NIDA URIP aims to further train, mentor, and prepare current undergraduate students with strong interests in STEM for a career in addiction research. This is facilitated by research internships and mentoring by NIDA IRP scientists with the objective of fostering a deep drive and passion for addiction science in students that will bridge their future education and career choices. The internship may include laboratory experiments, data collection, data analysis, participation in lab meetings, interaction with research participants, manuscript preparation, literature reviews, and other activities. Additionally, interns deliver a formal presentation on their research project in the URIP Research Showcase, highlighting all of their work to NIDA and University leadership, colleagues, staff, and peers.
This program is funded by NIDA and is currently partnered with the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) and Morgan State University to provide internship opportunities for interested upperclassmen from their student communities.
Eligibility
- Rising juniors and seniors from partnered universities who are interested in addiction-related science research and are committed to diversity and inclusion in STEM
- Students must be a US citizen or permanent resident
- Students must be available to work approximately 8 hours per week on a research project with a NIDA IRP mentor during the academic year
Lab Placement: Students review project descriptions provided by NIDA investigators and rank their top choices. Program staff match students with projects and labs based on their experience, selections and interests. Students have the opportunity to meet with potential investigator-mentors via video before commencing the internship.
Compensation: A monthly stipend is provided to each intern. Student stipend amounts are determined by education level completed and are set by the NIH. Interns work part time during the academic year (~8 hours per week, depending on the intern’s course load, exam schedule, and other responsibilities) and full time (~40 hours per week) in the summer.
Timeframe: Applications are accepted December – through January each year with decisions made in March. Selected students begin working with their NIDA mentors in October and continue through early August.
Current Partnerships
This program is currently partnered with local universities UMBC and Morgan State University. Interested students from these universities are invited to reach out to URIP program staff for more information. If you are enrolled at another university or are University faculty or staff interested in this program for your students, please reach out to URIP Program Staff listed below.
NIDA URIP was created by the NIDA Racial Equity Initiative (REI) Workforce Working Group, led by Drs. Michelle Jobes and Albert Avila in 2020. The impetus for the program was inspired by an engaging fireside chat NIDA Director Dr. Nora Volkow had on Twitter with then-UMBC President Dr. Freeman Hrabowski about racial equity and STEM, among other topics. To learn more about what NIDA is doing to address the impact of structural racism on addiction science and actions we’re taking to promote racial equity in NIDA’s workplace, workforce, and research portfolio, visit https://nida.nih.gov/about-nida/racial-equity-initiative.
URIP Program Staff
Ms. Christie Brannock, MBA, Program Director
cbrann@intra.nida.nih.gov
