Harvard University Summer Internship Program in Biomedical Research

Summer Scholars Program at Harvard Medical School

Summer Scholars is a Harvard Medical School summer internship program for motivated undergraduates with a strong interest in pursuing graduate studies focused on molecular mechanisms in biology. The program offers students the opportunity to gain experience in hands-on laboratory research; to interact with faculty, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and other summer interns; to attend weekly luncheon/seminar presentations by department members on specific research projects and cutting-edge research tools; and to improve the presentation, writing, and communication skills.

The program is co-directed by Profs. Piotr Sliz, Sun Hur and Stephen Buratowski, with further support from Karina Gonzalez Herrera as a special program advisor and Yolima Lantigua as the departmental coordinator.

Laboratories participating in the BCMP summer internship program offer a broad range of basic and disease-oriented research topics using the analytical tools of biochemistry, molecular genetics, biophysics, chemical biology, and structural biology. Research interests of the faculty include:

Use of chemical biology to study the human microbiome (Sloan Devin)
The control of all stages of gene expression; the mechanisms of DNA replication, recombination, and repair (Steve Buratowski, Phil Cole, Karen Adelman, Johannes Walter, Kevin Struhl Laboratories);
The structure and function of proteins, protein-RNA complexes, and membrane transporters using crystallography, cryoEM, and NMR (Eric Fischer, Mike Eck, Steven Backlow, Andrew Kruse, Hao Wu, Tim Springer, and Haribabu Arthanari) and single-molecule methods (Joe Loparo, Johannes Walter);
Molecular approaches to gene regulation and protein function during herpesvirus replication and latency (Don Coen);
The biosynthesis of membrane lipids, carbohydrates, and proteins; principles of antibiotic and natural product synthesis (Jon Clardy)
Computational approaches in structural biology (Python programming, grid computing, drug discovery and molecular dynamics) - Sliz Laboratory.
Genomics - The Cohort Study project at Boston Children's Hospital has multiple openings for students that are interested in working with investigators on sequencing and data analysis projects in a variety of disease areas including neurological, endocrine, psychiatric, gastric, and more.

Previous research experience is recommended but not required. We typically do not sponsor student visas for international students located outside the US, but we may make exceptions under certain circumstances.Admittance into the program is based on grades, recommendations, past research experience and defined research interests. Selected applicants will be matched with one of the participating laboratories. Students receive a $4725 stipend and will work full-time (35 hours/week) on research projects under the guidance of a BCMP research scientist. A 10-week series of luncheon/seminar meetings will begin with a training session on laboratory safety, followed by presentations from current graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in the department. Students will present their own work during a poster session at the end of the program in August.

Please note that the BCMP Summer Scholars are not Harvard students and are not eligible for some of the Harvard student benefits such as housing, health insurance, or access to athletic facilities. Students are responsible for making their own travel and accommodation arrangements and they will cover travel, accommodation, food and other personal expenses associated with the participation in the BCMP summer internship program. A list of potential students housing accommodations adjacent to the Longwood Medical School campus is available upon request.

Class of 2014: