The Biomedical Engineering Summer Internship Program (BESIP) summer program is hosted by the BETA Center. Housed within NIBIB, the BETA Center is an NIH-wide resource that is comprised of researchers with specialized expertise in a broad array of bioengineering research areas. The BETA Center community brings researchers together with engineering and imaging expertise including biomedical imaging, biosensing, biomechanics, engineered/synthetic biology, nano/biomaterials, artificial intelligence, modeling, computation, and informatics. Central to BETA’s mission is to expand diversity, equity, and inclusion within NIH’s training programs.

Students interested in biomedical engineering research will come to the NIH campus from June 3, 2024 to August 9, 2024 for an intensive in-person research experience. The internship allows students to participate in cutting-edge biomedical research projects under the mentorship of world-class scientists and engineers in NIH laboratories in Bethesda, MD.

To meet our goals of 1) providing cutting edge research opportunities to biomedical engineering majors and 2) broadening and diversifying the trainee workforce in biomedical imaging and bioengineering, the BESIP program contains two tracks: BESIP-BME and BESIP-STEM.

BESIP-STEM: Applicants are NOT majoring in engineering, physical science, or computer science but are interested in pursuing biomedical engineering in graduate school or as a career. This could include applicants from other science majors such as biology, biochemistry, mathematics, chemistry, and other related biomedical disciplines.  Alternatively, BESIP-STEM applicants may be majoring in engineering, physical science, and computer science but have not had a previous in-person biomedical engineering research experience.

• Applicants must be at least 18 years old by 6/15/2024.
• Applicants must be United States citizens or permanent residents.
• Applicants must have an average GPA of 3.0 or greater.
• We welcome applicants from diverse backgrounds and strongly encourage applications of individuals: from racial and ethnic groups that have been underrepresented in biomedical research and healthcare fields, with disabilities, who are/were Pell Grant-eligible in college, who are/were enrolled in Tribal Colleges and Universities, community colleges, Hispanic-serving institutions, or Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), who identify as LGBTQ+, disadvantaged by life circumstances that have negatively impacted their educational opportunities.
• For the ten week internship, this corresponds to approximately $6800 in total.  A student who has completed three years of undergraduate coursework would receive a 10-week total of approximately $7500.
• BESIP-STEM: Applicants are NOT majoring in engineering, physical science, or computer science but are interested in pursuing biomedical engineering in graduate school or as a career. This could include applicants from other science majors such as biology, biochemistry, mathematics, chemistry, and other related biomedical disciplines.  Alternatively, BESIP-STEM applicants may be majoring in engineering, physical science, and computer science but have not had a previous in-person biomedical engineering research experience.