LHSI Intern: Brain Tumor 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 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: Na Tosha Gatson, MD, PhD, FAAN
Department/Office: IU Health Methodist Hospital and IU Health University Hospital; Neurosciences & Cancer Institutes
Overview of the internship site: The brain is the single organ controlling the essence of what it means to be human: thought, speech, language, movement, emotion, sensation, and experiencing the world around us. Brain tumors attack these unique qualities, so, Neuro-Oncology is a humanitarian imperative! As the Director of the Center for Neuro-Oncology, I am seeking interested interns to do clinical research. Interested interns would be enthusiastic and motivated partners to join our team of Neuro-Oncologists, Neurosurgeons, and Radiation oncologists. The proposed projects involve data analysis, critical thinking, and concept development as it relates to brain tumor imaging, population science, and the brain tumor microenvironment.
Website for more information: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/na%20tosha.gatson.1/bibliography/public/
Essential Duties and Responsibilities: Data collection and entry, Data analysis, Imaging analysis, Manuscript and Grant writing
Work Environment and Dress Code: The work is performed primarily in an office setting with dress code casual
Project-specific qualifications: Excel and Word experience required, Emotional intelligence, Professionalism, Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, Accountability
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 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.