A new neuroscience internship from Mason and Inova Fairfax Hospital this spring helped Elizabeth Benkert decide whether to pursue research or become a physician.
“The internship definitely helped me figure it out,” says the neuroscience undergraduate, who will earn her bachelor’s degree in spring 2013. She plans to focus on research and earn a PhD.
Sameer Yousuf graduated last year with a BS in neuroscience and also wavered between pursuing strict research or a medical degree before landing a spot in the Inova Biomedical Internship Program in Neuroscience. Medical school now is his target. “I would like to become a physician-scientist,” he says. “I love the work.”
The neuroscience internship experience helped Sameer Yousuf, BS Neuroscience ’11, choose between research and a medical career. He’s shown above right with Robert Lipsky, director of translational research at Inova Fairfax Hospital and an affiliate professor at Mason’s Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study. Photo by Evan Cantwell
The internship is the brainchild of two researchers who work in Inova’s Department of Neuroscience. Beverly Walters, an MD, is Inova’s director of clinical research, and Robert Lipsky, a PhD, is Inova’s director of translational research. Both are professors of neuroscience at Virginia Commonwealth University – Inova Campus and affiliate professors of molecular neuroscience at Mason’s Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study.
The internship program was so successful that all 11 interns returned to work this summer without pay or credit because they wanted to finish the research, Walters says. “They were great,” Walters says. “They’re the reason we’ve had such a successful program.”
Applications for the next internship program will be available on Aug. 27, 2012, at biology.gmu.edu and are due on Sept. 28, 2012.
“One of the most important things for students to gain is a hands-on experience…to solve real world problems,” says Amy VanMeter, director of Mason’s Aspiring Scientists Summer Internship Program and research specialist in the Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine. “We want them to move beyond memorizing facts and actively apply their knowledge to answer critical questions in science and medicine.”
Beverly Walters, Inova director of clinical research and affiliate professor at Mason’s Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study, supervises Mason student Elizabeth Benkert in the Mason-Inova neuroscience internship program. Photo by Evan Cantwell
Students learn how to write a research protocol, meet regulatory compliance requirements, review literature, detail statistics, develop an abstract and create a detailed poster. Walters and Lipsky provide overall supervision of the students, while each student has a faculty mentor guiding each project.
It’s a fast pace. “They start out knowing absolutely zero to being an expert presenting in a knowledgeable manner,” Walters says. “In the course of a few weeks they go from zero to 60.”
Interns must present and defend their research. “It’s more than just publishing a paper but also presenting it to a lay and scientific audience,” Lipsky says. “I think the approach is very innovative for an internship because scientists need to communicate their work to a wide audience.”
Publishing research papers makes students more competitive in a tough job market, Lipsky says. “The earlier you can do this, the better,” he says. “I think that’s the greatest thing we can offer in this program.”
The internship also gives students the chance to change how patients are treated and diagnosed, Walters says.
Benkert’s research focused on stroke patients and the efficacy of new treatment devices. She studied how patients fared after receiving treatment. One treatment inserts micro-catheters into the femoral artery to pull blockages out like a corkscrew does with a cork.
There’s a three-hour window of treatment. “Treatment should happen as soon as possible after their stroke,” Benkert says.
Yousuf analyzed blood samples from patients with traumatic brain injuries. He is searching for a diagnostic biomarker that appears in the blood as a result of a brain injury.
Research takes perseverance and patience because results can be slow to come, Yousuf says. “I didn’t realize some of the frustration that goes along with being a researcher. It’s a lot of grinding it out, putting in a lot of hours.”
Yousuf recommends the internship for aspiring neuroscientists. “I think it’s an important experience to get an idea of what research is like from the hospital side, not just academia.”
Research holds a strong appeal for Benkert. She was a business major 18 months ago and took a couple of neuroscience classes as electives. “A window was opening, and I was going to jump through it,” Benkert says of making the change.
“Especially for people like me who are on the fence…students should first have an internship like this before making any decisions,” Benkert says. “Meeting people at the office and seeing how excited they are about their research” became the deciding factor for Benkert to choose research. “This is the type of setting I would like to work in someday.”
Lipsky and Walters know firsthand how lessons learned early in a career guide students.
“I can’t image not doing education as an integral part of anything that I do,” says Walters, who has written an extensive catalog of research papers.
A student internship helped Lipsky decide to be a researcher. “It was a tremendous help to me in my professional development,” he says. “It really helped me decide on pursuing biomedical science rather than going to medical school.”