Interns gain hands-on experience in biomedicine, conduct hypothesis-driven research on a topic of their choosing, learn directly from physician-scientists, prepare for the medical school admissions process, and improve technical laboratory skills.

This internship program is an immersive opportunity perfect for pre-med undergraduate students interested in translational sciences and pursuing research in their medical career. Ideal candidates will be interested in pursuing MD, DO, MD/PhD, or biomedical-focused PhD degrees. Based on the medical interests specified in the application, interns will be placed in a lab under the guidance of a full-time research faculty member and their respective team. Lab placements offer wet lab (cell culture, mouse model, etc.) and/or dry lab (data analysis, coding, etc.) research opportunities. One of the main objectives of research at COM-P is to bring research breakthroughs from the lab bench to the patient bedside, so most full-time research faculty focus on precision medicine, novel therapeutics, potential medication treatments, and medical devices. 

Please note that this is not a clinically focused internship. The internship team is happy to connect interns to shadowing and clinical opportunities, but those engagements would be pursued outside of the formal internship. 

  • Mentor-mentee pairings based on each intern’s research interests and past experiences.
  • Producing a hypothesis-based research project throughout the summer and potentially work on a manuscript/abstract. 
  • College-wide symposium where interns present their findings in a 10-minute presentation at the end of the summer.
  • Lunch and Learn meetings twice a week with the internship cohort and a guest speaker. Guest speakers will include faculty mentors, other researchers from the college, MD/PhD students, the medical school admissions team, and more. These sessions are geared towards research topic exposure and professional development. 
  • Tours of labs and various learning centers on campus. 

The internship runs from early June and through early August each summer. Prior to beginning the program, interns are responsible for completing several lab safety trainings and submitting onboarding paperwork. The experience for each intern may look a bit different depending on their lab and proposed research project, but generally:

  • Week 1-3: Interns familiarize themselves with their lab, mentor, and lab team. They often read manuscripts, shadow postdocs/research assistants, and observe lab meetings. Interns should gain context around the medial problem that their lab focuses on and begin to brainstorm their research project. 
  • Week 4-5: Interns finalize their hypothesis and determine methods/materials to investigate the hypothesis. 
  • Week 6-7: Interns conduct experiments and collect data. 
  • Week 8-9: Interns analyze data and draw conclusions about their hypothesis. 
  • Week 10: Interns wrap up their research and present their findings at the symposium on the last day of the program. 
  • Report to the College of Medicine in-person Monday-Friday for the duration of the program. Interns must communicate with their mentors and the internship coordinator if any conflicts arise. 
  • Embody professionalism, adaptability, intellectual curiosity, good communication, and willingness to collaborate.
  • Engage with guest speakers at the Lunch and Learn meetings. 
  • Participate in supplemental professional development opportunities if time allows. 
  • Present research findings from the summer at the final symposium. Interns may also be required to write a brief manuscript or abstract detailing their research. 

Each intern will determine their schedule by working with their mentor and lab team. Most interns start between 8am-10am and work a typical 8-hour day. Exact timing may vary depending on the stage of research and any ongoing experiments. Interns are expected to prioritize the Lunch and Learn meetings, which are typically held from 12-1pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. 

Mentors and lab members are expected to provide guidance and support for their intern’s research process. They serve as subject matter experts and seasoned investigators that will help provide structure throughout the internship. They are also expected to discuss education/career paths with their interns. 

Lab experience is not required, but it is important that selected interns have completed college-level science courses, particularly biology and chemistry. 

No, this program requires interns to be current undergraduate students or recent graduates in a gap year.

The letter of recommendation should be completed by a professor/mentor that can speak to the applicant’s abilities as a researcher and problem-solver. 

No, this program does not provide housing and there is no student housing on this campus. Please ensure you have a local housing option (housing in Phoenix or the surrounding cities) if you choose to apply. 

No. If interns choose to park in the parking garage, they are responsible for the cost. Free street parking is available around campus. 

Interns are paid a stipend of $4,000 throughout the summer.

No, interns must be present for the entire duration of the internship unless there are unforeseen circumstances. 

  • Investigating Age-Related Changes in ATF6 in Cardiac Myocytes (Ashwin, Glembotski lab, 2025)
  • Effect of Insulin on Levels of Glycerol Kinase in Mouse Primary Hepatocytes (Declan, Wondisford lab, 2025)
  • Can Polygenic Risk Scores Predict Treatment Resistance in Schizophrenia (Eliu, Fanous lab, 2025)
  • A Comparison of Lung Injury on Neonatal Mice Lungs after Allogenic or Autologous Bone Marrow Transplant (Hana, Kalin lab, 2025)
  • Examining the Role of Matrix Metalloproteinase-8 (MMP-8) in Ischemic Stroke (Mathew, Reed lab, 2025)
  • Predicting Violence Using a Polyphenic Risk Score (Robert, Niculescu lab, 2025)
  • Exploring the Urine metabolome in endometriosis and its potential for noninvasive diagnosis (Rachel, Herbst-Kralovetz lab, 2025)
  • T Cell Memory Responses to Novel Peptides in Coccidioidomycosis (Farhan, Knox lab, 2024)
  • The Role of Paxillin and Actin Filaments in Liver Fibrosis (Jimmy, Marlowe lab, 2024)
  • The Role of MicroRNA-21 in Coronary Microvascular Dysfunction (Tara, Yin lab, 2025)
  • Aging with Traumatic Brain Injury: Profiles for Neuropathology in Behaviorally Relevant Thalamocortical Circuitry of Male and Female Rats (Avantika, Thomas lab, 2023).