CMI Summer Interdisciplinary Research Initiative

The Comparative Medicine Institute invited NC State University undergraduate students in their freshman or sophomore year to apply for our competitive internships through our Summer Interdisciplinary Research Initiative (SIRI). This is a new program for the CMI and Dr. Joshua Pierce, faculty member of the Chemistry Department, College of Science, was named Program Leader.

These internship positions will provide a unique opportunity to develop valuable research skills by working with multiple CMI faculty on challenging interdisciplinary research projects. During the Fall of 2016 through a competitive process, nine undergraduate projects developed by CMI faculty were selected. These projects were advertised to the students through the CURiOuS website and 47 students responded! On November 29, 2016, students and faculty participated in a meet and greet event. After faculty presented their projects, students selected their top choices and faculty did short on-the-spot interviews. This was followed by in depth interview of the top candidates the following week. The nine students selected for these positions are currently enrolled in a research course and are being trained in the laboratories from January, 2017 – May, 2017. They will then receive a stipend during the summer for their research work from May 2017 – July 2017. At the end of the summer, the interns are required to participate in the NC State Undergraduate Research Symposium (August 1) as well as the annual CMI Members Meeting (August 29). The expectation is that the students will be closely mentored throughout the internship.