LHSI Intern: Adolescent and Minority Health

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. Tamika Zapolski 

Department/Office: Medicine; Psychiatry 

Overview of the internship site: Join the PRISM lab and be at the forefront of transforming youth mental health and substance use prevention—where cutting-edge research meets real-world impact, and youth voices drive change in communities and policies. The Prevention Research in Substance Use and Minority Health (PRISM) lab conducts two complementary lines of research: 1) understanding developmental and culturally based risk and protective factors to substance use and mental health outcomes among youth, particularly those from marginalized backgrounds, and 2) the implementation of youth substance use and mental health interventions in community, clinical, and school settings. One of the interventions we implement is a brief 9-session adaptation of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy for Adolescents (DBT-A) skills group, that is provided to students at local high schools to reduce adolescent substance use and related health outcomes. Dr. Zapolski is also the Director of Community Engagement for the Indiana University School of Medicine Adolescent Behavioral Health Research Program and the Director of the Indiana University School of Medicine Youth Coalition (YoCo), which provides mentorship, training, and leadership opportunities related to youth mental health to individuals age 13-18 in the Indianapolis area. YoCo meets one a month on Saturdays. Dr. Zapolski also leads community advisory boards with youth and adults for a number of youth and mental health focused projects. 

Website for more information: www.iusmprismlab.com 

Essential Duties and Responsibilities: Assist with literature reviews, data collection, and IRB documentation for projects. Assist with community boards and YoCo meetings. 

Work Environment and Dress Code: The work is performed primarily in an office setting with dress code: no dress requirements 

Project-specific qualifications: cultural humility and openness to different cultures and backgrounds, time management with meeting deadlines given, responsiveness to emails, and working well in teams. 

Hours per week: flexible based on student needs (10 maximum); availability to attend YoCo meetings on Saturdays from 11-3 is preferred, but not required 

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.