Scientific Internships:

Because we have a lot of people interested in working in the lab, our interns must be able to work independently, with minimal guidance.  To see if this experience may be right for you, consider your interest in the type of project described below:

Development of a Scientific Publication

Our  internships involve the development of a scientific publication.  Depending on the amount of time you contribute, you could be first author, or a co-author on the publication.  These positions require:

• • strong writing skills

  • ability to perform literature searches using pubmed

  • organizational skills

  • independence: Almost all the work will be performed outside of the lab, with your own computer.  We will correspond mostly by email.  (If you are interested in a Simons Fellowship or submitting a Regeneron application, please see the FAQs below.)

  • patience!  On average, it requires over two years to assemble a scientific publication (see the timelines for current papers being written here).

We do not require a background in brain imaging or scientific writing.  You just need to be willing to perform research independently, and search (e.g. google, pubmed, text books) for answers as needed.

The Data

We have data from three different studies that you can use for your papers.  One study involves examining brain inflammation in major depressive disorder.  Another study involves examining the cholinergic system and its role in memory.  These two studies have just been completed so there's lots of data to examine!

Here's the data from a third study.  It includes spectroscopy data (GABA and glutamate, as described here) and depression severity scores.  As you can see from that study's page, many papers have been published on this data already.  However, we can explore to see if there's other interesting findings in the data.  If you are interested in working with this data, you may skip steps 1 - 4 below.  Just email Dr. DeLorenzo anything interesting you've found in the data and we'll determine if we can write it into a publication.

Putting it all together...

What we are looking for is motivated interns to form a hypothesis based on the the data that we collect.  How does that work?  

Step 1:

Basically, you need to do a little digging into any of the topics that may interest you from a list of data collected for our studies.   Based on that, you may come up with some questions that you are interested in examining.  Note that there are no requirements for what the hypotheses might be.  They may not include brain imaging at all, such as:

• Do people with higher levels of depression sleep less (as measured by surveys)?  

• Do people with higher levels of depression experience higher levels of sensitivity?  

• Does the length of time that someone has been depressed affect their outlook on the success of treatment?

Including brain imaging, you could ask something like:

• Do people with lower levels of cholinergic neurons experience worse sleep? 

• Do people with higher levels of inflammation experience greater depression?

The types of studies our students and interns have worked on in the past are listed (at the bottom of the page) for two previous studies, on circadian rhythms and brain metabolism.  Note the time that papers were started and published...this is a slow process.

An important note regarding plagiarism: Many of you will be writing a scientific paper for the first time.  It is a learning process!  One critical piece of information: it is never ok to copy sentences or parts of sentences from other papers (even when you include the citation).  This is called plagiarism and it can end your scientific career and get you into a lot of trouble.  If you have any questions about this, feel free to ask.  And, please make sure all the wording in your paper is your own. 

Step 2:

Once you have the hypothesis (or multiple hypotheses) you're interested in, it's time to look through the literature to see if this question has been answered before.  The best way to do this is to use key words in pubmed.  If the question has been addressed before, that's good!  It means you came up with a really interesting question that someone worked to answer!  Perhaps you can modify your hypothesis a bit to find a question that's still open.  Or perhaps the authors did not address exactly what you were interested in.  You should carefully document all of the literature you read, as this will help form the introduction of your paper.  Based on this literature, you should update your hypothesis to address (1) a question that has not yet been answered and (2) one that is important for the field.

Step 3:

Following your literature search, clearly write your updated hypothesis.  Combine your background literature search, plan for analysis and hypotheses into a single document.

Note that you are welcome to send Dr. DeLorenzo an email prior to your official application with a very short (3-4 sentences) summary of what you are planning to study and how it is different from previously published studies.  While this does not constitute an official application, feedback can be provided at this point.

Step 4:

Please email Dr. DeLorenzo the following:

• your resume/CV

• the 1-2 page write up of your hypothesis based on the above (see sample in step 3)

• the time commitment you will be able to provide (how many hours per week for how long)

Based on your schedule, your research interest and the quality of your proposal, we will let you know if you are selected for an internship with CUBIT.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is there an opportunity for a paid position?

A:  We do not have any paid positions available.  

Q: Who is eligible to apply for a CUBIT scientific internship?

A: Anyone!  As long as you are interested in working on a publication, you can complete an internship.  We've had high school, college, graduate and medical student interns.  We've also had postdoctoral and visiting faculty interns.  You do not have to be affiliated with Stony Brook.  Also, since the internships involve mostly independent research, you can be located anywhere.

Q: Can I forward this website to a friend?

A: Of course.  Anyone can apply for these internships by following the process above, so feel free to forward this website to anyone who many be interested.

Q: What are the advantages of working on the above project?

A: From the literature searches, hypothesis creation and writing process, you will be participating in graduate-level research.  You will learn a great deal about the brain and how it works.  And, if successful, you will obtain authorship on a publication.  

Q: What is the timeline for assembling a publication?

A: This strongly depends on how much time you put into the process.  Working ~10 hours a week, you should be able to have an outline of the publication in 3-6 months.  From there, it generally takes about a year to complete the paper.  Most people do not have the time to work on their paper every week.  We will work with your schedule.  However, keep in mind that the process will be longer in this case.  (See timelines for interns currently writing papers here.)

Q: When are these items due?

A: There is no official deadline.  We accept interns all throughout the year.

Q: Will I receive help in writing the paper?

A: CUBIT will assist you in creating your outline and writing the paper by answering specific questions, providing detailed feedback on  your work and providing additional information regarding the study.  Interns usually need the most assistance in writing up the scientific methods, as they were not involved in the design of the study.  We will provide that help.  However, as stated above, most of this work is performed independently.

Q: Who performs the image analysis?

A: In general, the image analysis is completed by us.  So, for example, we will provide you with a spreadsheet of mGluR5 density in every brain region (from PET). volumes of each brain region (from structural MRI), or whichever measures are needed for your paper.  

Q: Who performs the statistics?

A: Advanced interns can perform their own statistics.  For others, we provide statistical analysis through the Biostatistical Consulting Core.

Q: For high school students: Will CUBIT support my application to the Simons Summer Research Program or Regeneron?

A: If you have started on the above publication early enough such that you have an approved hypothesis and a written Introduction by the time of the Simons or Regeneron application, CUBIT will support your applications.  During the Simons summer internship, you can work to complete this publication as well as work on other projects.  For Regeneron, we will make sure that you submit your project on time; however, the work on the publication will continue after the Regeneron proposal is submitted.

Q: Will I be able to work on other projects in addition to the publication?

A: The publication will be your first priority.  However, once significant progress is made on the publication, including a completed literature search, outline of the paper and progress towards writing the Introduction/Methods, you can become involved in more aspects of CUBIT's research, including attending lab meetings, and being involved in other imaging projects.  

Other Relevant Info

The way our internships work is that you will put together a draft of your findings.  I will edit your document and send it back to you with suggestions.  There are no deadlines for addressing these comments (or for your first draft).  You can send me updates completely on your schedule.  Sometimes the work will take a long while to complete.  Your schoolwork always comes first and this internship should never interfere with your classes!

 It’s going to get confusing!  All of this is new to you, and there will be a lot you don’t understand, especially in the beginning.  Don’t worry about that.  It’s completely normal!!  The important thing is to make progress…any progress.  If you’re not sure about whether a study you’ve found is relevant or that you’re moving in the right direction, that’s ok.  Start with a couple of paragraphs and send me what you have, then we’ll hash it out.  This is not going to be a linear process.  We’re going to have a lot of confusions and edits along the way…it’s all part of the process!

Before receiving any data, you must be trained in the protection of human subjects, as outlined here.

We use Endnote.   It’s a really great way to keep track of your citations and it will be critically important as your paper expands and includes more references.  Learning this tool can help you through your entire career.

This video can walk you through it if you don’t have the experience.

I would start at 1:46 - 3:00 which explains Endnote

Then jump to 4:00 - 6:05 to see how you can import articles into pubmed (note: I don't usually download the full text but you can if you want to keep your papers in one place)

Then jump to 10:25 - 11:24 to see how to add the citation into Word