Summer Scholars is a Harvard Medical School summer internship program for motivated undergraduates with a strong interest in pursuing graduate studies focused on molecular mechanisms in biology. The program offers students the opportunity to gain experience in hands-on laboratory research; to interact with faculty, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and other summer interns; to attend weekly luncheon/seminar presentations by department members on specific research projects and cutting-edge research tools; and to improve the presentation, writing, and communication skills.

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The program is co-directed by Profs. Piotr Sliz, Sun Hur and Stephen Buratowski, with further support from Karina Gonzalez Herrera as a special program advisor and Yolima Lantigua as the departmental coordinator.

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Laboratories participating in the BCMP summer internship program offer a broad range of basic and disease-oriented research topics using the analytical tools of biochemistry, molecular genetics, biophysics, chemical biology, and structural biology. Research interests of the faculty include:

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• Use of chemical biology to study the human microbiome (Sloan Devin)
• The control of all stages of gene expression; the mechanisms of DNA replication, recombination, and repair (Steve Buratowski, Phil Cole, Karen Adelman, Johannes Walter, Kevin Struhl Laboratories);
• The structure and function of proteins, protein-RNA complexes, and membrane transporters using crystallography, cryoEM, and NMR (Eric Fischer, Mike Eck, Steven Backlow, Andrew Kruse, Hao Wu, Tim Springer, and Haribabu Arthanari) and single-molecule methods (Joe Loparo, Johannes Walter);
• Molecular approaches to gene regulation and protein function during herpesvirus replication and latency (Don Coen);
• The biosynthesis of membrane lipids, carbohydrates, and proteins; principles of antibiotic and natural product synthesis (Jon Clardy)
• Computational approaches in structural biology (Python programming, grid computing, drug discovery and molecular dynamics) - Sliz Laboratory.
• Genomics - The Cohort Study project at Boston Children's Hospital has multiple openings for students that are interested in working with investigators on sequencing and data analysis projects in a variety of disease areas including neurological, endocrine, psychiatric, gastric, and more.

• We welcome applications from students currently enrolled in an undergraduate program and who are eligible to work in the U.S.
• Outstanding students from foreign institutions can apply with prior approval. Please contact our coordinators with a copy of your resume.
  Please note that only the selected applicants will receive a notice (usually within 2-8 weeks).
• Minimum Requirement. Prospective internship students must meet the following requirements:
• Expect to receive a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university in the U.S. or its equivalent from a foreign institution.
• Have earned at least a 3.6 grade-point-average (on a 4 point scale).
• Be proficient in English.
• For laboratory internships: completed at least one laboratory course in biochemistry/molecular biology, or at least one research project.
• For computational internships: proficiency in Python and working knowledge of a UNIX-like operating system.