Second Annual High School Internship at Yale OB-GYN Promotes Interest in Science

The second annual high school internship program aimed at fostering an interest in science and research was held by faculty and staff at Yale School of Medicine’s Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences.

The second annual high school internship program aimed at fostering an interest in science and research was held by faculty and staff at Yale School of Medicine’s Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences.

This year’s expanded program included students from Cheshire, New Haven, Middletown, Wallingford, New York and Durham.

“Our goal is to expose high quality students from neighboring communities to Yale’s labs and possibly open their minds to future career opportunities,” said the program’s creator Gil Mor, M.D., associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Yale.

Forty-two students applied for the eight internship spots. The applicants were admitted after visiting the department and writing an essay on why they were interested in participating in the internship. The students completed the program in August.

“We selected high school students with the help of science teachers who chose their top students with an interest in research careers,” said Mor. “Many of the students had never been to Yale and never considered applying before completing this program.”

The chosen students were paired with researchers or postdoctoral graduate students in different labs, who supervised as they learned a variety of research techniques such as PCR, a method used to amplify genes to as much as 1,000 times their size. One student spent the internship extracting proteins from human tissue. Others performed animal experiments.

“The students assigned to my lab were doing college-level work,” said Mor. “Other faculty and staff were also delighted to have the students in the labs. They were willing to take the time to explain scientific protocol to the students, who were very bright, motivated and eager to learn.”

Director of the Yale Cancer Center Richard Edelson, M.D., provided the funds for the students. Each student received a small stipend and a certificate of completion at the end of the program.

For further information on the internship, please contact Andrea Fermo Gendrachi at 203-785-7854.

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Media Contact

Karen N. Peart: karen.peart@yale.edu, 203-980-2222