Eager interns in our midst

Science Article
September 18, 2003

Enterprising undergrads get their summer dream jobs in center labs

Leilani Sharpe interned this summer in Dr. Brian Reids lab, where she conducted research on Barrett's esophagus, a precancerous condition. This summer 41 students interned at the center, including the writer of this article. Photo by Todd McNaught

By LAUREN VANE

Plowing through data sets and staining T cells might not be every young person's recipe for summer fun. But for a group of students at the center, it was enjoyable work and a great way to jumpstart their careers. Instead of selling clothes or fast foods, these students pursued their passion for scientific research and landed internships working alongside researchers at Fred Hutchinson.

"I'm doing meaningful work throughout the summer instead of a standard retail job, like many other students my age," says Laura Williams, a 20-year-old summer student in Dr. Lee Nelson's lab in the Clinical Research Division.

Williams, a 20 year-old junior at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, is one of a select group of interns from colleges and universities around the country who spent the summer at the center. The students may have taxed their brain double- time during vacation months, but their hard work in the labs merits notice. What's more, they walk away with a reward well worthy of their time: experience.

"The intern has a huge benefit because they get a first-hand experience to do scientific research," says Kathe Wantanabe, a human resources specialist who handles internship requests. "Hands-on experience may excite them in a way that book science doesn't."

It takes more than grades to secure a job after college and the hands-on experience unique to an internship is invaluable to an employer, Wantanabe said.

In a competitive market filled with able candidates, internships were hard to come by this summer. Yet these students managed to snag the opportunity. How did they do it?

"I don't even know how I got here, I was really lucky," Williams said. There are two portals to a Fred Hutchinson summer internship: the front door and the back one. Dr. Barry Stoddard, investigator in the Basic Sciences Division, runs the center's official internship program, which is open to college students between their junior and senior years. The internship runs from mid-June to the end of August, a period of 10 weeks. Interns take part in seminars every Friday, coffee breaks every other Tuesday and additional social events throughout the summer.

Supply and demand

This year, 300 students applied, and only 25 were accepted to the program. Financial support for the students comes from individual investigator research grants, divisional funds or the center's Continuing Umbrella of Research Experiences Program grant from the National Institutes of Health, which provides funding for minority outreach and education.

For those who couldn't find their way in the front door, there is sometimes another entrance. "Some undergrads apply directly to labs because they have an in or they just don't know about the official internship program," Stoddard said.

Eager and determined students looking for an internship contact Wantanabe in Human Resources through calls and e-mails. She instructs them to send a resume and letter stating why they want the opportunity, and then she tries to place each student with a researcher.

This summer, 40 students interned at the center. Stoddard said he invites all the interns to join in his program's seminars and activities. "The goal is to teach them about the diversity of research at a cancer-research center," he said.

Once placed in a lab and working with a researcher, this summer's interns quickly realized the value of their experience. Leilani Sharpe, an intern in Dr. Brian Reid's lab in the Human Biology and Public Health Sciences divisions, is most experienced in biochemistry research and viewed her internship as an introduction to something new. "I get to see an entirely different side of research," says Sharpe, a senior at the University of Washington. "Here, people from very different fields come together and work collaboratively on a project geared towards understanding and treating human afflictions."

Hidden rewards

The experience working in a lab gives students a new perspective on scientific research before they commit to a lifelong career. "Being here gives me a better view of what research is all about," Williams said.

"I think our mentors get a sense of how important it is for someone interested in medical research to have an internship opportunity like this," Sharpe said. "The things learned in labs aren't found in textbooks; you can learn much more from experience."

Stoddard insists there is a hidden benefit to each student who interns at the center. "The indirect benefit for the students is that they spend the summer getting to know people from different backgrounds," says Stoddard. In a diverse group, with both geographically and in personal interests, Stoddard says meeting and interacting with each other is part of the learning experience.

An internship can also be rewarding for the mentors, Watanabe said. "Having an intern gives them the chance to share their love of science and to really make a difference," she said. "Many researchers realize this is a way in which they can influence someone else to take this career."

Taking on an intern is a significant commitment for a researcher and it depends on the available time, money and space a lab can offer. But the enthusiasm of an eager intern quickly proves its worth. "Bringing someone in who is really bright-eyed about science can add a certain excitement and spark a lab," Wantanabe said.

Sharpe hopes that she has been a help to her lab this summer. "As a student, I want to bring my excitement and curiosity to the lab, and contribute as much as I can to the lab's goals in the time I'll spend there," she said. She imagines that for the researcher, having an intern in the lab also gives him or her a chance to remember what it was like when they were starting out in this field. "I hope they get acquainted with the students out there who are just embarking on a journey they started years ago," she said.

A positive internship experience for both student and researcher comes full circle back to the center. "We're hoping that some of these students will come back here to our graduate programs," Stoddard said. Right now, about 10 percent of each incoming Molecular and Cellular Biology graduate program class are former Fred Hutchinson interns. "These are fantastic students and precisely the kind we want back here," he said.

Ask the interns if they would come back if the opportunity presents itself, and the answer is a resounding, "definitely."

[Lauren Vane is a journalism student at Boston University. She interned this summer with Center News.]

Center News Table of Contents