HSCI Internship Program (HIP) 2008

Unfortunately, HSCI is no longer accepting applications for our summer 2008 internship program. Applications for our 2009 summer program will be available online beginning in December 2008.

The HSCI Internship Program (HIP) is an intensive 10-week hands-on research and educational program in stem cell science and technology. The first program, created in 2005, hosted 26 Harvard undergraduates and was extremely successful, engaging both the students and the investigators supervising them. In subsequent years HSCI expanded its mission to incorporate undergraduate students from around the world, with an emphasis on providing an opportunity for those who do not have access to stem cell research at their institution. Collectively, these students work on a number of disease-related topics such as diabetes, blood diseases and neurodegenerative diseases. They also conduct fundamental research in developmental biology, molecular and cellular biology, and tissue engineering. Systems used in their research include kidney, lung, pancreas, liver, human and mouse embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells, and mouse and zebrafish animal models.

In 2008, 37 undergraduates were selected from over 300 applicants and placed in HSCI affiliated labs located in both the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and Harvard Medical School, including in a number of Harvard affiliated research hospitals, such as Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Children's Hospital Boston, and McClean Hospital.

In addition to working full-time (40 hours/week) in the laboratory, all students attend two educational activities:  a seminar series and a Stem Cell Companion Course. The seminar series is held every Wednesday from 9:00a.m. - 11:00a.m. and features a scientific talk by an HSCI stem cell investigator (detailed schedule available below).