Division of Biostatistics & Bioinformatics

Interns will have the opportunity to:

• Research statistical topics relevant to biomedical research.
• Apply statistical thinking to biomedical research problems.
• Analyze real-world biomedical data and interpret the results.
• Develop statistical programming skills in SAS, R, and other software.
• Develop and practice communication of statistical methods and results through written and oral presentations.
• Receive guidance and mentoring regarding their future studies and career trajectory.

The internship's core is a mentored research project, and it is supplemented by a number of other components.

• Mentored research project. Interns work on individual projects, each under the supervision of a faculty member. The projects typically involve specification of the substantive research question(s) to be addressed, data management/cleaning, consideration of relevant statistical methods, data analyses, and interpretation of results. The work is intended to promote critical and statistical thinking. Interns are expected to both apply their prior classroom knowledge and explore statistical methods that they are not familiar with. At the end of the summer, interns deliver an oral presentation of their work (30 min presentation + 20 min discussion) and submit a brief written report (2-3 pages).
  The following are recent projects (with project preceptors in parentheses):
  • "SEER-Medicare: Survival Outcomes among Melanoma Patients Receiving Immunotherapy with Antibiotics Usage and Comorbidity" (Dr. Keith)
  • "An ARIMA investigation into COVID-19 trajectories in Washington State" (Dr. Daskalakis)
  • "Assessing the Impact of COVID-19 on participation in a behavioral trial for older adults with diabetes" (Dr. Leiby)
  • "Relationships among adherence to self-management behaviors and change in hemoglobin A1c over time in the DM I-TEAM trial" (Dr. Leiby)
  • "The Impact of the Proprietary Milestones Application on Patient Length of Stay" (Dr. Daskalakis)
  • "Association between race, treatment delays, and survival among women with gynecological malignancies: A National Cancer Database Study" (Dr. Keith)
• Seminar/journal club attendance and presentation. Interns attend weekly seminars or journal club sessions. Each intern is expected to lead a journal club discussion of one published paper during the course of the internship.
• Clinical trial protocol review. Jefferson’s Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center has a scientific protocol review committee that reviews all oncology clinical trial protocols before they are activated at Jefferson. Interns typically attend 2-3 committee meetings; each intern is expected to perform an informal review of a trial protocol, under the guidance of a designated faculty member.
• Manuscript review. Interns perform a review of a manuscript submitted for publication, under the guidance of a designated faculty member.

• The internship duration is 8-10 weeks, typically from beginning of June to mid-August. However, start/end dates are flexible and are arranged before the start of the internship.
• The internship is intended to be full-time (35 hrs/week), although a part-time schedule (20 hrs/week) is possible. The expected number of hours is arranged before the start of the internship and the schedule is stated in the letter/email of acceptance.

• Interns are hired as employees and paid an hourly wage, whose level depends on the intern's academic level and experience ($17-$22).
• Interns are paid bi-weekly for the duration of the internship.

Applicants should have interest in pursuing a career in (bio)statistics, data science, or other similar quantitative field, with a focus on the biomedical sciences. Applicants may be current students or recent graduates.

• For undergraduate students (or those with an undergraduate degree), any degree program is acceptable, but applicants should have strong mathematical and analytical skills and at least one course in computer programming.
• For graduate students (or those holding a graduate degree), the degree program should be statistics, biostatistics, or similar quantitative field.

Please apply via our Online Application.

Applicants will need to submit:

• Cover letter with statement of interest, GPA, and names of two references.
• CV/Resume

Applications are reviewed and requests for interviews are sent on a rolling basis. Deadline for submitting an application is February 15.

For inquiries or questions, please contact Dr. Tingting Zhan.