Internship Program Support
Deadline: January 9
Consistent with the SOT goal of enhancing recruitment of students into toxicology, the Faculty United for Toxicology Undergraduate Recruitment and Education (FUTURE) Committee has funding for undergraduate intern hosts to enable additional undergraduate summer internships in toxicology (assuming at least a 50% matching from the host institution or other funding sources). The intent of this program is to increase opportunities for summer research in toxicology by capitalizing on existing programs. Preference will be given to institutions demonstrating success in current summer internship programs and those recruiting from student groups typically underrepresented in the sciences. Institutions will use their stated methods to select the SOT-supported interns but are encouraged to carefully consider the applications from students accepted for the SOT Undergraduate Diversity Program. SOT requires that students who receive SOT funding will do research related to toxicology or risk assessment under the mentorship of an SOT member.
Important elements contributing to a successful application:
- Demonstration of success with established summer research programs, or evidence that a quality program will be initiated that include elements documented to be important in a successful program (indicated in the bullets below).
- Design of a recruitment plan which will reach students from groups typically underrepresented in the sciences.
Plan for identifying and recruiting undergraduate interns who have expressed strong interest in pursuing research in the field of toxicology and demonstrate potential to be successful in graduate school. The SOT intern is expected to be seriously considering post-graduate training in a field related to toxicology.
- Explanation of methods of providing excellent training and strong mentorship.
- Commitment that all mentors of SOT-supported students will be SOT Full or Associate members or will have applied for SOT membership by January 2023 and received membership by the time funds are distributed. (Required)
- Commitment to providing a research project in toxicology or risk assessment. (Required)
- Approaches to developing a well-rounded experience for the student, including peer group and other activities that will enhance the intern experience, such as seminar participation, journal clubs, preparation of students to make presentations and design posters, and an opportunity to present the research data obtained during the internship; nonacademic experiences such as community-based outreach programs, and tours at industry sites or government agencies are considered enhancement of the overall experience.
- Explanation of the funds requested. The goal is for SOT to maximize support for research students; SOT will not pay indirect costs (overhead).
- We understand that internship experiences may require modification after the application is submitted or the award acceptance returned. However, the intern host will inform SOT of any changes to the program or the program participants at the time plans change.
- Virtual/remote internships designed to provide interns a well-rounded research experience will be considered.
- Explanation of methods/metrics for participant and host assessment of program success and reporting; these data will be expected in the final report to SOT.
Hosts and research mentors will be expected to participate in a workshop in April/May 2023 to network and share ideas for enhancing the experiences of SOT-funded students.
It is expected that SOT-supported interns will submit an abstract for the next SOT meeting and apply for any SOT travel awards for which they are eligible if they are able to collect sufficient data during the internship.
Award Group: SOT
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