Intern working with Medical Director

Intern working with Medical Director, Fall 2025

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), which shared in the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997, is a U.S.-based international advocacy organization working at the intersection of medicine, science, and law. With a global network of thousands of medical, scientific, and legal experts, PHR uses the power of medical and scientific evidence to document human rights and humanitarian law violations and prevent abuses, protect survivors, and promote justice and universal human rights for all.

Building upon its highly respected place in the field, and supported by a committed and talented team, PHR seeks an Intern to work with the Medical Director on a new large research project that will begin in August 2025.

Location: New York, New York (hybrid)

Reports to: Medical Director

Organizational Overview

Physicians for Human Rights was founded in 1986 by five physicians who were united in the belief that health professionals, with their specialized skills, ethical duties, and credible voices, are uniquely positioned to prevent harm and promote respect for human rights. Since its founding, PHR has built a long and distinguished record of accomplishment by conducting groundbreaking investigations and advocacy, in concert with strategic partners.

PHR’s approach includes extensive documentation and research on the use of illegal and inhumane weapons in armed conflicts, attacks on civilians, and the physical and psychological impacts of torture and sexual violence as a weapon of war. Other core activities include protecting the rights of those seeking asylum in the United States, the human rights implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, and halting attacks on medical facilities and frontline health professionals.

Internship Description

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) is looking for a capable and enthusiastic intern with research background who is interested in gaining in-depth experience assisting on a large research project with a multi-disciplinary team that is seeking to understand and end the use of quasi-scientific medical diagnoses to justify racialized police killings of individuals experiencing behavioral crisis, with a focus on the United Kingdom. Drawing on PHR's prior work on Excited Delirium in the United States (see prior PHR report on web site), the PHR team's focus will be to 1) examine the definition, history, and use of Acute behavioral disorder and other cognate 'delirium' diagnoses in the medico-legal community; and 2) trace the development of Acute Behavioral Disturbance (ABD) to its origins in Excited Delirium (EDx). This question will be addressed through:

1. A systematic literature review (looking at published literature on above) and also on medical literature on how ExDS/ABD is similar to/different from cognate diagnoses in countries such as Canada, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, exploring ExDS/ABD as part of a global phenomenon.

2. A review of the policing and medico-legal literature that informs concept of ABD examining its relationship to ExDS, ties to police weapons manufacturers, and clinical data on impacts of different forms of police restraint in UK

3. Semi-structured interviews with pathologists, physicians, psychiatrists, neurologists to explore conceptions and use as well as how ABD deviates from accepted diagnoses such as 'hyperactive delirium.'

The intern will have the opportunity to help with all these tasks and participate in research team meetings with the whole UK-based multidisciplinary team focusing on other aspects of the problem of police killings in UK and the impact on families and communities.

This internship is ideal for a student interested in a career in human rights and health that leverages rigorous research skills and medical or public health expertise to advance health and human rights.

The intern will also attend departmental and staff meetings, as well as regular learning and social events with other interns and staff from PHR to round out the learning experience and complement PHR-provided career mentoring.

PHR offers stipends to student interns. Details will be further provided during the interview process.

Duties and Responsibilities

· Review extracted research articles to help extract and summarize key themes and evidence from systematic literature reviews

· Conduct desk research to supplement information gained from literature reviews

· Assist in developing and piloting semi-structured interview protocols and code transcripts and analyze themes

· Assist in efforts to identify and reach out to medical and other experts to interview

· Assist with the development of research, policy papers, blog posts, briefing materials, press releases, and internal memos regarding the research

· Assist with relevant program and administrative work, including meeting preparations, background research, data entry, and internal reporting.

· Assist with other identified research activities

Qualifications and Experience

· Current enrollment in an undergraduate or graduate program of study required, prior research experience, especially with systematic literature reviews and semi-structured interview-based qualitative research.

· Demonstrated commitment to issues of social justice and human rights

· Strong written and verbal communications skills required, including excellent editing skills.

· Excellent research and analytical skills required.

· Ability to work collaboratively and professionally with PHR staff and external partners

· Demonstrated interest in and commitment to human rights

· Mature judgment, strong integrity, and ability to maintain strict confidentiality required.

· Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and follow-through

· Coursework and training in mental health, medical-related or public health fields strongly desirable.

Location and Hours

· The internship will follow a hybrid work model, with some work conducted remotely and if possible some in our office located in Midtown, Manhattan.

· We welcome applications from candidates located out of state.

· Hours can be flexible to accommodate different types of schedules.

· The internship will commence in September with at least a 12-week commitment, with the possibility of extending the internship for the whole school year (to May 2026).

How to Apply

Please send a cover letter and resume, to resumes@phr.org. Include “Intern working with Medical Director", Fall 2025” in the subject line. Please include in your cover letter the number of weekly hours you would be able to commit to the internship.