Mass General Brigham for Children Digestive Disease Summer Research Program
Email: bphurley@mgh.harvard.edu
Overview
Mass General Brigham for Children, with support from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), established the Mass General Brigham for Children Digestive Disease Summer Research Program in 2015.
This program provides short-term support for 10 students at the undergraduate or medical school level. Each student is matched with a research mentor to perform an independent research project focused on digestive diseases over a 10-week period during the summer months within a laboratory or collaborating laboratory of Mass General Brigham for Children.
Highlights include:
- Opportunities to conduct research in the fields of immunology, microbiology, cell biology, genetics, epigenetics, biomedical imaging, bioengineering, neuroscience, computational biology, clinical research, and implementation science
- Peer-driven biomedical course meets twice each week
- Midsummer career advisory panel discussion
- Summer’s end research Symposium
- Salary support provided through an NIDDK-funded educational program grant
Requirements
To be eligible for this NIH-funded opportunity, you must be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States. The program is intended for medical students and undergraduates in science, math, engineering and pre-medical programs.
Curriculum
In addition to conducting an independent research project to be formally presented at the annual summer’s end symposium, students will participate in a peer-driven presentation-based biomedical course and a panel discussion on careers in biomedical research.
Nearly three dozen independent investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital with interest in digestive diseases serve as mentors and are willing to host summer students in their laboratories.
A wide range of projects and technical training is available through participation in this program, as students are matched with faculty based on interest. Research topics include obesity, nutrition, food allergy, microbial pathogenesis, probiotics, intestinal development and maintenance, cystic fibrosis, celiac disease, inflammation, gut-brain axis, intestinal parasites, early life immunity as well as innate & adaptive immunity. Techniques deployed to support research projects include cutting edge advanced imaging, microfluidics, molecular biology, microbiology, computational biology, stem cell biology, immune cell isolation, in vivo modeling, behavioral studies, implementation science, and patient-based clinical research.
Research Experience
The Mass General Brigham for Children Digestive Disease Summer Research Program provides an excellent opportunity for science, math, engineering and medical students interested in acquiring research experience and contributing their skills towards cutting edge biomedical discovery.
How to Apply
Applications are accepted beginning in January each year for the upcoming summer. All application materials must be received by March 15th (end of day) and the program begins in early June each summer.
To apply, you will need a resume, cover letter, and a letter of recommendation. Your cover letter should explain why you are seeking to join Mass General Brigham for Children for a summer research internship and your main areas of scientific interest.
Send a cover letter followed by your resume as a single PDF file to Bryan Hurley, PhD by email (bphurley@mgh.harvard.edu). The title of your PDF file should be your last name, first name.
Ask your recommender to send their letter separately and directly to Bryan Hurley at: bphurley@mgh.harvard.edu.
The application deadline is March 15 of each year. Only completed applications received by the deadline will be considered.
Mass General Brigham for Children is an equal opportunity employer.