LHSI Intern: Cytopathology Imager

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 2025 and end in May 2026 and are paid $13/hour for up to 10 hours per week. Work-study is accepted but not required.  

Supervisor: Dr. Darrell Davidson 

Department/Office: Medicine; Pathology and laboratory medicine 

Overview of the internship site: Every treatment begins with a diagnosis, almost always based on laboratory results. In the pathology laboratory, cytopathology techniques are used to perform the smallest, safest, and least expensive biopsies. This specialized area of anatomic pathology is evolving rapidly to accommodate new molecular tests and imaging modalities. The intern will use advanced slide imaging systems to create virtual slides for teaching and research. 

Website for more information: https://medicine.iu.edu/pathology 

Essential Duties and Responsibilities: The intern's first duty will be to create an image database from a longitudinal study of radiation therapy for cervical cancer. As the intern acquires technical skills and diagnostic understanding, additional projects and collaborations for research and teaching will follow. The initial radiation therapy project should take about three months. 

Work Environment and Dress Code: The work is performed primarily in a lab setting; with dress code business casual 

Project-specific qualifications: Interest in developing and manipulating computer graphic files would be an asset for this internship. Ethical handling of sensitive patient health information is a prerequisite for the intern with the required training in the initial stages of the internship. 

Hours per week: flexible based on student needs (10 maximum); 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 2027 or after (usually a current freshman or sophomore in Spring 2025)   

Current full time IU Indianapolis undergraduate in 2025-26  

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.