SUMMER INTERNSHIPS 2017

It might be winter break, but that doesn't mean you're out of the woods yet! If you're planning to attend graduate school or medical/dental/optometry school, one of the best ways to spend your summers during college is doing research. Most great internships have early deadlines, which means it's time to start thinking about summer plans if you haven't already.

There are so many funded summer research internships out there – you can spend the summer at another university in the U.S. or even travel to Japan!

All of the internships listed below are funded; that is, some or all of your travel expenses will be covered and you will be paid a stipend. Housing is often included as well.

Application deadlines are quickly approaching and these internships can be highly competitive. Look into these opportunities as soon as you can!

The Amgen Scholars Program has host institutions in the U.S., Europe, and Japan. Unfortunately, U.S. students are not eligible to apply to European host institutions. Be sure to check out the website (link above) for more information.

U.S. Host Institutions (deadline to apply: February 1, 2017)

            California Institute of Technology* [June 19-August 25]

                        *Application deadline: February 15, 2017

            Columbia University/Barnard College [May 30-August 4]

            Harvard University [June 5-August 11]

            Massachusetts Institute of Technology [June 12-Aug 10]

            National Institutes of Health (NIH) [June 5-Aug 11]

            Stanford University [June 24-Aug 26]

University of California, Berkeley [May 29-Aug 4]

University of California, Los Angeles [June 26-Sept 1]

University of California, San Francisco [May 30-Aug 2]

Washington University in St. Louis [May 30-Aug 5]

Japan Host Institutions (deadline to apply: February 1, 2017)

            Kyoto University [June 30-August 24]

            The University of Tokyo [June 13-August 10]

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) offers a Summer Internship Program in Biomedical Research. Mentors select their own interns and provide funding – it may be advisable to contact mentors you’re interested in to let them know your application is in the system. The deadline to apply is March 1, 2017.

Perhaps the most popular summer research internships are National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates (NSF REU) programs. Like NIH and Amgen, these programs are available for a number of fields other than neuroscience, including physics, biology, and chemistry.

Several schools also have their own summer research programs as well. This is only a partial list – be sure to explore other options as well.

            Albert Einstein College of Medicine

                        Application deadline: February 1, 2017 at 11:45 PM

                        Program dates: June 5-July 27

            Baylor College of Medicine

                        Application deadline: January 10, 2017

                        Program dates: May 29-July 28

                        Note: Transcripts and letters of recommendation due February 10, 2017

Emory University

            2017 information currently unavailable

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

            Application deadline: January 30, 2017

            Program dates: June 4-August 12

New York University

            Application deadline: March 15, 2017

Program dates: May 29-August 4

            Note: They will begin reviewing applications on February 15, 2017

Oregon Health & Science University

            Application deadline: March 1, 2017

Princeton University

            Application deadline: February 1, 2017

            Program dates: June 12-August 11

Rockefeller University

            Application deadline: February 1, 2017

            Program dates: June 5-August 11

Rutgers University

            Application deadline: February 17, 2017

            Program dates: Late May-early August

University of Alabama at Birmingham

            Application deadline: February 2, 2017

            Program dates: June 5-August 11

University of California, Los Angeles

            Application deadline: March 31, 2017

            Program dates: June 25-August 19 (8 week option)

                                        June 25-September 1 (10 week option)

University of Iowa

            Application deadline: January 31, 2017

            Program dates: May 23-July 28

University of Pennsylvania

            Application deadline: February 1, 2017

            Program dates: June 5-August 11

University of Vermont

            Application deadline: January 3, 2017

            Program dates: May 30-August 4

           

Vanderbilt University

            2017 information currently unavailable

            Washington University in St. Louis

                        Application deadline: February 1, 2017

                        Program dates: May 30-August 5

Some private and government-funded laboratories also offer undergraduate research opportunities.

            Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

                        Application deadline: January 15, 2017

                        Program dates: June 12-August 12

            U.S. Department of Energy Laboratories

                        Application deadline: January 13, 2017

                        Program Dates: May-August, 10 weeks

                        Note: Most are not neuroscience-oriented

                        Ames Laboratory – Ames, IA

                        Argonne National Laboratory – Argonne, IL

                        Brookhaven National Laboratory – Upton, NY

                        Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory – Batavia, IL

                        General Atomics / DIII-D Facility – San Diego, CA

                        Idaho National Laboratory – Idaho Falls, ID

                        Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory – Livermore, CA

                        Los Alamos National Laboratory – Los Alamos, NM

                        National Renewable Energy Laboratory – Golden, CO

                        Oak Ridge National Laboratory – Oak Ridge, TN

                        Pacific Northwest National Laboratory – Richland, WA

                        Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory – Princeton, NJ

                        Sandia National Laboratories – Livermore, CA

                        Savannah River National Laboratory – Alken, SC

                        SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory – Menlo Park, CA

                        Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility – Newport News, VA

                        DOE Headquarters – Naval Reactors Internship – Washington, DC

If you come across any other great opportunities, found this information helpful, or decide to apply to any of these internships (especially if you get in!), let us know by email at uabneuroblog@gmail.com!

Happy holidays, and of course, happy application period!

HOW NEUROSCIENTISTS SURVIVE THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE

written by Jarrod Hicks

Given that today is Halloween, there's a good chance you may come across a zombie or two...

Of course, it’s also only a matter of time before the zombie apocalypse. So, I thought I would share some tips for surviving the zombie apocalypse.

1) TALKING & REASONING WITH ZOMBIES IS USELESS 
Broca’s Area and Wernicke’s Area are two brain regions that are involved in speech production and speech comprehension. Damage to either of these areas can result in language deficits known as aphasia.

   

It turns out that zombie brains actually have quite a bit of atrophy to both of these regions, explaining their inability to communicate. So, THINK AGAIN BEFORE TRYING TO PLEAD WITH A ZOMBIE.


2) RUN FASTER THAN YOUR FRIENDS 
The cerebellum is a brain region involved in motor coordination and balance. Damage to the cerebellum can result in movement disorders broadly known as ataxia. Most zombies lack the entire cerebellum, meaning they have slow, uncoordinated movements. However, we’ve recently seen the emergence of a new type of zombie that is fast-moving and more coordinated. These zombies have a nearly intact cerebellum with only minor atrophy. Regardless of which type of zombie you encounter, RUN FAST AND CLIMB!

Also remember, you don’t really have to outrun zombies; you just have to outrun your friends.

3) HIDE EARLY & OFTEN 
Lesions to a brain region called the hippocampus, can result in anterograde amnesia, the inability to form new memories.

Like famous patients Henry Molaison and Clive Wearing, zombies too have damage to the hippocampus and WILL FORGET ABOUT YOU IF YOU HIDE FOR LONG ENOUGH.

4) DISTRACTION DISTRACTION DISTRACTION 
A portion of the parietal lobe, shown in green below, is part of the dorsal stream of visual processing. This pathway, often called the “where” pathway, is involved in processing the spatial location of objects. Zombies are easily distracted because they have bilateral damage to the parietal lobe.

In humans, damage to the posterior parietal lobe can result in Balint’s Syndrome.

Just make sure to CREATE A DISTRACTION AND GET AWAY.

Use these tips and you can survive the zombie apocalypse like a neuroscientist. You’re welcome. 

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, zombies are not real... This post was inspired by Do Zombies Dream of Undead Sheep?: A Neuroscientific View of the Zombie Brain by Timothy Verstynen and Bradley Voytek. Additionally, content was drawn from their blogs (here and here). All images, gifs, and videos were taken from the Internet and do not belong to me or the creators of this blog.