review Panel’s recommendations on investments in strengthening health systems and synthesizing key thematic areas. The intern will complete this scope of work by reviewing and analyzing grant documentation, as well as interviewing key stakeholders. This work will contribute to identifying challenges and opportunities for investing in RSSH in the current funding cycle, as well as will help shape important discussions about the development of the organizational next strategy.

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 from Past OUCRU Princeton Student Interns:

Summer 2020

Naomi Shifrin '22 - The Impact of Cash Transfers on HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis

CDDEP Logo Banner

Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy

Vaccine & Antimicrobial Resistance Research

Location: New Delhi, India

Duration: 8-12 weeks

Number of Positions: 2

To Apply via GPS: Click Here

About: The Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP) produces independent, multidisciplinary research to advance the health and wellbeing of human populations around the world. CDDEP projects are global in scope, spanning Africa, Asia, and North America and include scientific studies and policy engagement. The CDDEP team is experienced in addressing country-specific and regional issues, as well as the local and global aspects of global challenges, such as antibiotic resistance and pandemic influenza. CDDEP research is notable for innovative approaches to design and analysis, which are shared widely through publications, presentations and web-based programs. CDDEP has offices in Washington, D.C. and New Delhi and relies on a distinguished team of scientists, public health experts and economists.

Intern Responsibilities: CDDEP recently published the world’s largest Covid-19 contact tracing based epidemiology study. This study is continuing during the coming year. We have openings for interns in its New Delhi office to work on research related to Covid-19, the intersection of vaccines and antimicrobial resistance, as well as on social norms that promote the overuse of antibiotics and the underuse of vaccines. The position involves locating, pulling, and synthesizing data and evidence from the primary scientific literature. There is potential for motivated candidates to extend this work to do independent research.

Qualifications: Familiarity with ecology, statistics, and experience reading the scientific and social science literature are an asset, as are problem-solving, experience with Excel, and ability to work independently.

Website: cddep.org

View Internship Summary Poster from Past CDDEP Princeton Student Interns:

Summer 2020

Chirag Kumar '23 - One Step Ahead: Predicting Antimicrobial Resistance from Geographic Variables in India

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

International Care Ministries

Community-Based Health Impact Assessment

Location: Manila, Philippines

Duration: 8-12 weeks

Number of Positions: 2

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. Details on whether this internship will be remote or in-person will be provided in the coming months.

Whether this internship is remote or in-person, 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.

Qualifications: Strong quantitative and qualitative analytical skills, and experience with R. Familiarity with public health issues.

Website: www.caremin.com

View Internship Summary Poster from Past ICM Student Intern:

Summer 2020

Abigail Drummond '22 - Health is Wealth: COVID-19 Testing, Healthcare Access, and Inequality in the Philippines and Southeast Asia

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

University of Malaya

Health Research Internships

Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Duration: 8-12 weeks

Number of Positions: 2

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.

Intern Responsibilities: There are sixteen potential focus areas for a student intern.

FOCUS AREA #1 – PrEP Scale Up and PrEP Navigator Project

This project will work on scaling up community-based organizations (CBO)-led Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) and the evaluation of a PrEP navigator program. Scope of work includes data collection, analysis, and qualitative interviews.

FOCUS AREA #2 – Harapan 11/Kerinchi Project

This project is about substance use and latent tuberculosis infection (LBTI) treatment among prisoners. Scope of work includes data collection and analysis.

FOCUS AREA #3 – Life after Falls among Older Adults

This project focuses on determining factors which influence physical activity after falls among older adults. Scope of work includes data collection and qualitative interviews.

FOCUS AREA #4 – Malaysia Breast Cancer Survivorship Cohort Study

This project aims to determine lifestyle factors which influence breast cancer outcomes. Scope of work includes data analysis.

FOCUS AREA #5 – Improving Access to Breast Cancer Early Diagnosis Pathway for Urban Women in Selangor

This project aims to understand health system barriers and facilitators to provision and financing of breast cancer diagnostic pathway. Scope of work includes data collection and qualitative focus group discussions.

FOCUS AREA #6 – Disclosure of HIV Positive Status of Men who Inject Drugs to Female Intimate Partners

The project explores how HIV-positive men who inject drugs make decisions to disclose their status to intimate partners and how these decisions can, ultimately, result in consistent condom use. Scope of work includes data analysis.

FOCUS AREA #7 – Teacher Health Risk Factors and Stress

This project aims to understand the clustering of lifestyle risk factors and stress on health among teachers. Scope of work includes data analysis and report writing.

FOCUS AREA #8 – Blue Community: Health Status of Coastal Communities in Sabah

This project examines the health status, health utilization, and quality of life among the coastal communities in Malaysia. Scope of work includes surveys, qualitative and community intervention.

FOCUS AREA #9 – Organ Donation Innovative Strategies in South East Asia

This project aims to develop a mix mode educational program for healthcare staff to identify potential organ donors in public hospitals. Scope of work includes data collection, data analysis, and curriculum development.

FOCUS AREA #10 – HIV Self Testing: A Feasibility Study

The goal of this project is to develop and pilot test a community-based, online HIV self-testing among men who have sex with men. Scope of work includes data collection, evaluation, and analysis.

FOCUS AREA #11 – Healthy Relationships on Campus (#thatsnotlove)

This project aims to empower university students towards healthy relationships, to prevent intimate partner violence, sexually transmitted diseases and unplanned pregnancy. Scope of work includes executing intervention, data collection, evaluation and analysis.

FOCUS AREA #12 – Active Aging

This project focuses on development of old age-friendly primary care services, including provision of healthcare resources beyond the four walls of the consultation room. Scope of work includes strategic planning (Logic Model), community intervention, data collection and analysis.

FOCUS AREA #13 – Nutrition and Growth in Urban Children Under 5 Living in Poverty

This project includes questionnaire survey, dietary recall and anthropometric measurements among urban poor children under 5 years of age. Scope of work includes data collection and analysis.

FOCUS AREA #14 – Adolescent Health Longitudinal Research Team

This study aims to examine risk factors of non-communicable diseases (NCD) among adolescents by surveying about health, high risk behavior diet and physical activity with several objective measurements. Scope of work includes data collection, analysis and report writing.

FOCUS AREA #15 – Living Well with Cancer

The goal of this project is to identify and address cancer survivorship issues in low- and middle-income settings using qualitative and quantitative approaches. Main focus areas include: 1) comorbidities, 2) financial toxicities, 3) employment/return to work. Scope of work includes literature review, project management, data collection, data analysis, and manuscript writing.

FOCUS AREA #16 – Type 2 Diabetes and Co-Morbidities

This project aims to determine different co-morbidity clusters in type 2 diabetes populations. Scope of work includes data cleaning, analysis and report writing.

Qualifications: Applicants should have a baseline understanding of epidemiology and determinants of health, and should seek to gain knowledge of the health context in Malaysia prior to start of internship. Applicants should have quantitative and qualitative research ability. Knowledge of statistical applications is preferred.

Website: www.um.edu.my

View Internship Summary Posters from Past University of Malaya Princeton Student Intern:

Summer 2020
Kamila Radjabova '21 - Consistent Condom Usage Among Intimate Partners of HIV Positive Men Who Inject Drugs

NYC Health Logo

NYC Health+Hospitals System-wide Special Pathogens Program

Emergency Management and Planning Internships

Location: New York City, New York

Duration: 8-12 weeks

Number of Positions: 2

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 recovery from them.

Intern Responsibilities: This is an opportunity for two highly motivated students to contribute to NYC Health + Hospitals’ system-wide, emergency management-centric approach to special pathogens preparedness and response activities and assist the National Emerging Special Pathogen Training and Education Center [NETEC] and Institute for Diseases and Disaster Management. The System Special Pathogens Program Interns, reporting to the Senior Director and Assistant Director for System-wide Special Pathogens will provide support in one or more of the following project areas:

•   Using an emergency management approach to develop special pathogen discussion or operations-based exercises to maintain healthcare delivery readiness.
•   Training of frontline healthcare workers as it relates to identification, isolation, donning/doffing of personal protective equipment, preliminary management and transfer of a suspected Ebola or other special pathogens patient within a U.S. or international frontline healthcare delivery.
•   Assist with projects related to the NYC Health + Hospitals Institute for Diseases and Disaster Management.
•   Development of exercise resource materials related to special pathogens for national stakeholders including frontline hospitals, assessment hospitals, Ebola treatment centers, Regional Ebola and other Special Pathogen Treatment Centers, healthcare coalitions and EMS.
•   Using an emergency management approach, research, design, develop, and evaluate topics relating to CBRNE (chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear issues) to maintain healthcare delivery readiness.

Activities undertaken by the interns will include several of the following:

•   Conduct needs assessment
•   Research emerging/re-emerging threats that would qualify as a special pathogen/high consequence infectious diseases and would pose a threat to healthcare delivery
•   Assist in design and development of a discussion-based exercise based on the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) model
•   Engage with internal and external stakeholders including public health partners and liaisons
•   Participating in planning meetings
•   Assist in conducting the discussion-based exercise
•   Assist in evaluation of the discussion-based exercise through after action report and improvement planning process
•   Opportunity to publish findings
•   Opportunity to present at various councils and forums
•   Research emerging/re-emerging threats that would qualify as a special pathogen/high consequence infectious disease and would pose a threat to healthcare delivery
•   Assist in design and development of an operations-based exercise
•   Engage with internal and external stakeholders including public health partners and liaisons
•   Participate in walkthroughs of site of exercise
•   Assist with developing additional resource tools (e.g., processes, plans, protocols) that would aide in the core elements mentioned above
•   Assist in design, development and evaluation of frontline hospital readiness assessments for H+H sites including hospitals, long term care centers, ambulatory sites
•   Participate in on-site readiness assessments
•   Assist in tailoring U.S. based frontline training to meet the needs of the middle-to-low income frontline healthcare delivery
•   Work with international stakeholders and participate in planning meetings
•   Research specific topic in CBRNE as it relates to healthcare delivery preparedness and response

NOTE: Princeton students at this internship will have no exposure to or involvement with any pathogens or dangerous substances at any time.

Examples of previous projects assigned to Princeton Interns:
•   Mystery Patient Drills (secret shopper drills)
•   Data collection, analysis, and development of after-action report, improvement plans, and presentation of results from secret shopper drills
•   Development of tools, resources, and checklists related to safety and infection prevention for NYC H+H facilities
•   Assist in providing personal protective equipment (PPE) training for healthcare staff

Qualifications: Highly motivated, with demonstrated interest and exposure to public health, global health, healthcare administration, emergency management, or related field.

Website: http://www.nychealthandhospitals.org/

View Internship Summary Posters from Past NYC Health & Hospitals Princeton Student Interns:

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

Summer 2019

Sanjana Duggirala '21 and Katya Vera '20 - Measles Secret Shopper

OnFrontiers Logo

OnFrontiers’ Global Health Helpdesk
Investment Model Development

Location: New York City, New York
Duration: 8-12 weeks
Number of Positions: 2
To Apply via GPS: Click Here

About: The objective of OnFrontiers’ Global Health Helpdesk is to provide an efficient, multi-disciplinary approach to understanding global health challenges and developing appropriate policy responses. OnFrontiers’ Global Health Helpdesk builds off the success of OnFrontiers’ COVID-19 Helpdesk. The COVID-19 Helpdesk, launched in March 2020, provided organizations and companies access to a multi-disciplinary group of highly qualified experts in epidemiology, global health security, economics, crisis management and risk communication. A description of these experts is available at this link: https://covid.onfrontiers.com/experts/treatment. The intense interest in the COVID-19 Helpdesk from organizations in the public sector as well as companies, led to the decision by OnFrontiers to expand this model to include a broader focus on global health.

Similar to the COVID-19 Helpdesk, the Global Health Helpdesk will consist of a multi-disciplinary group of experts from the fields of epidemiology, economics, ecology, anthropology and risk communication. Given the breadth and depth of this expertise, OnFrontiers will be able to rapidly develop multi-disciplinary teams tailored to the needs of each global health policy challenge presented by clients (e.g., WHO, CDC, Gates Foundation, World Economic Forum).

Intern Responsibilities: There are 2 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 – Lessons learned from the copper industry in Chile and the impact of COVID-19

This project will examine how lessons learned from the copper industry in Chile adapted to the impact of COVID-19 can inform how organizations in the public sector around the world adapt to COVID-19. The team for this project consists of individuals with significant experience working in Chile’s copper industry as well as epidemiologists, global health security experts and economists.

FOCUS AREA #2 – Effective strategies to eliminate malaria

This project is an analysis of the most cost-effective strategies to eliminate a new malaria-transmitting mosquito, Anopheles stephensi, that has recently invaded the Horn of Africa from Asia. Team members for this project include entomologists, epidemiologists, data scientists and economists.

The responsibilities of the research interns will mirror the process by which the Global Health Helpdesk interacts with each client. Each intern will have three key responsibilities:

1) Analyzing the global health policy challenge presented by each client.
This work will involve examining the policy challenge and understanding the specific needs of each client as those needs may range from an academic publication to a PowerPoint presentation summarizing the findings from the analysis. The interns will need to be comfortable working independently to conduct a literature review to understand the various policy responses that have been utilized in other contexts. In most cases, this literature review and analysis will be completed in 3 to 5 days. After the interns complete their analysis, they will present their findings to Derek Willis and will receive feedback to inform future analyses.

2) Identifying the characteristics of the team that will be most appropriate to address the policy challenge.
Based on their analysis of the policy challenge, the intern will identify the characteristics of the team that will be most appropriate to address the client’s concerns. These characteristics may include the disciplinary background of each team member as well as language skills and knowledge of a specific geographic context. If the necessary experts are not already part of the Global Health Helpdesk, the intern will work with Derek Willis to identify appropriate experts to recruit to the Helpdesk to complete the team.

3) Facilitating collaboration among experts to address needs of each client
The intern will work closely with Derek Willis to facilitate a collaboration by the team members towards the development of the product each client requests. As noted above, the product requested by each client could range from an academic publication to a presentation deck. Depending on the client’s needs, the intern will assist with centralizing relevant references and data in a google drive folder that can be accessed by all team members. This information will initially consist primarily of the literature that the intern consulted during their analysis of the global health policy challenge. Depending on the client’s needs, the intern may also develop spreadsheets and presentation decks that incorporate the contributions from each team member. This work will provide the intern the opportunity to develop skills in translating findings across disciplines and facilitating multi-disciplinary collaborations.

Qualifications: Advanced skills in Microsoft Excel or Google Spreadsheets. Strong writing skills and experience in developing presentation decks. Spanish proficiency preferred but not essential.

Website: https://covid.onfrontiers.com/experts/treatment

View Internship Summary Posters from OnFrontiers Student Interns:

Summer 2020
Maressa Cumbermack '21 - OnFrontiers’ Covid-19 Expert HelpDesk
Victoria Zhou '22 - Covid-19 Expert Helpdesk

Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey
Research Internships

Location: New Brunswick, New Jersey
Duration: 8-12 weeks
Number of Positions: 2

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.

Intern Responsibilities: There are 2 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 – Precision Oncology, Health Equity and Statewide Survey
Comprehensive Cancer Centers have an obligation to identify and describe their catchment area. For the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, the catchment area is the state of New Jersey. A full description requires the compilation of data from numerous reporting sources including data points that cover the full range of demographic factors, social determinants of health, community profiles, cancer screening incidence and mortality data, community needs assessments and community resources. To that end, reports from these various sources are routinely collected, analyzed and synthesized to reach the objective of prioritizing research and outreach with the intent to identify and target strategies to address populations carrying the most pressing cancer burden. A statewide survey is underway (Fall 2020). This survey will provide information about New Jersey residents’ social determinants of health as well as attitudes and beliefs on a wide array of cancer-related topics such as participation in clinical trials and genomic research, biospecimen collection and storage, and use of genomic testing for hereditary cancer. Student interns will define specific data analytical plans to identify racial, ethnic and socioeconomic disparities, analyze data, write a policy report, and disseminate the results to researchers and community members, including possibility for a peer-reviewed publication.

This internship will result in the student:
1. Gaining an understanding of the role of Community Outreach and Engagement at an NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center in promoting public health initiatives that are relevant to the area served by the Cancer Center.
2. Identifying factors relevant to the provision of personalized medicine, precision oncology, genomic cancer care, clinical trials, biospecimen research and cancer care while enhancing positive cancer control outcomes including the role of demographic, socioeconomic, environmental, biological, and health system related factors.
3. Developing a working knowledge of spreadsheet-based data manipulation, formulas, and basic data analytical and modeling techniques.
4. Producing a policy report and contribute to a manuscript eligible for submission to a peer-reviewed journal.

Intern will be asked to:
• Attend virtual meetings with the Center for Cancer Health Equity faculty and staff.
• Assist Rutgers Community and Outreach Team, the Catchment Area Committee and the Eagleton Institute in analyzing and synthesizing the NJ Cancer Catchment Area Survey regarding the above referenced topics
• Write a policy report summarizing the data, precision oncology equity issues and recommendations for cancer education, community engagement and outreach and cancer research for New Jersey and beyond.
• Present their data analysis and policy implications in presentations for the Community Cancer Action Board, Center for Cancer Health Equity and other New Jersey stakeholders.

Resources needed:
• Personal computer with word processing software, data analytical program (R, SAS, SPSS or other), email, and internet access.
• Electronic access to scholarly publications, including PubMed: The intern will be provided with a temporary NetID which will be used to access the Rutgers online library services.
• Microsoft Teams: COE staff will create a “team” and invite the intern. Chats and meetings can be conducted on this team. Files may also be shared and stored securely on this platform.
• WebEx: Rutgers staff will host WebEx meetings as needed, and the intern will attend by following the link from the meeting invitations.

Focus Area #2 - Addressing Racial Disparities in Precision Oncology
Personalized oncology, which is also known as precision oncology, is evidence-based, individualized medicine that delivers the right care to the right cancer patient at the right time and results in measurable improved outcomes and reduced healthcare costs. Genomic testing among cancer patients may identify biomarkers that guide effective treatment and identify pathogenic variants in family members, which can guide prevention and screening. However, ethnic and racial disparities are evident in three critical areas: access to genomic education and testing, clinical trial enrollment, and participation in biospecimen repositories. Patient diversity across these elements is critical since racial and/or ethnic groups may experience disparate incidence rates, morbidity rates, and responses to certain drugs leading to poorer outcomes. To improve equity in awareness, access, care delivery, and cancer outcomes, researchers are studying the feasibility of an online intervention, which includes culturally relevant health communications and a chatbot. An intern will join the investigative team in performing a literature review, community-engaged research, and collaborate with researchers, genetic counselors, and other health professionals, to develop and test the web intervention that may improve cancer health equity and potentially save lives.

This internship will result in the student:
1. Identifying factors affecting the provision of personalized medicine, precision oncology, genomic cancer care, and clinical trials and biospecimen research, particularly in traditionally underserved populations.
2. Gaining an understanding of the role of genetic education and testing in the prevention and treatment of various cancers.
3. Participating in community-engaged and translational research, including focus groups and key informant interviews.
4. Applying community perspectives, investigators’ research, and evidence-based strategies to develop culturally relevant intervention and study materials.
5. Screening and enrolling focus group participants and key informants.
6. Assisting with qualitative data collection and analysis.
7. Synthesizing prior and formative research to inform chatbot and website development, utilizing smart technology to reach and communicate complex health information in a culturally relevant way to improve cancer health equity and reduce disease burden.

Intern will be asked to:
• Complete training in HIPAA and human subjects research ethics, as well as REDCap for data management.
• Attend virtual meetings with the Cancer Health Equity faculty and staff.
• Perform literature reviews and prepare an overview of the science and racial and ethnic disparities/equity.
• Screen, consent, and enroll study participants, and obtain and manage survey data, according to the study protocol.
• Organize and attend focus group discussions /interviews.
• Assist the investigative team with analysis of quantitative and qualitative data from focus groups and key informant interviews.
• Working with researchers, genetic counselors, health professionals, and technology vendors, the intern will contribute to web intervention and chatbot development.
• Develop culturally relevant study materials for intervention pilot testing.
• Present accomplishments and interim findings in presentations for the Center for Cancer Health Equity and New Jersey community stakeholders.

Resources needed:
• Personal computer with word processing software, email, and internet access.
• Electronic access to scholarly publications, including PubMed: The intern will receive a temporary NetID to access the Rutgers online library services.
• REDCap: the intern will receive access and training to utilize REDCap for database management, including recruitment and participant tracking and survey data.
• Qualitative and quantitative data analysis software: the intern may use data analysis software (i.e., NVivo, SPSS, R), which will be available to the intern remotely via Rutgers virtual computer labs.
• Microsoft Teams: CHE staff will create a “team” and invite the intern. The team will use this platform for chats and meetings. Files may also be shared and stored securely on this platform.
• WebEx: Rutgers staff will host WebEx meetings as needed, and the intern will attend by following the links from the meeting invitations.

Communication plan: The intern and faculty mentor or her designee will hold weekly Teams/WebEx calls for regular communication and status updates. The intern will also meet with other Center for Cancer Health Equity faculty, staff, and community stakeholders or Catchment Area Committee members as needed via Microsoft Teams, Google, Zoom, and WebEx.

Qualifications: Will vary depending on the desired internship. May include laboratory skills in molecular biology, quantitative or qualitative research experience, interest and coursework in relevant fields. Desirable qualifications include academic or technical writing experience or experience with social media.

Travel Notice: It is not yet certain whether summer 2021 internships will be on-site or virtual. If health and safety conditions improve, it is possible that some internships may be on-site. CHW will make final determinations on the travel status of each internship in consultation with Princeton University officials, host organizations, and selected interns by spring 2021.

Funding: If travel to the internship site is permitted, CHW will cover all expenses for airfare, housing, food, local transportation, and incidentals. If an intern chooses to stay home, or if travel is not permitted, CHW will provide a $1,500 stipend to remote interns.

Websites: www.cinj.org and https://www.cinj.org/outreach/center-cancer-health-equity.

Research Posters from Past Rutgers CINJ & CTS Princeton Student Interns:
Summer 2020
Zoya Gauhar '22 - Efficacy & Safety of DNMT1 inhibitors in MEN1 Mouse model: Creating a Draft Medical Manuscript
Christina Moon '22 - Interning at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey
Shayla Murray '21 - The Effects of Exon 14 Skipping in Lung Cancer Patients
Mayowa Oke '22 - The Geography of Cancer: An Analysis of Cancer Risk Factors in the State of NJ
Quinn Rademaker '22 - Utilizing Technology: How Web-based Intervention Influences Health
Grace Simmons '22 - Project iCare: Fighting Disparities in Cancer Treatment through Technology

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

Search form

Internships in Global Health