<p>Hi all,</p>
<p>I'm a high school student who would be extremely interested in an internship in microbiology, infectious disease or a related field. I would prefer it if the internship was in the greater New York City area. It would be absolutely fantabulous if it was affiliated with a good school, like Penn. Does anyone have any suggestions?</p>
<p>Anyone at all?</p>
<p>What you will need to do is to identify people whose labs you would be interested in working in. In NYC, you might start by looking at the websites for the various medical schools in the area. Find the micro/ID departments (if you’re interested in research you may need to look at the graduate school rather than medical school departments). Somewhere there should be a list of faculty, with a link to a brief statement about their research. Write an email to the lab head, telling them a little (NOT A LOT) about yourself, and why you would like to work in their lab. Tell them what math/science/lab classes you’ve taken, and maybe grades. You need to be reasonably specific; don’t make it sound too generic. Ask if they have space for you. Be prepared for most of them to say no, if they respond at all.</p>
<p>It might help to also talk to your HS science teachers & see if they have connections. Many universities, in an effort to improve the quality of science education, sponsor workshops & courses for HS teachers, so it is possible that some of your teachers may have met researchers in your area of interest.</p>
<p>One thing to keep in mind: if you’re under 18, it may be very tough to get a lab job, because of restrictions put on by the NIH and many state labor departments. In our area, there are high school internship programs sponsored by the flagship state university and maybe two of the research centers; the other research institutes and biotechs can’t hire under-18s.</p>
<p>Good luck; let me know if you have more questions.</p>