Duke University Research Internship

Duke University Integrated Health Sciences

Internship Program

Program Description:   Internship opportunities are available at the Duke Center for Living for motivated graduate or undergraduate students majoring in health science, exercise physiology, kinesiology or human physiology.

    We are dedicated to providing an excellent intern experience by offering the opportunity for numerous hands on experiences and other learning and educational opportunities. 

We are currently doing less exercise research than usual, but have a new major area of clinical research currently underway with several funded studies. 

               We have a several human drug infusion studies where the main outcomes involve pancreas function (insulin secretion and glucagon suppression).  The first NIH funded study involves the infusion of incretins (GLP-1, GIP and both GIP & GLP-1).  Each of these infusion studies involves hyperglycemic clamps and so are quite interesting from a physiological aspect.  The second study is Merck Funded and also involves incretins infusions (in this case a GLP-1 Receptor blocker – Ex-9) with and without sitagliptin.  The third study is also NIH funded and involves Ghrelin infusion studies + liquid meals and effects on pancreas function.  The last study is VA funded and involves incretin infusion studies as well; in this case looking at the possible paracrine (as opposed to endocrine) role for GLP-1.  Other studies are ongoing as well. 

Interns will have the opportunity to become familiar with the function and operation of laboratory equipment used for subject testing and collection of physiological data while assisting with data collection, data reduction, and data analysis.  Specifically, interns will take an active role in cardiopulmonary exercise stress testing, body composition analysis.   In addition, interns may be involved in taking blood samples (from an IV), spinning and pipetting plasma for OGTT and other studies involving blood sampling (e.g. hyperglycemic clamps).

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·   Interns will be assigned a mentor to help coordinate their specific internship goals and responsibilities, and will report to this person for the duration of the internship.

·   Internships are ~15 weeks in duration and available fall, spring and summer semesters.

·   All interns will be expected to work 40 hours per week.    

·   No stipend is provided. 

·   Travel expenses to and from Duke are paid up to a total of $1200. 

Eligibility Requirements:    Preference will be given to students currently enrolled in graduate or undergraduate exercise science programs or related fields; however, other interested candidates will be accepted when positions are available. Applicants with a GPA below 3.0 will not be considered.  Excellent communication skills and a high level of professionalism are essential because patient/client interaction is a vital aspect of this program.  Interns are expected to be highly motivated, organized, self-directed, and open to feedback in order to ensure a mutually beneficial internship experience.

Deadlines:

For the SPRING Semester:
Application due by – October 20^th , 2016. 
Decision made by –  November 4^th, 2016

Interested individuals should send a résumé and cover letter describing their background, academic standing/GPA, interests, and career goals along with contact information for three professional or academic references to Cris Slentz, Ph.D., Director Intern Program at   cris.slentz@duke.edu