Biomedical Research Intern

How to apply: Read the entire job description (click “view full description” if the job description does not appear in full here).

Submit a written paragraph on Handshake explaining why you would like this internship, why it's interesting to you, or any other reasons or personal stories you would like to include. Please make it clear in your paragraph that you have fully read the job description. Resumes are not required, but you can add it if you want. The following applications will not be considered: anyone who has already graduated from college at the time of application; anyone who does not attach a paragraph with their applications; anyone asking for a virtual or remote internship; anyone who submits their application by email. Please use the email contact for questions only, not for applications (you can also message me on Handshake with questions!). 

ALS TDI Internship Program for Equity in Research 

Position type:  Internship

Contact email: Internships@als.net

Job Title Biomedical Research Intern

**This internship is designed to serve students with little to no prior lab or work experience; please be aware that priority will be given to students who have less job experience, and no students enrolled in a master's or doctorate program will be considered. Please read the entire job description and Job Purpose Summary carefully before applying.**

Company Mission

ALS Therapy Development Institute is a nonprofit biotechnology lab. Our mission is to discover and develop effective treatments for ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease).

Job Purpose Summary

This position is a paid six-week biotechnology internship designed to expose college students to some of the many potential ways to use a biotechnology degree. The intern will assist with laboratory tasks and gain experience with basic lab skills, while working closely with scientists from different groups at ALS TDI.  There will be two interns hired who will work closely together for projects, and also will need to do some independent work. 

The internship is focused on, but not limited to, providing paid scientific research experience to Black students at community colleges.

Compensation & Benefits

Pay: $20 per hour

Transportation: Free onsite parking; MBTA pass provided for interns without a car

Intern will be provided professional assistance with writing and updating their resume, CV, and cover letters.

Time & Location

This is a part-time internship located in Watertown, MA. The intern will work with the coordinator to establish a schedule that works for the intern and accommodates classes or another job. The intern can expect to work approximately three 8-hour days, during the work week.

Job Duties and Responsibilities

The internship consists of a rotation between four main types of laboratory work; each rotation will last approximately one week. Rotations subject to change due to urgent laboratory situations (e.g. equipment failure or personnel changes); in that case, we will sub in a different project or type of work instead. 

Experimental Prep

• Intern will learn and practice the skills involved when prepping for a benchtop experiment, including but not limited to lab notebook keeping, aseptic technique, making buffers, and tube handling and preparation
• Potential Duties: keep a lab notebook, prepare and label tubes for benchtop experiments

In Vivo Pharmacology

• Intern will learn and practice the basic skills of animal handling for in vivo pharmacological experiments, including but not limited to mouse scruffing, weighing, and handling, and weighing compounds
• Potential Duties: prep tubes for in vivo experiments

Clinical Science

• Intern will learn and practice the basic skills of clinical science, including but not limited to data handling using Excel and GraphPad Prism and processing clinical samples using ELISA and FACS
• Potential Duties: manipulate de-identified clinical data

Cell Biology

• Intern will learn and practice the basic skills of mammalian cell culture, including but not limited to pipetting, spectrophotometry, and microscopy
• Potential Duties: aliquot samples for storage, perform serial dilutions and measure concentration, autoclaving glassware, labeling tubes for antibody aliquots

Required Qualifications, Education, and Experience

We will hire interns who are enrolled in any type of higher education (two-year, four-year, or certificate program) as long as it's no higher than a bachelor's degree, and who are interested in or are majoring in a scientific field, but this internship has no other education or experience requirements.

This internship is designed to serve students with little to no prior lab or work experience; please be aware priority will be given to students who have less job experience, and no students enrolled in a master's or doctorate program will be considered.

Working Conditions

• This internship takes place in a Biosafety Level 2 laboratory
• Exposures include microorganisms of low biohazard potential, laboratory animals, recombinant and non-recombinant DNA and cell/tissue culture activity, laboratory sharps, and laboratory chemicals
• Essential physical requirements include sitting at a laboratory bench, pipetting with the hands and arms, and typing; there is minimal physical effort or lifting involved
• Human bloodborne pathogen and laboratory safety training will be provided