LHSI Intern: Parkinson's Disease and Inflammation

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 May 2027 and are paid $14/hour for up to 10 hours per week. Work-study is accepted but not required.  

Supervisor: Dr. Kelly Menees 

Department/Office: Medicine: Neurology 

Overview of the internship site: Help us understand the role of inflammation in Parkinson's disease and other age-related neurodegenerative diseases. Our team is interested in the role the immune system plays in the development and progression of Parkinson's disease. We are specifically interested in how the peripheral immune system influences disease-related changes in the brain with a particular focus on the gut-brain axis. We use a variety of tools and methodologies including mouse models, cell culture, biochemistry, and imaging to investigate the role of inflammation in PD and how we may be able to target the immune system for future therapeutic strategies. 

Website for more information:  

Essential Duties and Responsibilities: Interns will work closely with lab personnel to contribute to ongoing research projects and have the opportunity for independent research. Interns in this role will have the opportunity to learn a variety of techniques used in the field of neuroimmunology including western blots, qPCR, cell culture, immunofluorescence, among others. Interns will also contribute to general lab maintenance and upkeep. 

Work Environment and Dress Code: The work is performed primarily in a lab setting with dress code: long pants and closed toed shoes. 

Project-specific qualifications: Interns in this role are expected to have a strong attention to detail, be highly motivated, organized, and reliable. 

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.