NIH summer internships?

[madeyedhl]

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hi,
I am a korean who is attending medical school in korea.

i want to participate in NIH summer internship research programs.

i am even willling to participate in that 1 year program.




but the problem is, the NIH website says only us citizens/ perm res are able to apply.

but... i have also heard that there ARE international students that are participating in this program.


should i ask the director of the program that i am interested in personally?

i know this is competitive program.

but i am soooo willing (same as everyone else i guess) to participate in this. but it stinks to be an international student

 

[GeoLeoX]

Though you may be unable to participate in the official internship program you may still be able to work in a lab. I would recommend directly contacting lab directors whose research interests you. The caveat is that you would most likely have to fund the venture yourself (not to mention all the regulations of coming to work in the US). Good luck.

 

[jsg1985]

Hello Made,
I agree with previous response. I actually work at NIH now, and I would suggest that you contact PI directly you are interested in working with. IF the PI has opening, s/he will be take care of all other paper work. I have seen that PIs are usually reluctant to get foreign summer student cuz of all the visa troubles, but for a fellowship that should not be a problem. Hope this helps!!!

 

[madeyedhl]

thank you so much for your replies. so... its possible for me to work there "unofficially" for summer and/or one year program? that is sooo cool...


but... i dont understand the part about the "reluctant to foreign students" vs fellowship.

isn't fellowship after residency?? what does fellowship mean in this context?

 

[magwi11]

At NIH, the term "fellowship" loosely translates to "works very long hours for very small salary." They use the term fellowship to describe any number of training positions, from post-bacc all the way through the more traditional post-doc. In my lab we have people with B.A., M.S., M.D., and PhDs all on some sort of "fellowship" contract. It also means that you are not a U.S. government employee, so you don't get those benefits, most of us are paid with a "taxable grant" rather than a salary. But it's worth every second and I love it here.

I agree with other posters, you should contact the PIs and see who can/is willing to consider taking you. You won't qualify for the IRTA fellowships, because I believe that you have to be an American citizen, but it may be possible for you to come in some other way.

You may have to find the money yourself though, at the end of the day, it's a U.S. government agency.