Internships - Intern Profiles

Can you tell us a bit about your projects at MCE?
There were three primary projects that I contributed to:

1. Advised on the scientific merit of some of the start-ups MCE was “incubating”
2. Assisted in the organization of MCE business lectures and a “Shark Tank” event
3. Worked with the MCE social media strategy team to release a MCE podcast series

What was most challenging about this internship?
Managing different projects simultaneously, as well as critiquing and advising projects by experienced entrepreneurs.

How were you able to apply the knowledge or skills from your internship to your work at Johns Hopkins?
My ability to mentor others, to identify practical applications for my research, and communication skills were all improved thanks to the internship.

How did the internship impact your motivation in your lab at Hopkins?
The internship made me much more motivated once I returned to the lab. I learned better planning skills and how to take a more organized approach to finishing lab projects from my internship.

What impact do you think your internship had on your competitiveness as an applicant?
It definitely made me more competitive. I had more experience and confidence while applying.

How were you able to apply the knowledge or skills from your internship to your work at Johns Hopkins?
The internship helped me know more about the industry, so that I could be more informed of the significance of my research work.

What surprised you during this internship?
The people are so nice and helpful; the working environment is very supportive of junior people.

What made your supervisor effective?
My supervisor introduced me to a lot of projects and put me on the major force to lead several projects with full trust. These experiences helped me grow very fast in getting used to working on the projects in the firm.

Are there any aspects of this internship that you think would benefit you in a field other than tech transfer?
The skillsets in analyzing the different medical fields will be transferrable to both consulting, private equity, and venture capital jobs that I am interested in. The communication skills will be helpful in me launching any other job in the USA.

What knowledge, skills, or abilities do you think would be most important for an intern to have to be successful at this organization?
Deep interest in the biomedical field. Good business sense. Structured and organized thinking. Logic. Very good communication skills.

What advice would you give to a graduate student or trainee who was considering an internship at BioHealth Innovation?
Use this platform to build your own network in the biotech industry. They will be very helpful!

Can you tell us a bit about your projects at ASBMB?
My main responsibility was writing profiles of and collecting data from winners of the ASBMB HOPES (Hands-on Opportunities to Promote Engagement in Science) seed grants. This grant paired scientist volunteers with teachers to increase the amount of hands-on activities included in science classes around the country. I also wrote profiles on outreach programs not funded by ASBMB.

How were you able to apply the knowledge or skills from your internship to your work at Johns Hopkins?
I already had strong communication skills and time management skills before starting my internship, but these were improved by my time working at ASBMB. I think the single biggest thing I brought back to the lab was the certainty that a career in science outreach would be viable for me.

How else have you been able to use the knowledge and skills you gained through your internship?
The biggest single value of this internship was demonstrating on my resume my drive and skills that I developed during my graduate school volunteer work, and have continued to build upon since.

One purpose of the internship is to help you build a professional network. How have you been able to use this network since you completed your internship?
That has been huge! I contributed a chapter to a book written by an ASBMB committee member and volunteer, and I relied heavily on my network when scouting out potential positions and preparing and submitting job applications.

What impact do you think your internship had on your competitiveness as an applicant?
It demonstrated by interests and abilities, and removed some risk to my application.

What advice would you give to a graduate student or trainee who was considering an internship at ASBMB?
It is a great place to work, and be sure to come into the internship expecting to develop and lead projects.

Some cool stuff from Lily!

• Chemists Celebrate Earth Day – Lily answers questions via a Reddit post
• Lily’s Twitter feed
• An interview with Lily for the Beyond the Postdoc blog

How were you able to apply the knowledge or skills from your internship to your work at Johns Hopkins?
At my internship, I experienced projects with tight deadlines, collaborations with multiple members of the company, and presentations to a more varied audience than the predominately scientific audience than I had experienced in graduate school. Therefore, I was able to transfer all of this acquired knowledge to my lab work as I prepared for projects that needed rapid results, required collaborations with different groups and labs than I had previously worked with, and further improved my presentation skills.

How else have you been able to use the knowledge and skills you gained through your internship?
I have used the strategy knowledge I gained in my internship to prepare me for a position in the pharmaceutical industry as well as connect me with pharmaceutical industry professionals that I would not have met had it not been for the internship.

What feedback would you like to provide about the internship and your relationship with your PI?
I would suggest that prospective students ensure that your principal investigator (PI) is completely aligned with your reasons for pursuing an internship and timelines. I think as long as they know your interests in the internship and what you want to gain from the internship (and maybe what they can gain as well), they will be more receptive with you leaving for a few weeks/months.

What impact do you think your internship had on your competitiveness as an applicant?
My internship provided me with multiple opportunities to connect with companies and CEOs that then connected me with internal hiring managers. Additionally, during interviews, my internship proved to potential employers that I not only had an interest in management consulting, but I also had some experience as proof of this interest.

Can you tell us a bit about your projects at FASEB?
At FASEB, I helped to organize a round table for rigor and reproducibility. I read the literature to identify the most important issues and the key people to discuss them. This work culminated in FASEB white paper recommendations (here) and a short opinion piece I authored (here). FASEB was really great about giving me opportunities to write and giving me credit for my work.

How were you able to apply the knowledge or skills from your internship to your work at Johns Hopkins?
I used the skills from my internship to come back to Hopkins and design a course for graduate students. (You can read more about Alyssa’s course here!)

How else have you been able to use the knowledge and skills you gained through your internship?
My internship skills are directly applicable to my new position as program director at a nonprofit.

One purpose of the internship is to help you build a professional network. How have you been able to use this network since you completed your internship?
I continue to have a great relationship with the office in which I interned, which is now an office I have reason to interact with professionally.

What advice would you give to a graduate student or trainee who was considering an internship at FASEB?
Do it!

Some cool stuff from Alyssa!

• Nature showcases the course of reproducibility that Alyssa designed
• The Fall 2017 issue of Hopkins Magazine highlights that same course

Can you tell us a bit about your project at MedImmune?
My project at MedImmune was to develop a method to probe protein interactions using chemical cross-linking and mass spectrometry.

How were you able to apply the knowledge or skills from your internship to your work at Johns Hopkins?
I learned how to work in a team in an industrial setting. When I received my job offer, the hiring manager told me that previous experience in the industry made me stand out from the pool of applicants who only had academia experience.

How else have you been able to use the knowledge and skills you gained through your internship?
I had never worked with antibodies before and knew very little about the immune system. Working on this project exposed me to a lot of new science that I had not encountered before and gave me a better appreciation of antibody biochemistry/biophysics, which will be helpful in working with antibodies in the future.

How did the internship impact your motivation in your lab at Hopkins?
After years in the lab, working in the industry, even for 3 months, reminded me of my ultimate goal and inspired me to finish my graduate work.

One purpose of the internship is to help you build a professional network. How have you been able to use this network since you completed your internship?
I now have a lot more connections in the biopharmaceutical industry and know at least one person in almost all of the big companies in the DC area.

What advice would you give to a graduate student or trainee who was considering an internship at MedImmune?
Work hard and meet people in numerous departments (i.e. outside of your department) in the company. In case there are jobs open in other parts of the company, you will know someone in that department as well. Also, listen, be organized and proactive, and have genuine interest in the project and the science.

Can you tell us a bit about your projects at BHI?
I joined the Enterprise-in-Residence (EIR) program in BHI as a intern fellow, to help support the experienced EIRs in BHI to do commercial research, including start-up screening, market/disease landscape assessment, competition intelligence.

How were you able to apply the knowledge or skills from your internship to your work at Johns Hopkins?
My communications with my PI/group became much stronger and were more tailored to the audience. Additionally, my knowledge of trends in industry and how the research in the lab would be linked to the next stage of R&D and commercialization increased.

How else have you been able to use the knowledge and skills you gained through your internship?
The internship gave me better business sense and also a network of contacts within the local healthcare community.

What advice would you give to a graduate student or trainee who was considering an internship at BHI?
For someone is interested in biotech industry, start-up opportunities, or VC/investment, this internship is a perfect fit. The people at BHI are super nice and supportive, and the internship offers a great chance to get field training in real business world.

What impact do you think your internship had on your competitiveness as an applicant?
It was very helpful! The internship shaped my skills that were necessary for obtaining my job offer.

Some cool stuff from Tao!

• Hear Tao talk about his internship experience in this short video
• The Fall 2017 issue of All Aboard! - Tao is featured in an article about PhD students who choose non-academic career paths