Through its internship program, Texas Biomed is committed to elevating student experiences in science
SAN ANTONIO (July 30, 2024) – Texas Biomed’s annual summer internship program sees undergraduate and graduate students work alongside internationally recognized researchers. Acknowledging the need for hands-on research experience, the Institute fully immerses young scholars with the latest skills, tools and technologies fueling bioscience advancements.
Support from community partners has enabled the Institute to present underrepresented and under-resourced groups with such STEM opportunities. This year, the program has received generous support from South Texas grocer, H-E-B, to expand and sustain its goals of feeding the STEM pipeline early. Texas Biomed can now offer 20 paid internships each summer.
The 2024 Texas Biomed intern class represents national colleges and universities: UTSA, Our Lady of the Lake, Trinity University, Southern Methodist University, Texas A&M, UT Austin, University of Connecticut, Texas State, Colorado State, Kansas State and many more.
For eight weeks, interns are taught the skills necessary for a life in science. This includes navigating academic scientific research, clinical veterinary care and institute administration functions such as security operations and information technology.
Offering this program underscores Texas Biomed’s dedication to cultivate students into researchers as they investigate their futures. Crystal Bolden-Rush, Ph.D., Program Coordinator and Director of Education Research, seeks to provide each participant “hands-on experience that goes beyond the bench, allowing the student to develop as a critical thinker and maturing professional. My aim is that when the interns come out of the other end of the summer, they’ve had a transformational learning experience.”
The internship program has three tracks: the Summer Scholars Program, Southwest National Primate Research Center internships (SNPRC) and Summer Administration internships. Each track places students in laboratories or departments directly related to their career interests.
Summer Scholar Program interns have the opportunity to join a variety of research labs on campus. They learn experiment procedures, collect data, develop lab skills and assist supervisors with essential duties.
One Summer Scholar intern – Clara Moriarty, undergraduate at Trinity University in San Antonio – shared that the program is “showing me all the different opportunities, all the different positions and things that go into research. I’m learning how to run experiments by myself, how to write a protocol, watching people apply for grants – I get first-hand experience.”
SNPRC Intern
Across campus, SNPRC interns get one-of-a-kind experience working with nonhuman primates. Interns learn about primate social behaviors and best practices in veterinary care.
“The mental care of these animals can influence many parts of an animals’ well-being, including its physical health,” says Rebecca Davis, a senior at Texas A&M Corpus Christi who is interning with SNPRC’s behavior team. “I’ve learned just how important non-clinical aspects such as the pairing of animals and their mental wellbeing are in contributing to overall health.”
Interns working in Administration departments learn essential functions of running an independent nonprofit organization while supporting scientific research. The goal of the Administration track – including the Human Resources, Communications and Marketing, Information Technology and Security departments – is to show students the application of their future careers to STEM fields.
“We’re hoping to get you close enough to the science so that you can see not only what it feels like to be in your job, but what it feels like to be in your job in STEM,” says Dr. Bolden-Rush.
Security Intern
The Texas Biomed Security intern Salvador Torres, undergraduate at UT San Antonio, says, “I was able to learn how to handle myself in certain emergencies and situations. There is a ton of experience on the Security team, and being told, especially at a young age, how to handle a situation really helps prepare me for the future.”
Texas Biomed has offered internships since 2018, starting out with the Summer Scholar and SNPRC internship tracks. In 2023, Dr. Bolden-Rush codified the Administration track to broaden exploration of STEM-related occupations.
Now, all interns can expect to learn and apply critical thinking whether they are in research laboratories, the veterinary clinic or office settings. All participants attend career panels, networking events and resume workshops, contributing to their professional development. Interns also build oral communication skills by presenting their research at the conclusion of the internship.
“I want people to understand that this experience is going to be very unique, immersive and interactive,” says Dr. Bolden-Rush. “Interns will begin to develop their professional identity and come away with skills they can tap into moving forward.”
Story By Aaron Cruz
Communications and Marketing Intern