From left to right: Guney Bademci, Ph.D., Shaun Brothers, Ph.D., Dale Hedges, Ph.D., Alexander Shahin, Neil Mehta, Kehinde Alonge, Albert Liu, Danny Arzu, David Green, Margaret Pericak-Vance, Ph.D., Matteo Kruijssen, Alyssa Civantos, Jeffery Vance, M.D., Ph.D., Gary Beecham, Ph.D., Derek Dykxhoorn, Ph.D., Aaron Uhlenberg

 

JJ Vance Memorial interns complete rigorous program

 

The 2011 JJ Vance Memorial summer interns celebrated the successful completion of a challenging 8-week research program, working alongside expert faculty and post-doctoral fellows at the John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics, on August 2. The interns were joined by their families and mentors for a luncheon in which they were given the opportunity to demonstrate the knowledge that they attained from their internship experiences.

 

The JJ Vance Memorial summer internship in biological and computational sciences offers rising seniors from Miami-area high schools a unique opportunity to gain hands-on research experience. The eight interns were selected from the most competitive applicant pool in the history of the internship program. This year, close to 50 of the area's brightest students representing 15 different high schools applied for one of the coveted internship positions.

 

For the first time since the internship program began, the interns were each assigned to work with a different study team at the HIHG. "This summer, I've been helping with the Alzheimer's disease research. I've learned how to use PCR-sequencing and gels in order to validate the genotypes of some interesting SNPs," said 2011 JJ Vance Memorial summer intern, Alyssa Civantos.

 

Intern Alexander Shahin, who worked with the HIHG's Parkinson's disease team, stated, "Throughout my stay at the lab, I gained invaluable experience by performing my own research with help from well-trained experts."

 

Intern Neil Mehta, who worked with a team of researchers studying Rett Syndrome, said, "At the JJ Vance internship, I've learned real life science applications that I would not have learned in the classroom otherwise, so I would encourage high school students my age who are interested in science to apply to these programs to get hands-on experience in the labs."
"I really want to thank the Vances for this opportunity. The memories will always be in my mind," said Danny Arzu, an intern who worked with the HIHG's Genetics of Exercise and Research (G.E.A.R.) team.

 

The JJ Vance Memorial summer internship was established by Margaret A. Pericak-Vance, Ph.D., director of the HIHG, and Jeffery M. Vance, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics, in the memory of their son, Jeffery Joseph (JJ), who died of a blood clotting disorder at 14.

 

Get to know the 2011 interns!

 

Reflections: Past interns share their internship experience!