Clinical Research Internships
Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research

Applications currently accepted for Summer Scholars 2021
and
Academic Year 2021 / 2022 Internships

Applications are currently being invited for REMOTE and PARTIALLY REMOTE Clinical Research Internships at the Nathan S. Kline Institute (NKI) in Orangeburg, NY. The NKI fosters a collaborative environment where interns have the opportunity to gain excellent clinical and research experience. NKI internships are unpaid; however, we are committed to supporting efforts to secure funding through university scholarships or other sources. We will also collaborate with your university for course credits, if applicable.

The academic year internships require a minimum of two days/16 hours per week. Considering the projects involved and the level of training required, preference is given to applicants who can make a commitment of more than one academic semester. Other arrangements are possible on a case by case basis.

The NKI Summer Scholars program is typically a full-time, immersive experience. A diverse group of student scholars are matched to research mentors based on interest, skill set, and the fit with each laboratory’s summer research goals. Summer Scholars participate in weekly seminars that cover topics across the areas of expertise of the multidisciplinary NKI scientists. Internship projects typically focus on study implementation and data collection or data analysis and manuscript preparation. Other opportunities include program development focused on community engagement and outreach. Given the seminar schedule and benefits of peer exchanges, the Summer Scholars program has a fixed schedule, beginning the first Monday of June and concluding the first Wednesday of August. ​The Summer Scholars program has a mission of inclusivity and is therefore committed to offering fully remote and hybrid opportunities in addition to on-site experiences.

The NKI Clinical Research Internship Program offers five tracks with potential placement throughout the Institute: General Clinical Research, Biomedical Imaging and Neuromodulation Research, Behavioral Health / Cardiorespiratory Fitness Clinical Research, Neuropsychology Focused Clinical Research, and Education / Outreach.

Research internships are ideally suited to students who are seeking research experience in preparation for planning a career in either behavioral or clinical research or clinical practice. Undergraduate coursework in biology, psychology, or neuroscience and research methods/statistics is recommended. Career goals well-suited to our training opportunities may include but are not limited to Psychologist, Social Workers, Neuroscientist, Psychiatrist, Statistician, Epidemiologist, Public Health Researcher, Data Scientist.

General Research Track: This internship includes the opportunity to assist with implementation and data management across several ongoing research programs. For example, the NKI-Rockland Sample Initiative (NKI-RSI) is a large-scale, open-science, research program focused on understanding brain maturation and brain health, and mental health relationships across the lifespan utilizing innovative MRI-based imaging approaches and in-depth clinical research assessments. NKI faculty in the Clinical Research Department conduct studies that characterize aspects of mental health and examine therapeutics targeting symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), Alzheimer’s disease, and schizophrenia. NKI faculty in Social Solutions and Services Research examine social and structural determinants of health that impact mental health and substance use. Additional opportunities may exist across the diverse range of NKI research programs.

Biomedical Imaging and Neuromodulation Track: Center for Biomedical Imaging Neuromodulation (C-BIN) is dedicated to the development, refinement, and application of innovative MRI- and EEG-based imaging approaches to characterize brain maturation across the lifespan, with a particular focus on understanding the impact of psychiatric illnesses on maturational processes. This internship includes opportunities to assist with the quality assessment, processing, and analysis of functional and structural MRI data, to assist in the identification and implementation of novel algorithms for data analysis, to assist in the interpretation of findings and preparation of reports, and to assist in identifying literature that is relevant to methods and findings.

Behavioral Health / Cardiorespiratory Fitness Research Track: When available, this internship is focused on the administration of a submaximal cardio-respiratory fitness assessment in the context of a large-scale research program that investigates brain-health-behavior relationships. This experience is ideally suited to candidates who are completing undergraduate degrees with a focus on sports medicine, kinesiology, or who want to pursue careers in behavioral health, physical therapy, or fitness training.

Neuropsychology Focused Research Track: This internship includes opportunities to assist with test administration, data management, and/or data analysis and manuscript preparation on mentored research projects or contribute to ongoing projects.

Education / Outreach Track: This internship includes the opportunity to assist with community engagement and recruitment activities for research studies throughout NKI such as identifying ways to increase the community’s awareness of research initiatives and public educational programming in addition to developing and implementing outreach strategies for the recruitment of community participants in research. A focus of this internship is on the consideration of equity in the participation of traditionally underrepresented communities in clinical and cognitive science research. Some graphic design experience is helpful.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS: Please submit all applications through this website. Your application is unlikely to receive full consideration unless you submit all the requested information. Please choose one of the five internship tracks. If the general track, please also include the research program of interest. Send a resume (which includes GPA) and a statement describing how your prior experience, skill sets, and future career goals are a good match for the internship track you selected. Please also discuss perceived shortcomings in your current training. For example, you may not have had an opportunity to work directly with participants or to translate statistical analyses from a class to a real dataset. Please highlight how you hope to develop those areas through this internship and how it will advance your progress towards your specific goals. Please also include preferred start and end dates, and days and hours per week available for the internship.

PLEASE NOTE: Some tracks and opportunities are not available at all times. If you would like to be considered broadly, be sure to indicate that in addition to any specific interest in particular disorders or narrowly defined tracks. If you include only a specific interest, and we don’t have an appropriate match, you may not hear from us.

Applications@nki.rfmh.org