LHSI Intern: Neuroinflammation in age-related neurodegenerative disorders

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. Valerie Joers 

Department/Office: Medicine Neurology 

Overview of the internship site: Microglia: the shapeshifting guardians of the brain. Microglia are specialized immune cells in the brain that can serve dual roles in neurodegenerative diseases acting as protectors and destroyers. Our lab uses microglia and brain slice cultures from mice to determine how microglia interact and possibly regulate toxic protein aggregation as found in Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. We are interested in immune mechanisms that become dysfunctional under disease conditions. Additionally, we test anti-inflammatory targets as possible treatments to regain microglia function and benefit overall disease outcomes. 

Website for more information: https://medicine.iu.edu/faculty/69265/joers-valerie 

Essential Duties and Responsibilities: Students in this position will work with PI and technicians in the lab to contribute to ongoing research projects. General lab duties will include lab maintenance and upkeep.  Under supervision, you will be responsible for maintaining cultures and downstream processing with techniques such as cellular staining and microscopy, western blots and data analysis, among others. Interns are encouraged to join lab meetings and attend relevant seminars. 

Work Environment and Dress Code: The work is performed primarily in a lab setting with dress code: wet lab requires long pants and socks/closed toe shoes 

Project-specific qualifications:  

Hours per week: 10; ideally minimum 3 hours per shift 

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.