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Opportunities as a Student
Summer & Other Short-Term Research Opportunities
*Information and online content taken from the various program opportunities websites
Boehringer Ingelheim Veterinary Scholars Program at other CVMs:
“The Boehringer Ingelheim Veterinary Scholars Program provides an opportunity for veterinary schools to introduce first and second year veterinary medical students to biomedical research”.
[ BIVSP, with links to specific college programs ]
NIH-funded Summer Programs for Veterinary Students (T35)
“NIH funds several Colleges of Veterinary Medicine and Colleges of Medicine to support short-term, summer research training programs”. [ Listing with program descriptions ]
USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) summer research
Application now open! [ Program Info and USDA Scholars Application Guidelines ]
Cornell Summer Research and Leadership Program
“The Leadership Program for Veterinary Students at Cornell University is a unique summer research experience for veterinary students who seek to broadly influence the veterinary profession through a science-based career”. [ application information ]
Morris Animal Foundation
“The Morris Animal Foundation Veterinary Student Scholar Program is a competitive program that provides veterinary students the opportunity to conduct mentored research to advance the health and well-being of dogs, cats, horses and wildlife. Each year, students prepare grant applications, first for selection from their home institution, and then for review by Morris Animal Foundation. Each chosen Veterinary Student Scholar is awarded a $5,000 stipend to support his or her summer research project. The program is open to currently enrolled veterinary students in good standing from any AVMA-accredited US or international college, university or school of veterinary medicine”. APPLY
Comparative Gastroenterology Society/IDEXX Veterinary Student Summer Scholar Award
This is a 12 week hands-on research experience for students with all levels of research background. The emphasis of this program is to expose the student to GI research and to give them an opportunity to gather hands on experience [ information ]
Summer Internship Program in Biomedical Research For Veterinary Medical Students at the National Institutes of Health
“This training opportunity, which is a part of the NIH Summer Internship Program, is designed to provide 8+ weeks hands-on laboratory research experience for pre-doctoral veterinary medical students interested in biomedical research. Students develop skills in scientific research while working with leading biomedical scientists using cutting edge technologies at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). In addition, enrichment opportunities are provided to allow interaction with veterinarians at NIH including those training in translational and interdisciplinary research in the NCI Comparative Biomedical Scientist Training Program. These sessions provide the opportunity to learn about comparative molecular pathology and comparative oncology initiatives in human biomedical research, to attend formal lectures and seminars targeted to students, to discover professional roles performed by veterinarians working in a research environment, and to share experiences with veterinary students from other colleges across the nation. As the culmination of the summer internship, students prepare and present their research findings in a poster session at the National Veterinary Scholars Symposium, held each year in August”. [ information ]
Kennedy Krieger Institute: James A. Ferguson Emerging Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program
“The Dr. James A. Ferguson Emerging Infectious Diseases Research Initiatives for Student Enhancement RISE (Ferguson RISE) Fellowship Program supports public health research and professional development in infectious diseases and health disparities, focusing on increasing knowledge and interest in public health research careers among students from underrepresented populations. The Ferguson RISE Fellowship program includes a full-time summer (Labor Day through the first week in August), 6-month part-time or full-time, and 12-month full time public health research fellowship experiences. The Ferguson RISE Fellowship is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Fellows may also gain clinical experience and develop professional leadership skills in the public health field. Ferguson RISE Fellowship partnering institutions include: the CDC, Howard University, Kennedy Krieger and Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Morehouse School of Medicine, Morgan State University, Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University”. [ information ]
Southwest National Primate Research Center
“The Southwest National Primate Research Center (SNPRC) offers educational and training opportunities for a limited number of students during an 8-week summer session. Our scientists mentor students enrolled in Undergraduate (sophomore, junior or senior level) and Graduate professional (Ph.D. and veterinary) programs. Students currently enrolled at accredited academic institutions are encouraged to apply. [ information ]
US Food and Drug Administration Summer Intern Program: Windows to Regulatory Research Internship Program
“The Windows to Regulatory Research Internship Program offers academically superior undergraduate, graduate, and professional students hands-on experiences conducting basic and applied research as well as performing in-depth technical reviews of data applicable to animal health and food safety. Students gain career experience in a supportive yet challenging atmosphere while the Center develops and guides future scientific and regulatory leaders”. [ information ] APPLY
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
“The Division of Comparative Medicine at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has a number of NIH funded openings for veterinary students who have an interest in pursuing research during the summer months. Research Fellows will participate in existing research projects in the laboratories of established investigators at Massachusetts Institute of Technology or collaborating institutions such as Harvard and Tufts. Research fellows will augment their understanding of animal based research by participating in clinical and laboratory rotations”.
[ information ]
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
“Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology offers summer fellowships for veterinary students (two per year) to gain experience in Comparative Pathology. This a paid summer fellowship. Students perform necropsies, examine tissue sections under the microscope one-on-one with pathology faculty, and attend clinical pathology rounds to discuss pathology cases in the context of their clinical histories. Summer students are also assigned small research projects that can be completed in the short time they are here. Competition for these summer positions is intense, and we have had many excellent students go on to advanced training in pathology after graduating from veterinary school.” [ information ]
Wake Forest School of Medicine
“First- or second-year students from AVMA-accredited veterinary schools may apply for these NIH-sponsored Summer Research Fellowships, which require at least 8 weeks in the department. The program is open to up to 4 students per summer and provides research training using animal models of human disease.” [ information ]
Stanford School of Medicine
“This program seeks to help veterinary students become biomedical researchers. …The research project is the most important part of the Program. The goals of the research project are to have students address a significant experimental question, work independently and with other researchers, and produce and publish results. The Program matches students with a mentor (see list of faculty) according to research interests. The mentor outlines a focused project for the student to perform in their laboratory. Students become completely involved in their assigned laboratory – participating in laboratory meetings and social events, attending seminars with other members of their laboratory, and working on their research project at least 40 hours/week. The Program consists of workshops on research-related topics, a veterinary student journal club, sessions on research career development for veterinarians, an individual research project, and a veterinary student research symposium.”[ information ]
Summer Research Fellowships in Laboratory Animal Medicine
“The American Society of Laboratory Animal Practitioners with several funding partners is supporting 10-16 week Summer Fellowships in Laboratory Animal Medicine. Are you interested in clinical veterinary medicine AND research? Do you want to work with a variety of non-traditional species? Are you curious about cutting edge science that defines the human and animal biomedical fields? If you are, then LABORATORY ANIMAL MEDICINE is the career for you, we can help you explore, AND pay you to do so! Activities in these programs will include practice of clinical medicine in a research environment, diagnostic and research pathology of laboratory animals, surgery, animal colony management, working closely with laboratory animal veterinarians and residents, participation in journal clubs, seminars and management teams, regulatory oversight of animals used in research, laboratory animal medicine research and a number of other exciting endeavors.”
Year-Long Research Opportunities
NIH Predoctoral T32 programs:
NIH funds several Colleges of Veterinary Medicine and Colleges of Medicine to support year-long research training programs.
[ Listing with program descriptions ]
Howard Hughes Medical Institute: HHMI Medical Research Fellows Program
“The Medical Research Fellows Program enables students to be immersed in a high-impact, intensive research experience at a critical time in their professional education, before they make plans for residency or postdoctoral training. Unique aspects of the program include national and regional professional development activities, mentorship by physician-scientists, interaction with HHMI investigators, and integration into a community of like-minded peers. Each student selects and works with a mentor to develop a basic, translational, or applied biomedical research proposal. Both mentor selection and the research proposal are key components of the fellowship application; working with an HHMI scientist is encouraged but not required. Mentors can be at any academic or nonprofit research institution in the United States (excluding the National Institutes of Health and any other government agency) or at HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus in Ashburn, VA. There are special requirements for the Med Fellows Program at Janelia, including a prescreening application deadline in early November.”
[ information ]
NIH: Medical Research Scholars Program
“The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Medical Research Scholars Program is a comprehensive, year-long research enrichment program designed to attract the most creative, research-oriented medical, dental, and veterinary students to the intramural campus of the NIH in Bethesda, Md. Scholars engage in a mentored basic, clinical, or translational research project in an area that matches their personal interests and goals.”
[ information ]
Opportunities in Lab Animal Medicine
American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine (ACLAM): Outreach Committee
The Outreach Committee develops and implements outreach efforts to veterinary medical students and veterinarians outside the field of laboratory animal medicine in order to sustain the number of laboratory animal veterinarians in biomedical research and related endeavors.
[ information (Note: This page provides information & links for Travel Awards, Externships, & more.) ]
American Society of Laboratory Animal Practitioners
[ information (Links to short-term externships and summer programs) ]
Charles River Short Course on Laboratory Animal Science
“The Short Course spans four days and is designed to educate and update the biomedical research community on current trends and technological advances in the field of laboratory animal science. The course is broken into three tracks that include more than 60 topics presented by members of Charles River’s professional staff, as well as guest speakers.”
[ information]
Post-Graduate Research
Texas A&M University’s T32 Comparative Biomedical Research Training Program: Comparative Biomedical Research Training for Veterinarians
The Department of Veterinary Pathobiology (VTPB), College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences at Texas A&M University (together with faculty from the Colleges of Medicine, Agriculture & Life Sciences, Science and Liberal Arts and with the Interdisciplinary Programs in Genetics, Nutrition, Neuroscience, and Toxicology) now offers a T32 training program. “In addition to numerous research opportunities within the veterinary and medical colleges in College Station, residents have the option of performing research at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston. UTMB is home of the Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Center for Tropical Diseases. The Galveston National Laboratory is a state-of-the-art research facility that provides BSL-2, BSL-3, and BSL-4 laboratory space.”
NIH-funded Summer Programs for Veterinarians (T32)
NIH funds several Colleges of Veterinary Medicine and Colleges of Medicine to support post-DVM research training programs, most leading to a PhD.
[ Listing with program descriptions ] — Click on “California” under “Institutional Training Awards: Postdoctoral Program for Veterinarians (T32)” to see descriptions of the programs.
NIH Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Career Development Award (K08)
Overview of K-Awards
The primary purpose of the NIH Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Career Development Awards (K08) program is to prepare qualified individuals for careers that have a significant impact on the health-related research needs of the Nation. This program represents the continuation of a long-standing NIH program that provides support and “protected time” to individuals with a clinical doctoral degree for an intensive, supervised research career development experience in the fields of biomedical and behavioral research, including translational research. An award is for a period of 3 to 5 years and provides support for salary and research-related costs. The amount funded as salary for a career development award varies among the NIH participating Institutes and Centers (ICs).
[ information ]
National Cancer Institute: Comparative Molecular Pathology Research Training Program
“CCR NCI has developed a comprehensive NCI Comparative Molecular Pathology Research Training Program to enhance the integration and extrapolation of animal models to the study of human disease. … The Training Program encompasses three distinct yet interrelated approaches toward training that are designed to answer the specific needs of individuals at different stages of training and laboratory experience.”
[ information ]
NIH Loan Repayment Program (DVMs eligible)
“The NIH invites qualified health professionals who contractually agree to engage in NIH mission-relevant research for at least two years, and who agree to engage in such research for at least 20 hours per week based on a 40-hour work week, to apply for participation in the extramural LRP. Extramural LRPs provide for the repayment of educational loan debt of up to $35,000 annually for qualified health professionals performing research within the mission of NIH at domestic, non-profit, or government entities. … The objective of the LRP-PR program is to recruit and retain highly qualified health professionals as pediatric investigators. NIH defines pediatric research as ‘research that is directly related to diseases, disorders, and other conditions in children.'” “
NIH Extramural Loan Repayment Programs (LRP)
Extramural Pediatric Research Loan Repayment Program (LRP-PR): Program Specific Information
Residency Training Programs in Laboratory Animal Medicine
American Society of Laboratory Animal Practitioners (ASLAP)
[ list of training programs with contact information ]
American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine (ACLAM)
[ list of training programs with contact information ]
Please contact Dr. Dana Gaddy or Dr. Tracy Vemulapalli for additional information on any of these programs Please contact Eleni Vonda to correct/update any information on this page.
