2016
Student Research Internship in Multiple Sclerosis
Sponsored by: New York City-Southern New York Chapter of the National Multiple
Sclerosis Society
Award Amount: $2,000
Number of Awards: 2
Purpose
The internship is offered to college students who have completed at a minimum their
first year of study, and has the following objectives:
1. To immerse a college-level, intern in a research laboratory for three months to
give them exposure to a basic research laboratory
2. To refine critical thinking skills by evaluating their data and others published
papers, including exposing the student to concepts behind drug design and
clinical trial development
3. To improve oral and written communication skills
Program Curriculum
The intern will take on a small part of a larger research project, to become familiar with
all steps of the scientific process, including project management, hypothesis formulation
and testing, troubleshooting, analyzing data, formulating conclusions and planning
future experiments.
The intern will be strongly encouraged to read the literature on basic research,
translational research, and clinical papers relevant to MS. This will ensure that they
develop the skills to critically analyze their own and others data including understanding
the broader implications of their work in the context of drug-design/targeting and clinical
implications for treatment of MS patients.
During the program, the intern will meet with other MS trainees (PhD students, postdoctoral fellows in the field of MS research and neuroscience) for a networking
opportunity at the chapter office to discuss one MS basic research paper, and hear two
presentations from: i) researcher involved in MS drug discovery who will present on the
topics: "What is the process of drug design? How does the clinical pipeline work? How
do we translate discoveries to the clinic?” ii) clinician who will present a clinical paper.
Throughout the program, interns will be encouraged to present their data to both their
mentor and laboratory colleagues. In September, the intern will be required to attend a
hand-on mentoring seminar led by a world-leader in MS research and present their
findings in a 10 minute oral presentation, followed by a 5 minute question/discussion
with a group including college students, PhD students and Post-doctoral fellows. This
will improve their oral and written communication skills.
At the end of the training program, the intern will be required to write a brief final
summary of their research experience that will include two components: 1) One page
summary of personal experience in a summer research laboratory and future career
plans. 2) One to two page final research summary that will include original hypothesis,
project background and objectives, their major research finding(s), pitfalls, future
directions for research and relevance to MS. A template will be provided for the
research summary.
Program Dates:
The internship will begin early in June and end in August, the exact start and end dates
to be determined in discussion with the lab. September mentoring Seminar attendance
and presentation also required. The exact Research Mentoring Seminar date is not yet
set, however it will be a Saturday before the end of September.
Laboratory Settings:
Interns will be assigned one of two research labs located in NYC:
1) Laboratory of Dr. Valentina Fossati focusing on inducing pluripotent stem cell
modeling for understanding neurodegeneration in MS
2) Laboratory of Dr. Tim Vartanian exploring an infectious bacteria as a possible
cause of MS
Eligibility
The internship is open to all students who have completed at least their first year of
college who are U.S. citizens or candidates lawfully admitted to the U.S. for permanent
residence. Recent college graduates are also eligible as long as they are not currently
enrolled in a graduate program.
Requirements
Applicants must submit an application for the student internship no later than April 1,
2016. Only complete applications with all the required information as detailed below will
be considered. The student interns must make their own living arrangements. They
must also have their own daily transportation and the ability to travel to their assigned
sites within the New York City area.
Eligible Expenses
The financial award is exclusively a stipend support to the student. The commitment
must be full-time. $1,000 of the award will be paid at the start of the internship. $500
will be paid August 1. The final $500 will be paid upon completion of the final
presentation and submission of the required personal and research summaries in
September.
Application Requirements
1. Complete application
2. Two reference letters
3. College transcript (unofficial transcript is acceptable)
3. Curriculum vitae of applicant
4. Application deadline: April 1, 2016. Applications received after this date will not be
considered. Only complete applications will be considered.
Time Line
Applications with all supporting documentation must be received by
April 1, 2016. An in person or phone interview may be a part of the screening process.
Internship awards will be announced and all candidates who submitted applications will
be contacted by April 29, 2016.
Send complete applications to:
Andrea Arzt
Associate VP, Clinical Programs and Direct Services
New York City-Southern New York Chapter, National MS Society
733 Third Avenue, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10017
Applications may be submitted by email to: andrea.arzt@nmss.org