During the summer months MaineHealth Institute for Research (MHIR) provides undergraduates with an opportunity to receive an educational experience in biomedical science through the MHIR Summer Student Research Program.

Research at MHIR covers a broad area in biomedical science including vascular biology, stem cell biology, developmental biology, neurobiology, hematology, nephrology, tumor biology, and molecular genetics as well as outcomes research, vector-borne diseases, and clinical research.

The Summer Student program is ten weeks in duration, and students work 40 hours per week. Students are responsible for their own transportation and housing.

For information about the 2022 Summer Student Research Program, including program eligibility and program dates, please revisit this page in December 2021.

Please contact us with any questions.

MaineHealth Summer Research Internship Program has a two part application process.

  1. You must go online and complete the Maine Medical Center Employment Application 
  2. You must complete the supplemental MaineHealth Summer Research Internship Program Application

Only applicants who complete both parts of the application will be considered. The applications will be live January 10, 2022 for the 2022 Summer Program.

The MMC Employment application asks for information about your past employment and education history- you may upload a resume and it will pre-populate much of that application for you. The MMC Employment application will ask you to provide the names and contact information for three references. Your references may be contacted via email or phone but formal recommendation letters are not required to be submitted as part of the MMC or MHIR applications.

The application deadline for the Summer Student Program is February 22, 2022. Selection will begin in February, and all students will be notified no later than April 30. Students being considered for positions may be contacted for interviews which may be conducted via telephone or virtually.

Monday, January 10               Application Available Online

Tuesday, February 22            Application Deadline

No later than April 30           Notification of Admission

May 1 – May 30                        Intern Employment Onboarding

Monday, June 6                       Program Orientation

Thursday, August 11              MaineHealth Research Intern Symposium

Friday, August 12                    Last day of Summer Program

Stipend $6,800 (paid at hourly rate, biweekly)
 
Duration 10 weeks:  June 6, 2022 – August 12, 2022
 
Work Hours Although there is some variation depending on research location and where you are in your research project, generally interns work from 9:00 am – 5:30 pm Monday through Friday
Enrichment Activities
  • Weekly research lectures delivered by MaineHealth faculty and clinicians
  • Weekly professional development and networking activities led by MaineHealth leaders
  • Social and networking events led by Maine Career Catalyst
Eligibility Requirements
  • Graduating high school senior through graduating college senior, postbac, or community college student
  • 3.0+ GPA
  • Eligible to be employed in the US.
    Note: You don’t have to be a U.S. citizen to participate. However, MHIR does not have the ability to sponsor a visa for an individual coming to do research as an undergraduate, so you would need to identify a visa sponsor. You can find out more here: https://j1visa.state.gov/
  • Cannot have participated in the MaineHealth Summer Research Internship in prior years

2021 Application and Admissions Information

Due to COVID, the 2020 program was postponed to summer 2021, and 2020 accepted students were able to defer participation to 2021. Data below represent 2020 application numbers, and 2021 participant information.

Applications: 287
Selected Participants: 15

Class of 2021

The MaineHealth Summer Research Internship Program welcomes applications from students who meet eligibility requirements for the program. The class data below represents a snapshot of our program participants but does not represent any particular preferred population. Students are selected based on a range of factors, including research experience, academic background, and genuine engagement and interest in research, as evidenced by their submitted application materials.

Rising junior- 5
Rising senior- 4
Graduating senior/postbac- 6

Colleges represented: University of Southern Maine, Colby College, Macalester College, University of Maine, Rochester Institute of Technology, University of Virginia, George Washington University

2021 Research Project Titles:

  • Blood Meal Analysis and Infection Rates of I. Scapularis Nymphs Collected From Wells, Maine
  • Substance use associations to symptoms in youth diagnosed with or at risk for psychotic disorders
  • Bone Loss Preceding Dementia and the Role of Alpha-Synuclein
  • Plasma Levels of Soluble ErbB2 in Diabetic vs Non-Diabetic Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Patients
  • The Role of Caveolin and Notch 2 Receptor during Myotube Formation
  • The change of nSMase activity with the exposure to different saturated and unsaturated lipids
  • Exploring sympathetic nervous system synchrony among Physician and Patient in Tele-Palliative Care consults
  • CTHRC1, the protein involved in tissue repair and suppression of adipogenesis enhances the expression of pyruvate kinase M2 and survivin
  • Inhibitors of Fatty Acid Binding Proteins (FABPs) Offer Promising Advancement for Multiple Myeloma Treatment
  • Scratch Assays of Pac1 Cells to Characterize the Role of CTHRC1 in Cell Migration
  • Loss of the Beta 1 Adrenergic Receptor in Osteoclasts Alters Gene Expression in Murine Bone
  • The Effect of GRP75 Inhibition on Proliferation of Pre-Adipocytes
  • Validating a Novel Rab27a Conditional Null Mouse Model
  • Impact of a Multimodal Dermoscopy Training Program on Biopsy Ratios and Melanoma Stage: Preliminary Data Analysis
  • Evaluation of Clinical and Molecular Phenotypes: Urban vs. Rural Cardiac Arrest in Maine