NIH Summer Inernship

[Silent Cool]

Hey everyone,

I'm wondering if any of you did the pre-doctoral summer internship at NIH. Ever since I heard about it, I've been dying to do it. I would LOVE the chance to research something about which I am passionate. Do you know how hard it is to get picked? I'm worried that if I ask for a research area I'm interested in that I might not get it--I'm thinking I should try to, instead, pick something that they might want to fill, even though I'm not really passionate about that research topic. What do you think? Do you know what, if anything, they are looking for? What the criteria are?

Thanx in advance.

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[Flea girl]

Hey everyone,

I'm wondering if any of you did the pre-doctoral summer internship at NIH. Ever since I heard about it, I've been dying to do it. I would LOVE the chance to research something about which I am passionate. Do you know how hard it is to get picked? I'm worried that if I ask for a research area I'm interested in that I might not get it--I'm thinking I should try to, instead, pick something that they might want to fill, even though I'm not really passionate about that research topic. What do you think? Do you know what, if anything, they are looking for? What the criteria are?

Thanx in advance.

Hi,

I did both the Post-Bac IRTA(b/f med school) and the Summer Internship (b/t my first and second year of medical school). What I recommend is that you first look at the people you are interested in working with and email them or call them, to see if they will take a summer student. This is the best way. Otherwise you will get random people wanting you to work for them. If you find someone first b/f you apply it will virtually get you a spot. Oh, if you do not get a response from someone try calling. Alot of time the PI get erase the email if they do not know who it is from. Now you don't have to do this but it will get you what you want. Any questions PM me.

Flea girl

 

[Silent Cool]

Hi,

I did both the Post-Bac IRTA(b/f med school) and the Summer Internship (b/t my first and second year of medical school). What I recommend is that you first look at the people you are interested in working with and email them or call them, to see if they will take a summer student. This is the best way. Otherwise you will get random people wanting you to work for them. If you find someone first b/f you apply it will virtually get you a spot. Oh, if you do not get a response from someone try calling. Alot of time the PI get erase the email if they do not know who it is from. Now you don't have to do this but it will get you what you want. Any questions PM me.

Flea girl

Awesome! Thanx a lot for the advice--I will definitely try this and I'll probably hit you back with some questions.

 

[drguy22]

i did the summer internship last summer and im doin it again this summer u can ask me any ?'s too....

 

[beachcutie5040]

Did you have any research experience before being accepted. Do they accept many people that dont have research experience?

 

[drguy22]

Did you have any research experience before being accepted. Do they accept many people that dont have research experience?

i didnt have any lab research...but i did have some clinical research....

and no..u really dont have to have any research experience.

 

[sunnyMD]

I'm thinking of applying as well. Can any of you guys that did it in the past tell me how you liked the program? Did you have much of a choice on the area you did research in? I know one of you suggested individually contacting people... I just don't know where to begin with that... there seems to be so many PIs. How many weeks were you there? Etc.. anything that could be potentially helpful for an applicant. And did any of you guys get your name on a publication?

 

[Flea girl]

I'm thinking of applying as well. Can any of you guys that did it in the past tell me how you liked the program? Did you have much of a choice on the area you did research in? I know one of you suggested individually contacting people... I just don't know where to begin with that... there seems to be so many PIs. How many weeks were you there? Etc.. anything that could be potentially helpful for an applicant. And did any of you guys get your name on a publication?

You get select areas of interest on the application. I would begin by what interests you, then look at the PIs who work in that field. I was there for 12 weeks, when I did the Summer program. I think the shortest was 10 weeks that I knew of. I have one first author publication and another pending. However, this was mostly the research I did when I was an IRTA for one year. Any more Q's just ask or PM. Hope that this helps! Good Luck . I had a great experience with the NIH programs.

 

[PickyBicky]

I'm thinking of applying as well. Can any of you guys that did it in the past tell me how you liked the program? Did you have much of a choice on the area you did research in? I know one of you suggested individually contacting people... I just don't know where to begin with that... there seems to be so many PIs. How many weeks were you there? Etc.. anything that could be potentially helpful for an applicant. And did any of you guys get your name on a publication?

My fiance also contacted a PI directly. I agree that this is a good way to work on a project in a general area of interest to you and to help get selected. She was in Bethesda for about 12 weeks. She worked hard, but ultimately was a third author on a J. virology paper from her efforts that summer.... her experiences also paved the way for her to be a Cloister Scholar two years later. Choosing a lab is difficult. I would start by randomly (literally!) looking through the list of investigators in an institute that roughly matches your interests (say NIAID if you're interested in ID/HIV/vaccine, NCI for cancer/immunotherapy, etc, etc). Just go to NIH.gov. It's good, in some cases, to find a lab that has hosted students in the past and has had a good track record with those students.

Best of luck. I love the NIH. I was a Hughes scholar at NCI for 2 years. PM me with additional questions.

-PB

 

[hmm...]

How easy is it to get housing?

 

[Hoooba]

How easy is it to get housing?

It's not hard as long as you start looking early. You'll find a link on the application website where you can search a database of housing available. You'll find a lot of people looking to rent a room in their apartment or house. Also, you can find apartments available for rent. I believe the database is updated every two weeks. The best thing to do if you know when you're goinng is to wait till it's updated and call as many places as you can in the area you're looking at. Make sure it's near a bus line or the Metro. In general, places in Bethesda are more expensive than Rockville or Silverspring area but they are closer to the NIH main campus. There are also NIH shuttle buses that you can take. You can find that info at the NIH website. I did the pre-doctoral program for two summers in the same lab and had a great experience.

 

[Hoooba]

My fiance also contacted a PI directly. I agree that this is a good way to work on a project in a general area of interest to you and to help get selected. She was in Bethesda for about 12 weeks. She worked hard, but ultimately was a third author on a J. virology paper from her efforts that summer.... her experiences also paved the way for her to be a Cloister Scholar two years later. Choosing a lab is difficult. I would start by randomly (literally!) looking through the list of investigators in an institute that roughly matches your interests (say NIAID if you're interested in ID/HIV/vaccine, NCI for cancer/immunotherapy, etc, etc). Just go to NIH.gov. It's good, in some cases, to find a lab that has hosted students in the past and has had a good track record with those students.

Best of luck. I love the NIH. I was a Hughes scholar at NCI for 2 years. PM me with additional questions.

-PB

I've been really interested in the Hughes and Cloister programs. Is there a lot of competition for these programs? Also, what can you during MSI & II to prepare for them? and lastly, any advice when it comes time to applying? thanks a lot

 

[PickyBicky]

I've been really interested in the Hughes and Cloister programs. Is there a lot of competition for these programs? Also, what can you during MSI & II to prepare for them? and lastly, any advice when it comes time to applying? thanks a lot

In terms of overall competitiveness, the answer is the programs (Cloister scholars and the intra-mural clinical research training program (CRTP-->NIH's version of Cloister)) are surprisingly not as competitive as you would think: ~25% of those who apply to Hughes get in. I'm not sure what the yield for CRTP is, but I would imagine it is similar.

It's difficult to say what makes for a good candidate. Good grades help, but LORs from past research mentors probably are most important. That said, there were certainly folks in the Cloister program who had no previous research experience whatsoever (most did, but not all). The interview is also very important.

I think doing a summer at NIH between your M1/M2 year can help a great deal (this is what my fiancé did). NIH scientists interview and select for the program (alongside the Hughes administrators), so having a LOR from "one of their own" is worth a great deal. PM me directly if you have more specific questions. I loved my time in the Cloister program. It probably was one of the best decisions I've made in my life (I'm serious, I'm not exaggerating in the least).

-PB

 

[cdpiano27]

Do you know anything about which NIH institutes give internships to Biostatisticians?

I have just had applied to this and I am waiting for my second recommendation but I am a PhD in statistics. I know that NIEHS in the RTP hires biostatistician interns, but wouldn't the main headquarters in Bethesda do the same thing? The website is not very specific about statistics jobs. I only know about NIEHS because I am doing my PHD in the Triangle area.

I did not specify I certain institution since nothing was very specific on the website.

Also, after we apply when do we here back? I will have just completed my masters enroute to the PhD by this summer?

Also, I have applied to pharmaceutical companies for intern as well which are extremely competitive.

 

[peaches09]

Are stipends offered in the NIH Summer Internships? How many hours per day does it involve? Lasty, are all 3 LORS required and who should we ask to provide these LORS? Our deans? Thanks!

 

[Flea girl]

Are stipends offered in the NIH Summer Internships?
Yes, depends on education, I believe. GS levels.
How many hours per day does it involve?
I would imagine at least 40hrs a week. Some PI's may exspect more though. A good question to ask. Not a part-time job though.
Lasty, are all 3 LORS required and who should we ask to provide these LORS? Our deans?
Are you in med school? If so, I think you might need one that states you are in good standing. Have you had any research experience before? If so, than people who you have done the research with. If not, then profs, that know your academic ability would be good. Yes, I would recommend that you submit all 3.
Anymore Q's ask away

 

[diosa428]

Do you know anything about which NIH institutes give internships to Biostatisticians?

I have just had applied to this and I am waiting for my second recommendation but I am a PhD in statistics. I know that NIEHS in the RTP hires biostatistician interns, but wouldn't the main headquarters in Bethesda do the same thing? The website is not very specific about statistics jobs. I only know about NIEHS because I am doing my PHD in the Triangle area.

I did not specify I certain institution since nothing was very specific on the website.

Also, after we apply when do we here back? I will have just completed my masters enroute to the PhD by this summer?

Also, I have applied to pharmaceutical companies for intern as well which are extremely competitive.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has a Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, which has a Biostatistics branch.

http://dceg.cancer.gov/index.html

 

[DrIsh]

Are there any opportunities around or near Chicago?

 

[PuKcAo]

I'm gonna be spending the summer at the NIH main campus as an undergraduate intern. Do you guys have any housing recommendations?

 

[krabmas]

Hi all looking for housing for NIH.

There is a yahoo groupd called ClubPCR. It is the way that all the IRTAs and summer students email each other at NIH. I think you can join through yahoo.

If you want more info on this email me and I will try to help you get on the list serve. [email protected]

Everyday I get emails for housing, bikes for sale, ultimate frisbee, softball.....

 

[MrMunkily]

Maybe one of you lucky ducks will get to sublet my room! j/k though I am looking

 

[cdpiano27]

Do you know where we can look for housing? My internship is in biostatistics branch of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute which is supposedly in Bethesda but not by the main campus.

 

[PuKcAo]

washington dc craigslist.com seems to be the best way to find a place to live.