IDRI’s Summer Intern Program
July 17, 2009
Though IDRI’s research focus is on global health, we also believe it’s important to extend our resources to helping those in our local community. One of the ways we do this is by offering internships to students who want to gain valuable experience working in the fields of biotechnology and not-for-profits. Our program is one effort in helping to grow the potential of the next generation of researchers and those who will support them in bringing scientific innovation from the lab to the people who need it most.
This summer, IDRI is hosting internships for 7 university students, coming from such fields as biology, neuroscience, bioengineering, and biochemistry, who want to gain valuable real-world experience working in scientific positions, while receiving academic credit. All students work side-by-side with knowledgeable researchers and staff to perform their jobs and to learn more about careers in biotechnology.
Crystal Dinh will be a senior at Whitman College this fall. During her internship at IDRI she will be working as a biomedical lab assistant, measuring the effect of adjuvants and formulations on cells.
Alex Keeney is a graduate of Bowdoin College in Maine with an honors degree in neuroscience and a minor in chemistry. She will be working in IDRI’s TB Drug Discovery program.
Zhouyang Lian is a junior at the University of Washington studying bioengineering. He will be working on vaccine formulation. Yang has worked in the UW Pathology Department as a lab assistant.
Emily Nickels is a biology major and Spanish minor at Whitman College. Emily will be helping in IDRI’s program to develop a new tuberculosis vaccine.
Adrienne Perry is a junior at Western Washington University majoring in biochemistry. This is her third summer working at IDRI. She is purifying an adjuvant as well as doing some protein purification of test antigens.
Ruben Raychaudhuri is going into his sophomore year at Whitman College and will be helping the TB Drug Discovery team remodel and set up a chemical library. He is working on chemical inventories, robotics and assay development. He has previously worked as an intern at Inbios International.
Nicole West is a biology major at Whitman College and will be working on Leishmania diagnostics. She will evaluate specific Leishmania proteins for their potential use as a diagnostic antigen for visceral leishmaniasis. Nicole has spent 4 summers working at OHSU in Portland, Oregon.