Aspirnaut Summer Internship

Program Description

Aspirnaut™ is a K-20 STEM Pipeline with the goal of increasing the number of the STEM Workforce. Aspirnaut™ Summer Research Internships are hands-on and mentored biomedical science research laboratory experiences for undergraduate students interested in a career in biomedical research. The program is supported by the Division of Kidney, Urologic, & Hematologic Diseases of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

There are two principle aims for this program:

1. An intense research experience for undergraduate students involving crafting questions, designing and conducting experiments, and presenting and arguing results on the topic of "Renal Biology and Disease."

2. To augment the discovery science experience with professional skills development and guided self-discovery.

Participants join labs at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC, a nationally recognized research institution). Interns are matched with research mentors and become active members of a working lab. Interns contribute to projects ranging from breast cancer and diabetic kidney disease to engineering new microfluidic devices.

Participants are involved in every step of the research process, such as designing experiments, collecting, and analyzing data, and maintaining lab notebooks. In addition to the discovery science laboratory experience, interns receive training in science communication, mentorship and career mapping, and wellness training. At the conclusion of the experience, students present their research to peers and mentors through oral and poster presentations. If offered by KUH, participants will attend the NIDDK/KUH Summer Undergraduate Research Conference at the end of the program. Aspirnaut™ covers costs for participants to attend the KUH/NIDDK Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium.