Internships in Global Health

Research Assistant: Strengthening Health Systems and Promoting Evidence-based Programming through Implementation Research

Location: Remote

Duration: 6-10 weeks, up to 20 hours/week

Number of Positions: 1

To Apply via GPS: Click Here

Stipend: Hourly Princeton student RA rate, based on actual hours worked

Faculty Supervisor: Alyssa Sharkey, Lecturer in Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and Senior Health Specialist, UNICEF

About: 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. UNICEF’s equity-focused and people-centered strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) also provide a basis to further operationalize UNICEF’s approach.

Significant progress in maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health has been achieved over recent decades. Global under-five mortality dropped by more than half between 1990 and 2019 and global maternal mortality fell 38% between 2000 and 2017. Despite these achievements, significant inequities in intervention coverage and mortality remain, both among and within countries. While substantial evidence exists on what needs to be done, we have evidence gaps when it comes to identifying viable approaches for sustainable implementation and scale-up of responses to improve programmes for children. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has both reversed many of the gains made in recent years and increased inequities in maternal and child health. UNICEF is working closely with its in-country government partners to support the maintenance and re-establishment of these critical services in order to save lives, and a key focus of this work has been on identifying strategies that are proven to improve equity and on implementation research (IR) to improve the implementation of life saving interventions.

Research Assistant Responsibilities: This internship will support the Implementation Research team within the Health Systems Strengthening (HSS) Unit at UNICEF New York to carry out priority activities during the summer of 2021. The overall objectives of the internship are:

1. to update UNICEF’s existing mapping of existing IR resources (i.e. IR experts, institutes, trainings, platforms) and update relevant database/websites accordingly
2. to update UNICEF’s efforts to understand how the findings and recommendations from IR projects undertaken during 2020 and 2021 have been utilized and integrated into policies and programmes
3. to develop a better understanding of UNICEF’s work on IR to promote effective program implementation in countries
4. to gain exposure to how UNICEF operates across its global offices.

The intern will provide operational and technical assistance that will support UNICEF’s implementation research work including:
1. revised database of IR resources
2. data collection, data synthesis and reporting to update our existing survey of IR project in-country partners.

Qualifications: Applicants should have basic knowledge of maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health issues and of health programs in low and middle-income countries. Knowledge of the literature pertaining to implementation research is a plus. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset. Must have excellent oral and written communication skills. Preferred qualities include: 1. ability to work effectively in a multi-cultural environment, with excellent inter-personal skills and willingness to learn from others; 2. high standards for quality of work and consistently achieving project goals, even under tight timelines; 3. ability to identify urgent and potentially difficult decisions and acts on them promptly.

List of closed summer 2021 internships - click to read more or scroll down:

Telethon Kids Institute - Perth, Australia
University of Malaya - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Oxford University Clinical Research Unit - Hanoi, Vietnam
The Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria - Geneva, Switzerland
Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy - New Delhi, India
International Care Ministries - Manila, Philippines
Institute for Social Medicine, State University of Rio de Janeiro - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey - New Brunswick, New Jersey
NYC Health + Hospitals System-wide Special Pathogens Program - New York City, New York
OnFrontiers – New York, New York
U.S. Peace Corps, Office of Global Health and HIV - Washington, DC
Research Assistant: Rural Hospital Closures and the Effects on Maternity Services – Princeton, NJ
Research Assistant: Neutrophil-lymphocyte Ratios in Humans and Animals - Princeton, NJ
Research Assistant: Population: An Ethical Inquiry - Princeton, NJ
Research Assistant: The Relationship between Mental Illness, Decision Making and Cognitive Function - Princeton, NJ
Research Assistant: The Transformation of Bioethical Assessment by Neuroscience: Building a Research Bibliography - Princeton, NJ
Research Assistant: Unpacking the Role of the Microbiome on Health - Princeton, NJ
Research Assistant: Pathogen Evolution and Diversity Research Database Project - Princeton, NJ

Telethon Kids Institute

Various Research Internships

Location: Perth, Australia

Duration: 8-12 weeks

Number of Positions: 5

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.

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

The Early Neurodevelopment and Mental Health team focuses on addressing developmental risk and promoting resilience to developmental vulnerability and mental health problems from conception through to five years. This project aims to develop and trial “STEPs,” a novel, strengths-based online parenting program to improve self-regulation in toddlers (18-36 months) and promote parent/caregiver self-efficacy, mental health, and parenting skills. The project will address an important gap highlighted by our community partners: the need for a scalable, evidence-informed, toddler self-regulation program that is designed with and for West Australian families. In addition to promoting better health, development, and educational outcomes for children, this project will provide important insights into family engagement in parenting programs, strategies for successful co-design with families and services, and barriers and facilitators to implementing scalable programs. This project will also provide insight into Aboriginal families’ program preferences and how these align with their caregiving practices.

FOCUS AREA 1: Promoting self-regulation among infants and young children: What works for whom, under which circumstances, and how?
An opportunity exists for an intern to be involved in several aspects of the project, including literature review, stakeholder consultation, and intervention development. Day to day tasks will include: familiarisation with project (including literature and data); data extraction; stakeholder meetings; project team meetings; administrative tasks; intervention design; and qualitative interviews.

Qualifications: An intern should have a background in psychology or related discipline. Previous experience in qualitative and quantitative data analysis, excellent critical thinking and problem-solving skills, as well as an interest in early childhood development is preferred.

The Child Health, Development and Education team (inclusive of the Fraser Mustard Centre) takes a population health approach and focuses on a broad range of factors that impact on children’s health, development, education and wellbeing across the ecological spectrum (i.e. from individual characteristics, family and home environment, community, service provision and policy impact). Unique to this team is the innovative Fraser Mustard Centre, a collaboration between Telethon Kids Institute and the South Australian Department for Education which brings together leading Australian child development researchers and government policy makers and planners. This collaboration aims to drive high quality, policy relevant research to improve the lives of children and insure the research is quickly and effectively translated into policy decisions.

FOCUS AREA 2: The relationship between birth order and children’s health and development in Lao PDR
This project will utilise data collected as part of a randomised control trial financed by the World Bank in Lao People’s Democratic Republic in Southeast Asia, the Early Childhood Education Project. It will seek to investigate the interplay between birth order, household socioeconomic status, and children’s early health and developmental outcomes. An opportunity exists for an intern to be involved in multiple components of this project, including literature reviewing and synthesis, data cleaning, analysis, interpretation and write up. Overall, this internship will support the development of an academic manuscript for publication. It presents an excellent opportunity to collaborate with a highly motivated team of researchers and make a meaningful contribution to the evidence on supporting children to achieve their potential.

FOCUS AREA 3: Early childhood education dose and children’s development in low and middle income countries
This project will use data from two World Bank financed projects, one in Lao People’s Democratic Republic in Southeast Asia and another in Tonga in Oceania. It will aim to investigate the relationship between early childhood education dose, including community playgroup and preschool, and children’s early developmental outcomes. An opportunity exists for an intern to be involved in multiple components of this project, including literature reviewing and synthesis, data cleaning, analysis, interpretation and write up. Overall, this internship will support the development of an academic manuscript for publication. It presents an excellent opportunity to collaborate with a highly motivated team of researchers and make a meaningful contribution to the evidence on supporting children to achieve their potential.

FOCUS AREA 4: Early childhood education quality and children’s development in Lao PDR
The Sustainable Development Agenda has encouraged a shift in focus beyond provision of early childhood education, to aspects of the quality of early learning environments. This project will utilise data collected as part of a randomised control trial financed by the World Bank in Lao People’s Democratic Republic in Southeast Asia, the Early Childhood Education Project. It will explore the quality of different forms of early childhood education as measured by the Measuring Early Learning Environments (MELE) instrument – a UNESCO, World Bank, Brookings Institution and UNICEF initiative, and how this is related to children’s early development. An opportunity exists for an intern to be involved in multiple components of this project, including literature reviewing and synthesis, data cleaning, analysis, interpretation and write up. Overall, this internship will support the development of an academic manuscript for publication. It presents an excellent opportunity to collaborate with a highly motivated team of researchers and make a meaningful contribution to the evidence on supporting children to achieve their potential.

FOCUS AREA 5: Influence of school suspensions on child and adolescent wellbeing.
South Australia is the only jurisdiction globally that conducts an annual state-wide census of student wellbeing; the Wellbeing and Engagement Collection (WEC). As a component of the WEC, young people, from grades 4 through to 12, provide information on their social and emotional wellbeing. Through data linkage of the South Australian Department for Education administrative behavioural data and the WEC, this project will investigate the influence of school suspensions, expulsions and exclusions on child and adolescent self-reported social and emotional wellbeing. An opportunity exists for an intern to be involved in multiple components of this project. From literature reviewing, data cleaning and data analysis. This will support the development of an academic manuscript for publication and research snapshots for relevant policy makers. This is an excellent opportunity to work with a highly motivated team of researchers and collaborate with government policy makers.

Qualifications: An intern should have a background in public health, psychology, education or a related discipline. Previous experience in quantitative data analysis and undertaking literature reviews is desired. Excellent critical thinking and problem-solving skills and excellent attention to detail and record-keeping ability is a plus.

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.telethonkids.org.au

View Internship Summary Posters from Past Telethon Kids Institute Princeton Student Interns:

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 Respitory Medicine
Danielle Victoriano '19 - AusVaxSafety: Descriptive Analysis for Zostava

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 thirteen 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 – 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 #5 – 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 #6 – 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 #7 – 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 #8 – 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 #9 – 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 #10 – 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 #11 – 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 #12 – 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 #13 – 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.

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.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

OUCRU Logo

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.

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

IMS

Institute for Social Medicine

State University of Rio de Janeiro

Location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (remote)

Duration: 8-12 weeks

Number of Positions: 2

To Apply via GPS: Click Here

About: The Institute of Social Medicine of the State University of Rio de Janeiro was created in the late 1960s by a group of professors from the Faculty of Medical Sciences who realized the need to deepen and systematize reflections on health issues. Since its foundation, ISM has been characterized by interdisciplinary, critical spirit, commitment to the Brazilian social reality and respect for the free debate of ideas. The Institute is one of the main institutions involved with the creation of the Brazilian free and universal healthcare system, and its professors work with scholars all around the world.

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

FOCUS AREA #1 –Development of a generalizable methodology to estimate medical education costs
A preliminary literature review found that almost no research has been undertaken to support the political and financial decision-making process for the opening and maintenance of medical schools and that there is no agreed or applicable methodology for the estimation of medical education costs. Therefore, the development of a generalizable methodology capable of evaluating the costs incurred by medical education institutions in the higher education sector will contribute to the planning and quality assurance process of such training, both in Brazil and in other countries, as well as to efforts to achieve the universal health coverage and access goals of the health systems.

Interns will be tasked with:
• Contributing to the bibliographic review and analysis of publications on health professional education costs (other than medicine)
• Participating in an analysis of medical courses' political-pedagogical programs
• Contributing to the development of the database and computer models

Qualifications: Interest, abilities and fundamental skills in the qualitative and quantitative methods of public health research. Good communication, problem-solving skills, teamwork, and ability to work with objective focus, organize the agenda and plan tasks according to deadlines.

Website: https://www.politicasdesaude.uerj.br and https://www.ims.uerj.br

FOCUS AREA #2 – Research on the Design, Reform and Implementation of Health Practitioner Regulation across Countries
This project aims to inform the planned global guidance on health practitioner regulation through:
• Collation, analysis and synthesis of evidence on the diversity of health practitioner regulatory systems across geographic, linguistic and economic systems; challenges; recent reforms, initiatives and innovations; and analysis of evidence of impact on health system objectives
• Critical interpretation of the evidence to provide recommendations on key considerations, common principles, and core elements for the design, strengthening and implementation of health practitioner regulation

Interns will tasked with:
• Contributing to the qualitative or mixed-method global systematic review, including review and collection of published, unpublished and legal documents, and the evaluation of the relevance of findings, to inform the overall objective of the project
• Contributing to input in writing country examples that examine the alignment of policy with practice, including focus on low- and middle- income countries, that build on collected literature
• Contributing to prepare synthesis report based on the review, as well as to the repository of relevant reference materials, including relevant statutes and legislative acts

Website: https://www.politicasdesaude.uerj.br and https://www.ims.uerj.br

FOCUS AREA #3 – Epidemiological impact and the intersection of the COVID-19 and tuberculosis
Understanding the impact of COVID-19 and related response measures on the epidemiology and provision of healthcare services for TB, and developing innovative and pragmatic solutions to overcome adverse consequences is of utmost importance in the BRICS countries, where TB accounted for an estimated 569,000 deaths in 2019, a number that could rise substantially during and after the concurrent COVID-19 pandemics. Conversely, an improved understanding effect of TB on patient-level COVID-19 outcomes (morbidity and mortality) is also important in order to inform and individualize patient care. This will be a collaborative project across 4 BRICS countries: South Africa, Brazil, India, and Russia, with a concurrent and extraordinary burden of both COVID- 19 and TB. As the COVID-19 epidemic escalates in these four countries, understanding SARS-CoV-2 and TB interaction is essential to reduce short- and long-term morbidity and mortality. Across this unique multi-country platform, this team has developed an innovative approach to understanding the interplays between COVID-19 and TB at the epidemiological, health services and individual clinical and socio- behavioral level. In addition, this team will investigate mitigation strategies to address this impact.

This focus area includes the following four objectives:

Systematically estimate the impact of COVID-19 and response measures on the TB care cascade
Systematically estimate the impact of COVID-19 and response measures on the M.tb population, and individual patient outcomes
Using a mixed-methods approach, identify a set of key measures to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 response in order to speed the recovery of TB services, which can mitigate setbacks in the fight against TB
Using innovative mathematical modeling approaches to estimate the effects of COVID- 19 on population-level TB incidence and mortality in the 4 countries and measure the public health impact of interventions to mitigate these effects.

There will be collaboration with national TB programs, other government partners, civil society, patient advocacy groups, industry, and academic groups. The expectation is to deliver, besides scientific papers, significant human capacity building, scientific exchange, and a comprehensive report to guide decision-makers towards mitigation of the consequences of the intersecting TB and COVID-19 pandemics. This project is strengthened by the uniquely strong collaboration between TB programs, academics, and civil society, with the participation of national TB programs already ensured in the project's design.

Interns will tasked with: national databank cleaning and cross-linkage for objective 1 and interviews (in Portuguese) for objective 2.

Qualifications: Interest in databank/big data analysis for objective 1, Portuguese speaking for objective 2.

Website: www.redetb.org and http://centroriosaudeglobal.org/

FOCUS AREA #4 – Topics in Brazilian scholarship on gender and sexuality, at the Latin American Center on Sexuality and Human Rights (CLAM/IMS/UERJ)
This internship provides an opportunity for a guided exploration of issues of feminism, gender, intersectionality, sexuality and body politics, gender in science and medicine, digital feminism, and sexuality and the internet, as addressed in Brazilian Humanities and Social Science scholarship. Interns will review literature and other sources and interview local emerging scholars on a subject of their choice within that scope. Intern will be assigned a CLAM faculty supervisor who, at weekly meetings, will guide the choice and narrowing of issues, suggest relevant sources, and review reports. Intern is expected to submit short articles, interviews, reviews or reports that will be evaluated for publication on CLAM’s website in either English, Portuguese or Spanish.

Interns will be tasked with:
• Bibliographic research and literature review of Brazilian sources;
• One or more interview with emerging Brazilian scholars;
• Submission of one or more pieces for publication on CLAM’s website.

Qualifications: Must be humanities or social science major and have gender and sexuality background or strong interest. Preference for those who are fluent in Portuguese or Spanish. Strong writing skills are also preferred. Note that lack of reading skills in Portuguese or Spanish will restrict the intern’s access to local sources. Basic training on the above subject areas will not be provided but is assumed as part of the trainee’s previously acquired skill set.

Website: www.clam.org.br

FOCUS AREA #5 – Cross‑Country Comparisons of Covid‑19 responses: What can we learn from that?
The outbreak (COVID-19) in 2020 has affected most countries globally, promoting a wide range of responses from governments. The impact of the pandemic has varied a lot between countries. The standard measures of the efficacy of a country’s response are the contagion curve and the number of deaths from the disease. Nonetheless, one can add a different set of indicators to understand better how countries’ strategies are being successful or not in controlling the spread of the disease and preventing deaths.

This project aims to map out these aspects and compare them to analyze factors that may impact how people experience and deal with top-down public policies in a pandemic time, especially now that countries face the challenge of dealing with long-term restriction measures or easing them. This ongoing project proposes comparative research on covid- 19 responses taking a set of countries as examples: Spain, Brazil, the Netherlands, and the US. This project will be investigating the following: 1) The impact of the structure of the health system in each country and how it impacts the efficacy of the responses; 2) Which kinds of values, conceptions, and representations of health and disease, wellbeing and the experience of being at risk influence people’s daily experiences; and how it unfolds different ways of embedding covid-19 measures in practical life; 3) The emergence of mutual aid groups to support other people in various needs that came up during covid times, such as mental health supporters, solidarity-based networks, online social networks. The intent is to publish different papers in journals in the field of Global Health and Public Health. The student will be involved in quantitative data analysis with the research group.

Interns will be tasked with:
• Taking part in research groups, meetings, reading groups;
• Having a proactive role in the project, suggesting ideas, new methodological pathways, and collecting data.

Qualifications: an enthusiastic and highly committed student who will be able to work independently and collaboratively with the research team. A conceptual and analytical background in sociological, anthropological, political sciences, history of sciences, science and technology studies or alike and a background in qualitative methods. Previous experience or interest in the inequalities in health and having a basic knowledge of health is preferred. Spanish or Portuguese reading skills is also preferred.

Website: http://centroriosaudeglobal.org/

FOCUS AREA #6 – Drug trajectories: Mapping out the area of drug studies
Since the 1980s, the broad and diverse study of pharmaceuticals has gained notable impetus and inspiration from the social sciences and the humanities, including such disciplines as anthropology, economics, sociology, history, psychology, and social studies of science and technology. Scholars have moved beyond understanding the mechanisms of pharmacological action to include the web of meanings surrounding particular uses of prescription drugs, prevailing understandings of health and disease in different socio-historical contexts, and the values of drug consumption, use, and exchange.

Since drugs do not produce universal biological effects, such concepts as addiction, efficacy, side-effects, (non)compliance, misuse, and rational use cannot be detached from the “set” and the “setting” of the drug experience. Pharmaceuticals are thus a particularly fitting object of study to elucidate the relationships between body, society, and culture. Such studies can prompt reflections about macroscopic issues like national or international health policies and social security systems, as well as investigations about conceptions of risk, wellbeing, mind/body balance, (il)legitimate suffering, vulnerability, prevention, and treatment in specific social environments.

The project “Drug Trajectories: Interviews with Researchers from the Anthropology, History, and Sociology of Pharmaceuticals” started in 2019. The first batch of interviews has already started to be launched online. The “Drug Trajectories” website is an essential part of this project. Through this platform, the project results are released. They include printed extracts in scholarly journals and edited videos. Portuguese and English book compilations of the full-length interviews are also forthcoming. The “Drug Trajectories” project continues to identify new subjects and to conduct new interviews. As the world copes with and adapts to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it is crucial to re-examine the role and the understanding of pharmaceuticals in diverse systems of belief, in our everyday lives, and as part of our desires for the future.

Interns will be tasked with:
• Having a proactive role in the project, suggesting ideas and collecting data
• Website management
• Promoting the website in the academic-related environment using social media tools;
• Content writing (supervised by the PI);

Qualifications: A highly committed student with a conceptual and analytical background in sociological, anthropological, political sciences, history of sciences, or science and technology studies. Basic knowledge of health. Should be interested in and able to use social media tools for knowledge sharing. Has a background in qualitative methods and excellent level of English writing skills. Preferred skills include: an interest in drug studies or drug policies and to be able to write in Portuguese or Spanish;

Website: https://drugtrajectories.org/

Website: https://www.ims.uerj.br/

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: 1

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: The responsibilities of the research intern 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 intern 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 intern completes his/her analysis, he/she 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://onfrontiers.com/

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

Peace Corps Logo

U.S. Peace Corps, Office of Global Health and HIV

Global Project Planning and Evaluation Internships

Location: Washington, DC

Duration: 8-12 weeks

Number of Positions: 2

To Apply via GPS: Click Here

About: The Peace Corps Office of Global Health and HIV (OGHH) provides technical and operational support to Peace Corps posts and headquarters offices to improve the health and well-being of individuals, families and communities where Volunteers serve. It accomplishes this by proactively securing and managing the best available human, financial and technical resources; promoting excellent programming consistent with the capabilities of Volunteers; and capitalizing on the contributions of other sectors to improve community health programming. The OGHH Programming and Training (P&T) team supports Peace Corps posts by providing quality training and resources to staff and Volunteers; technical assistance to develop and monitor evidence-based programs; and external support to conduct process and outcome evaluations. OGHH is the primary arm of Peace Corps that directs the implementation of its role in PEPFAR (the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief).

Intern Responsibilities: Possible Summer Intern Assignments include: 1) Programmatic Data Analysis related to how Peace Corps Volunteers can best implement effective programming for adolescent girls and young women; 2) Review and update an number of training materials related to HIV and maternal and child health; 3) Develop resources related to HIV policy in the workplace and updated training for Peace Corps staff working in east and southern African countries.

Qualifications: Qualitative and/or quantitative research skills, and/or curriculum design and training experience; a familiarity with and interest in global health issues.

Website: www.peacecorps.gov/volunteer/what-volunteers-do/#health

View Internship Summary Posters from Past Peace Corps Princeton Student Interns:
Summer 2020
Rowan Pierson '22 - Peace Corps Office of Global Health and HIV Internship Summer 2020
Kara Steele '21 - DREAMING Big: A qualitative look at how Peace Corps volunteers contribute to DREAMS

Summer 2019
Gabriela Oseguera Serra '20 - What are we doing? Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Sub-Saharan Africa
Morgan Nicolao '20 - Peace Corps Office of Global Health and HIV

Summer 2018
Charlotte Moss '19 - Non-Communicable Disease: Prevention is the Name of the Game
Claire Nussbaum '19 - Peace Corps Programs for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC)

Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey
Research Internships

Location: New Brunswick, New Jersey

Duration: 8-12 weeks

Number of Positions: 4

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.

Intern Responsibilities: There are 4 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.

FOCUS AREA #3 – Enhancing Self Care Among Oral Cancer Survivors: The Empowered Survivor Trial
The purpose of this project is to evaluate the online intervention called Empowered Survivor against a free online self-management intervention developed for cancer survivors by the National Institute & the American Cancer Society called Springboard Beyond Cancer. Six hundred oral and oropharyngeal cancer survivors will be recruited who have completed treatment 1-3 years ago and are currently cancer-free. Patients are being recruited from both the NJ & CA state registries. Recruitment started last month and the California cases are expected to be received within the next 1-2 months.

Focus Area #4 - Evaluating the Post-Treatment Care Experience of Cancer Survivors
The Center of Excellence in Cancer Survivorship focuses on Cancer Survivorship research with the goal of improving quality of life and optimizing outcomes for cancer survivors in New Jersey. This is an online survey for survivors seen/treated at CINJ in 2018-2019 in order to better understand their unique needs and potential issues with survivorship. An intern for this project would be able to assist with case ascertainment and recruitment, and work in our SPSS dataset. Previous research experience of any kind would be preferred.

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

Research Assistant: Rural Hospital Closures and the Effects on Maternity Services

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

Faculty Supervisor: Janet Currie, Henry Putnam Professor of Economics and Public Affairs

About: Rural hospital closures have attracted a good deal of scrutiny since they often mean that people must travel further to receive care. Less attention has been paid to the fact that hospitals have increasingly reduced the services that they offer, which can also necessitate long trips to other hospitals. This project will look at the effects of hospitals that have stopped offering maternity services using data from the state of Michigan. In addition to closures in rural locations, this study will also be able to examine the effects of closures in urban areas such as Detroit.

Research Assistant Responsibilities: A good candidate for this job will have excellent internet search skills and be willing, if necessary, to contact hospital administrators and public officials in order to confirm information about dates of hospital closures over the past 20 years. Once a list of closures has been obtained, the next step will be to geocode the locations of the affected hospitals as well as other hospitals in Michigan.

Qualifications: Prior experience geocoding is a plus, but is not required as Princeton University offers training in this skill.

Research Assistant: Neutrophil-lymphocyte Ratios in Humans and Animals

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: Andrea Graham, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

About: Neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a simple measure of immune defense that has been used as everything from an index of stress in mammals to an indicator of COVID-19 prognosis in humans. Despite this, there is little clarity on what factors might shape NLR and what it might actually tell us about the disposition of an organism's immune system.

Research Assistant Responsibilities: The RA will be working with Graham Group to developing a stronger understanding of the immunological meaning of NLR and re-analyzing large datasets on NLR across many vertebrate species in light of this understanding.

Qualifications: Willingness to learn and to build a database carefully are a must; experience in statistical analysis would be useful but is not a prerequisite.

Research Assistant: Population: An Ethical Inquiry

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: Peter Singer, Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics in the University Center for Human Values

About: Together with two non-Princeton colleagues, Frances Kissling and Alex Ezeh, Professor Peter Singer is planning a book on population issues: is there a problem about population growth, either globally or regionally, and if so, what would be an ethical response to it? For this project, there will be country specific data that tracks increased use of contraception with improvements in women's status and well-being, completion of high school, employment, reduced domestic violence, improvements in maternal mortality and morbidity and other measures. The countries involved would include, but not be limited to, some from sub-Saharan Africa.

Research Assistant Responsibilities: The RA will be tasked with researching the following topic areas:

The relationship between poverty and population in both directions, i.e. what does poverty have to do with population growth, and what does population growth have to do with poverty?
Issues relating to a possible overemphasis on the provision of contraception, sterilization and abortion as the solution to global problems; also, the benefits of family planning to women’s health and empowerment and the extent to which women themselves want access to family planning.
Current debates surrounding population growth in African countries.

Qualifications: Previous experience in qualitative and quantitative data analysis and undertaking literature reviews is desired.

Research Assistant: The Relationship between Mental Illness, Decision Making and Cognitive Function

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: Yael Niv, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience

About: Research in the Niv Lab focuses on the neural and computational processes underlying day to day reinforcement learning and decision-making: how we learn, from trial and error, to predict future events and to maximize reward and minimize punishment. In particular, the lab is interested in how attention and memory processes interact with learning to create representations that allow us to learn to solve new tasks so efficiently. Its emphasis is on model-based experimentation: it uses computational models to make precise hypotheses about data, to design experiments, and to analyze results. In the Niv lab, the main goal of computational models is not to simulate the system, but rather to understand what high-level computations that system is realizing, and what functionality these computations fulfill.

Research Assistant Responsibilities: The RA will participate in designing, running and analyzing online studies investigating the relationship between self-reported symptoms of mental illness and decision making on tasks aimed to probe cognitive function.

Qualifications: Proficiency with software programming is preferred.

Research Assistant: The Transformation of Bioethical Assessment by Neuroscience: Building a Research Bibliography

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

Principal Investigator: Arbel Griner, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Global Health Program

About: Since the proclamation of the Decade of the Brain in the 1990s, neuroscientific scholarship has deeply transformed investigative fields ranging from the life sciences to economics and to philosophy. In terms of its implications to biomedicine, the neurosciences have reshaped technology and policy, and recast the very understanding of both the clinical subject and practices, setting new parameters as well as challenges for bioethical assessment. The student will participate in ongoing research about the changes that take place in bioethical reasoning under the auspices of the rise of neurosciences. The summer project will look into bioethical work that understands moral reasoning and decision making to stem from biochemical processes taking place in the brain. It will then ask how such understanding recasts health and illness phenomena, as well as how far from the concrete challenges posed by clinical practices and patient needs neuroethical assessment might land. The project focuses on the history of the neuroscience of ethics (or of moral reasoning) and aims to put together a bibliography that delves into the theoretical references, critical events, academic inceptions and even turf wars that shape and drive contemporary bioethical reflection and normative recommendations.

Research Assistant Responsibilities: The RA will help update the bibliography on the topic and indicate unconsidered perspectives on the matter. Basic tasks will include extracting relevant articles about the contributions of neurosciences to practical ethics in English-language major depositories such as PubMed, as well as bioethics, neuroethics and philosophical journals. Aside from collecting and annotating an appropriate number of articles per week, the student will be expected to identify his or her own line of research interest within the larger field of the history of the transformation of clinical practices by neurosciences, and participate in weekly-held discussions.

Qualifications: Previous experience with bibliographical research and information management, and familiarity with the basic biomedical research literature on PubMed is preferred but not required.

Research Assistant: Unpacking the Role of the Microbiome on Health

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

Principal Investigator: Marjolein Bruijning, Postdoctoral Research Associate in the lab of Prof. Jessica Metcalf, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

About: There is increasing evidence that the microbiome is associated with human diseases, such as psoriasis, obesity, and inflammatory bowel disease. However, causal relationships are often hard to prove here: are specific microbes causing the disease, or does the disease cause the presence of certain microbes? One challenge is that many factors simultaneously shape microbiome composition. For instance, human genetics, diet, infant delivery, and the environment all affect microbiome composition, where the role of different transmission routes varies across microbes.

Research Assistant Responsibilities: The RA will investigate the role of specific microbes in human diseases. This investigation is particularly interested in how hosts acquire these microbes, as the mode of transmission may help unravel causal links between microbiome and disease, as well as provide opportunities for the development of treatment.

Qualifications: Highly motivated and enthusiastic about the topic.

Research Assistant: Pathogen Evolution and Diversity Research Database Project

Location: Remote

Duration: 6-10 weeks, up to 20 hours/week

Number of Positions: 1

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Stipend: Hourly Princeton student RA rate, based on actual hours worked

Principal Investigator: Benjamin Rice, Presidential Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the lab of Prof. Jessica Metcalf, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

About: The emergence of novel pathogens is an increasing global concern, as made apparent by recent epidemics (e.g., SARS-CoV-1 2002, H1N1 2009, MERS 2012, Ebola 2013, Zika 2015, and SARS-CoV-2 2019). This motivates questions such as: (i) How do newly emerging pathogens interact with the existing collection of pathogens already circulating in a population (termed the pathogen pool)? (ii) What forces drive pathogen persistence (post-emergence)? (iii) How diverse are the viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens that infect humans? (iv) How can we better monitor epidemic risk?

Research Assistant Responsibilities: The RA will research the following project aims and tasks:
1. Collect data on human pathogen emergence and create a “pathogen diversity database” containing information on the taxonomy, history, and diversity of viruses. This will involve searching for and collating review articles and online databases
2. Assess the feasibility of new approaches to monitoring for pathogen emergence risk by collecting data on ongoing immunological sampling. The aim is to quantify the number of blood samples taken globally each year that could be integrated into a Global Immunological Observatory. For more info on the Global Immunological Observatory, see the link: https://www.princeton.edu/news/2020/12/14/forecasting-next-covid-19

The RA will also be responsible for collaborating with an international research team based at EEB in Princeton and at Mahaliana Laboratory in Madagascar to organize a database of known human viruses, as well as organize and analyze the pathogen diversity database created for Aim 1 above and organize and analyze the global blood sampling database created for Aim 2 above.

Qualifications: Familiarity with global health, epidemiology, and/or virology helpful would be helpful, but not required. RA must have the ability to work independently while following strict data curation protocols.

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Internships in Global Health