The Brown Cancer Center at the University of Louisville (UofL) is pleased to announce availability of the High School Summer Research Internship Program (HSSRIP) for 2023.  The HSSRIP is open to high school sophomores, juniors and seniors in Louisville and the Jefferson County Metro area who will be 16 years old by June 1, 2023.  This year the program will accept up-to fifteen high school students for an 8-week research internship (Monday, June 12 through Friday, August 4). 

The goal of this summer program is to afford students an opportunity to obtain a hands-on wet-lab research experience through working with Brown Cancer Center (BCC) faculty in their research laboratories.  In order for the interns to be immersed in the research culture, students are expected to commit a minimum of 16 hours per week to working in the research lab for the entire 8-week period of the program.

A seminar series – organized specifically for this group – will be held at noon each Tuesday during the program.  Speakers, primarily research faculty at the UofL, will discuss their current cutting-edge research projects or, in some cases, the hottest topics in cancer research today.  Interns also are welcome to attend the regular departmental, programmatic and BCC seminar series.

At the end of the 8-week period, interns will prepare posters of their research results for presentation at a special poster session organized for the last Friday of the summer research programs at UofL for college and high school students, and at Research!Louisville – the annual celebration of research at the UofL [in October].  Most of the previous interns have gone on to local, state and national science fairs, a number have presented their work at national scientific meetings, and others are co-authors with their mentors on scientific publications resulting from their work.

This year we anticipate that stipends for accepted interns who live in Jefferson County will be provided by the SummerWorks program (part of KentuckianaWorks).  There will be up to five stipends available for those interns selected who reside outside of Jefferson County.  Unless other funds become available, any additional interns accepted to the program will not receive a stipend.  All other expenses will be funded by the Brown Cancer Center, including modest funds for intern research supplies, seminar lunches and personalized lab coats. 

If you are a current high school student who is interested in science and in participating in this program, and you will be 16 years old by June 1, 2023, we invite you to complete an application packet, consisting of:

(1) application form and essay (HSSRIP23ap), (2) consent form (HSSRIP23consent), and (3) letter of recommendation from your primary science teacher or, as appropriate, your counselor (the letter may be included in the packet or sent separately by the teacher).

Send your application materials to arrive by Monday, March 27, to Diane Konzen, BCC Summer Research Program Director; 505 South Hancock Street, #315; Louisville, KY 40202.

Please direct any questions you may have to Ms. Konzen at diane.konzen@louisville.edu.

Decisions of the HSSRIP Selection Committee will be announced by April 19.