LHSI Intern: Laboratory Assistant, bioenergetics impacts on muscle wasting

Program Summary:  

This internship is offered as a part of the Life-Health Sciences Internship Program (LHSI). This program connects 125 IUI 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. Jeff Brault

Department/Office: Medicine; Anatomy, Cell Biology & Physiology

Overview of the internship site: We are a basic science laboratory in the School of Medicine that aims to develop novel approaches to slow muscle wasting and improve muscle strength and endurance during chronic diseases and aging. Current studies are focused on the role of bioenergetics (e.g. the control of ATP) and use clinical samples, pre-clinical (mouse) models, and cultured muscle cells.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities: Main laboratory techniques may include mouse muscle section sectioning for histology and microscopy, analysis of mouse genotype by PCR, isolation of muscle proteins for analysis by western blot, and processing of muscle/serum for biochemical assays. Duties could include working with mouse models, if interested.

Work Environment and Dress Code: The work is performed primarily in a lab setting with dress code of close-toed shoes, pants (no shorts).

Hours per week: flexible based on student needs (10 maximum), scheduling is 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) 

·        full-time IUI undergraduate 

·        minimum overall GPA of 2.0 

·        All majors welcome

To apply:

LHSI accepts at least 125 interns per year. Complete the application for LHSI at go.iu.edu/lhsi and select between 2-4 internship sites on that application. All available sites are listed in Handshake and will start with the position title “LHSI Intern.”