Introduction:      The Howard Hughes Medical Institute/National Institutes of Health/Montgomery County Public Schools (HHMI/NIH/MCPS) Student Intern Program is funded by a grant from the HHMI. This year-long educational experience is open to Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) high school students ONLY.      A student internship at the NIH is a demanding and extremely rewarding experience that will be offered to up to 20 MCPS juniors and/or seniors who best meet the following criteria: Selection Criteria:   Grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher   Demonstrate significant interest in exploring a career in biomedical research   Completed algebra 2, biology, and chemistry, or are taking algebra 2 and chemistry concurrently   Excellent attendance record   Produce assignments of high quality in a timely manner   16th birthday on or before July 1 of the internship year   U.S. citizen or hold a valid Green Card      The intern experience will begin on the Monday after the school year ends, with a one-week course in biotechnology, research methods, and introduction to the NIH. After the week of training, student interns will enter their chosen laboratories to begin seven weeks of full-time research. An honorarium of $1,600 will be paid in two installments for the eight weeks and students will earn one honors credit with grade. Students who successfully complete the summer program will continue their internship during the academic year and earn two additional honors credits per semester. A student may earn five credits for the total intern experience. Students who do not complete the summer program may not continue in the following academic year and will not earn any credit. The HHMI/NIH/MCPS Student Intern Program is a twelve-month commitment. Shortly after school begins in September, student interns will start working in their laboratories four afternoons a week on their own research projects, continuing through the spring, and culminating with a dinner symposium in May. At that time, students will present summaries of their research. Visit HHMI site for more information.      During the academic year, student interns should enroll in a maximum of four classes at their home schools. The remainder of the day is reserved for their laboratory work at NIH. They will spend a minimum of 16 hours per week in their laboratories. Friday afternoons will be reserved for make-up work and group meeting with the intern coordinator. Student interns will not be able to participate in regularly scheduled after-school activities, such as sports or band.       Each high school may submit four applications, with the final decision being made by the principal. The application is a two step process. Application Instructions: Step One: Download and print the Student Worksheet. Complete the Student Worksheet. Give a copy of the completed Student Worksheet to your Science Resource Teacher to be considered for nomination to the program. The Science Resource Teacher will notify you that you have been nominated. Only if nominated may you may proceed to Step Two of the online application (below). This online application must be completed & submitted before Friday, November 21, 2008. Prior to clicking the "Next" button please read the instructions below carefully so that you are prepared to fill out the online application completely. Questions should be directed to the program director, Gloria Seelman, via email. Step Two - completing the online application: You will need the ACCURATE email addresses for the two (2) teachers who will be providing recommendations for you (one of these must be a science teacher). We will be contacting these teachers BY EMAIL ONLY to ask them to provide your recommendations, so it is crucial that you obtain and enter their correct email addresses. Have a list of courses completed in science and mathematics and grades earned. Health insurance information, including carrier name and policy number is required. This application requires a one-page essay on How Could the NIH Internship Support My Interest in Biomedical Science. You may wish to write it first and then copy/paste into application form. The essay paragraph should include:          * activities that demonstrate your interest in a career in the biomedical sciences.          * future educational plans to prepare for a career in biomedical sciences. Click "Next" button below to proceed to the online application..      If selected for this program, you will be required to provide the following supplementary items before beginning the NIH Summer Internship: Parent/Guardian Permission Form Unofficial High School Transcript of Grades After carefully reading the instructions above, click 'Next' to continue to the online application.

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Last updated on September 3, 2008

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