NIH Summer Internship in Biomed Research - Thoughts?

Career Opportunities & Internships
1

<p>I know that there have been previous threads on this topic, but I'm still looking for more information and thoughts from past participants. (Or if anyone plans on doing the internship this summer, are you in-state or out-of-state?) </p>

<p>Did you enjoy the program? Do you think an out-of-state student would enjoy spending the majority of their summer in Bethesda? </p>

<p>What was your housing situation?</p>

<p>I applied this year and have been contacted by a PI, but I am nervous about being in MD by myself for so long.</p>

2

<p>Very interested in this. Son really wants to do something like this. How do you apply?</p>

<p>As for Bethesda, husband works there very often, and he enjoys exploring Maryland while there. Food almost as good as New Orleans!</p>

<p>Also, you are near DC, so you can do cheap, as in free, visits to the Smithsonian on your off time. Cost of living is high, but what a place to spend a summer! Warning, it gets HOT in August!</p>

<p>Congratulations on being contacted by a PI. Good luck and check back with us to let us know how it went!</p>

3

<p>I applied back in January. No PI’s have contacted me, and the ones I have contacted either aren’t taking on interns, or already have someone lined up. It really is a bummer because I put in so much time reading and researching each PI’s reports and publications, just to be told I’m too late :(</p>

<p>If you have been contacted, I’d say take it. From my point of view I’d do anything for someone to contact me. I’m not from the area, but Bethesda is so close to D.C… If you haven’t been to D.C., it’s an awesome city, with a lot to do. </p>

<p>If you don’t mind me asking, what is your research interests? Or, what is you major?</p>

4

<p>Montegut –</p>

<p>I applied through the NIH website: <a href=“https://www.training.nih.gov/programs/sip[/url]”>https://www.training.nih.gov/programs/sip&lt;/a&gt;. The application goes live I think sometime in November. It consists of a cover letter, 2 recommendations, a curriculum vitae, and description of coursework + grades. I may be missing something. The app is due March 1 but it is ideal to submit the app before then to give PI’s more time to scout you (also gives you time to email PI’s you are interested in). </p>

<p>Thank you! I encourage your son to apply next year if he can (I think you have to be 16+). </p>

<p>radishh – </p>

<p>I was very, very surprised to receive a response at all. Out of the 6 or 7 PI’s I contacted two replied. One said he/she wasn’t taking interns. If you applied in January, it definitely was not too late. I think 50% of getting contacted is luck. Don’t give up just yet! And have faith that no matter the outcome, you still have opportunities to do research in your area. In fact, I was (and am) seriously considering doing work in a local lab. </p>

<p>For confidentiality I will PM you my research interests :)</p>

5

<p>Thanks for the response! I did not know you could contact PIs individually. Great idea! I’ll suggest for son to do that. Thank you so much for the link. Will start looking next fall for next summer!</p>

6

<p>I am reading that some of you did contact the PI and got an answer, well I have a question for those of you. I applied for the summer internship at NIH in Betesda back in January, however, I haven’t got hold of how I am supposed to get the PI’s contact information, like their email and their detailed research information. Can one of you please help me out with a link of where I can get the PI’s info? Thanks!</p>

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<p>Hi Mahlet,</p>

<p>I searched in the NIH Annual Reports Database for 2010 (or 2011) using keywords that related to my research interests. Some reports popped up and I then looked at the primary authors of each. If I liked their research I did a google search with their name and found their page on the NIH where their contact information was posted.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

8

<p>@YZE123
Did you get any acceptance letter from NIH , When I emailed the PIs and got responses from some them saying that they will be happy to host me but they havn’t heard anything from NIH yet regarding my application. I did not hear anything from NIH either …any idea how this works</p>

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<p>@2016glor </p>

<p>That’s interesting. I did not hear anything directly from the NIH. I suppose the PI I heard from was able to access my application since he/she is taking me. </p>

<p>The PI you contacted should look on the database of applications, maybe he/she did not know to actively search for you. Since the program is de-centralized there is no way for the NIH to directly monitor/control who gets a spot or not. If you have any other questions, let me know.</p>

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<p>Thank you yze123 …I will check with the PI again</p>

11

<p>Hello I was fortunate enough to land a position in a lab. I am a rising college freshman. Do you guys know how long a student typically stays? I know the minimum is 8 weeks, but do students typically stay longer in order to do more work on their posters? As of now, I am starting on June 18 and ending on August 10, exactly 8 weeks and 1 day after the NIH SIP student poster session which is on August 9.</p>

<p>Thanks! I hope to see some of you guys there!</p>

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<p>Hi ewq5555, my PI told me the maximum (paid) time allowed is 10 weeks. The minimum is 8 weeks. I am probably staying for 10 weeks or so. </p>

<p>Congrats on getting a position!</p>

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<p>Hi ewq5555. Just out of curiosity, did you also contact a PI or did you hear back from the program?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

14

<p>Hello rofino, </p>

<p>yes i did contact a PI</p>

15

<p>Hi all,
I didn’t know you could contact a PI. Do you think it is too late to send out emails to a few PIs now? Or should I just try to send out emails ASAP?
A
lso, did you send out multiple emails to PIs or wait for an answer from one PI before sending out another email?</p>

16

<p>No worries it’s not a requirement; it just helps you get looked at. Otherwise scientists have a huge database of applications they must sort through to find interns. I’d give it a try, but I wouldn’t count on receiving too many replies considering many labs have already selected interns. Don’t give up though! :)</p>

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<p>How much is the stipend for the NIH SIP and what is the best, cheapest living situation besides American University?</p>

18

<p>I have spent about 2 months looking for housing to help my D who will be an NIH summer interrn this year (2013), and here are some BTDT thoughts:</p>

<p>1) This is the busiest time of year in the Bethesda area. Things go very fast. There are many DC internships, and patients looking for places to stay during treatment. </p>

<p>2) Summer sublets advertised to the public are very rare in convenient locations. </p>

<p>3) Parking is difficult at NIH, and traffic is horrible all around DC. Most recommend staying near a red line stop and taking the Metro to the NIH stop.</p>

<p>4) BUT, the Metro red line is a horseshoe shape, with the Bethesda/Grosvenor/White Flint branch near NIH and another branch coming to downtown from Univ. of Maryland, College Park. The only way to get from College Park to NIH is to take busses, or the Metro all the way into DC and back out again on the Bethesda branch. So all the reasonable College Park student sublets don’t work that well due to location.</p>

<p>5) There is an NIH housing site, but it does not help very much for short term rentals.</p>

<p>6) Craigslist has things that rent like lightening or are very expensive</p>

<p>7) sublet.com gave us a few leads</p>

<p>SOOOOO, we finally got around to the high-rise apartments right on the Red line, who do rent for 2 or 3 months, and found a small, safe apartment that we have to furnish (Cort furniture rental) and establish utility accounts for. Not inexpensive, but will work, and is safe, private and convenient.</p>

<p>Marriot residence inn Bethesda was our emergency backup at 143 a night (AAA rate, stay over 1 month). Short term corporate furnished apartments start at 160 a night, and none are very convenient. </p>

<p>There are rooms in houses for rent, most have to share bath and kitchen, easiest found on “craiglist bethesda temporary” or NIH housing site. These would involve visiting in person to check out, and mostly bus transportation to NIH planning, but is the more economical alternative.</p>

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<p>Local universities also rent out dorms, student must be college aged (over 18) and stay for 9 weeks. American and GW both have programs; again convenience for commute might be an issue. GW has bath/kitchen options in graduate housing but about 1500 a month.</p>