LHSI Intern: vision research assistant

Program Summary:    

This internship is offered as a part of the Life-Health Sciences Internship Program (LHSI). This program connects 125 IU Indianapolis undergraduates per year with internships on campus with faculty and staff in a variety of health and science related campus areas/programs. All LHSI internships start in August 2026 and end in April 2027 and are paid $14/hour for up to 10 hours per week. Work-study is accepted but not required.  

Supervisor: Dr. Weiming Mao 

Department/Office: Medicine Ophthalmology 

Overview of the internship site: My lab focuses on glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness in the US and world. We use cells, human donor eyes, and mice to study the mechanism behind elevated eye pressure in glaucoma patients. 

Website for more information:  

Essential Duties and Responsibilities: The intern will conduct a small project and/or help other lab members with their studies. They will also prepare lab reagents,  maintain and clean lab equipment etc. 

Work Environment and Dress Code: The work is performed primarily in a lab setting with dress code: casual but no open toes no shorts 

Project-specific qualifications:  

Hours per week: 10; flexible within regular work hours 

By the end of the LHSI program, you will: 

Carefully consider, explore, and articulate your career goals, including an analysis of how you arrived at that path and what steps you need to take next. (Community Contributor, Communicator) 

Understand your role and strengths on a professional team and analyze who you would like to become as a professional. (Communicator) 

Gain and strengthen skills relevant to next steps after graduation, such as communication, collaboration, teamwork, analysis/synthesis/evaluation, independence, confronting/challenging failure, problem-solving and perseverance, and constructive criticism. (Problem Solver, Communicator) 

Convey ideas and knowledge effectively through an ePortfolio and presentation of your internship work. (Problem Solver, Communicator) 

Set and meet your own additional learning goals identified with your supervisor. 

LHSI Qualifications    

must be graduating May 2028 or after (usually a current freshman or sophomore in Spring 2026)   

Current full time IU Indianapolis undergraduate in 2026-27 

minimum overall GPA of 2.0   

All majors welcome 

To apply: 

LHSI accepts 125 interns per year. All available sites are listed in Handshake and will start with the position title “LHSI Intern.” Complete the application for LHSI at go.iu.edu/lhsi and list 3-4 internship sites on that application. You will meet with at least 2 of these if selected for interviews.