Student Programs
One of Mississippi INBRE’s major efforts to engage talented researchers and students in biomedical research projects is accomplished through the student pipeline.
Mississippi INBRE has two summer programs: Research Scholars (founded in 2004) and Health Scholars (founded in 2022). These programs are designed to give students hands-on experience in the field of biomedical research and public health.
There are also academic-year research opportunities available at our partner undergraduate institutions. To learn more, email us at msinbre@usm.edu.
Research Scholars
The Mississippi INBRE Research Scholars program is a ten-week summer research internship for Mississippi undergraduate students. Research Scholars engage in lab-based biomedical research. Selected students participate in a two-day orientation in Jackson, Mississippi. Following orientation, students complete a ten-week internship in their mentor’s laboratory where they develop an abstract to present as a research poster at state, regional, and/or national conferences.
Research Scholars
The Mississippi INBRE Research Scholars program is a ten-week summer research internship for Mississippi undergraduate students. Research Scholars engage in lab-based biomedical research. Selected students participate in a two-day orientation in Jackson, Mississippi. Following orientation, students complete a ten-week internship in their mentor’s laboratory where they develop an abstract to present as a research poster at state, regional, and/or national conferences.
Health Scholars
The Mississippi INBRE Health Scholars program is a ten-week summer internship for Mississippi undergraduate students. Health Scholars engage in public health-focused research. The program begins with a two-day orientation in Jackson, Mississippi. After orientation, students participate in a ten-week mentored internship. At the conclusion of the program, Health Scholars prepare an abstract and research poster to present at state, regional and/or national conferences.
Health Scholars
The Mississippi INBRE Health Scholars program is a ten-week summer internship for Mississippi undergraduate students. Health Scholars engage in public health-focused research. The program begins with a two-day orientation in Jackson, Mississippi. After orientation, students participate in a ten-week mentored internship. At the conclusion of the program, Health Scholars prepare an abstract and research poster to present at state, regional and/or national conferences.
FAQs
Applications will be reviewed at the beginning of February, and notifications will be sent out in early March. All applicants, regardless of award status, will be notified via email. Students who are awarded the internship will be required to complete an email acceptance form and a W-9 form that is to be signed and returned to the Mississippi INBRE office by the deadline stated in the email.
Once you click submit on the application, your confirmation will be shown at the top of the webpage. If your application lacks a key element, you will be informed and asked to submit the missing items by the deadline. Please note: email is the primary form of communication from our office. Please be sure to enter you email information correctly on your application.
The personal narrative should include information about the student applying, academic and career goals, how participating in the Research Scholars Program will help the student’s career goals, past research experience, and any other information that would be useful during the selection process. The narrative should be no more than 1 ½ pages. For more information about the narrative, please email Jordan.Laster@usm.edu.
In many research labs, mentors utilize their graduate students to train new students (both undergraduate and graduate) in research. Working with a graduate student should in no way impede your project and is a very common practice.
Although very rare, occasionally a student and their mentor have personality conflicts that make a productive relationship difficult. Even if this should happen to you, you should respectfully talk to your mentor to try to solve the problem. In nearly every case, the problem is a lack of communication. This is also an opportunity to develop your interpersonal skills, thus we encourage students to stick out the summer unless there are extreme circumstances. Feel free to contact the Mississippi INBRE staff if you need any assistance.
The funds to attend required meetings are part of your internship award. Mississippi INBRE will not be of further financial assistance for attendance of these meetings. Usually $250 to $300 is a sufficient amount to set aside to attend required meetings, but may vary depending on your particular travel and lodging arrangements.
This award is subject to income tax regulations. You will receive a 1099 tax form early the following year for reporting purposes.
Any awards for projects less than 9 weeks will be pro-rated, or money will be deducted based on the amount of time you missed of your internship.