Call for Proposals: Duke Quantitative Summer Internships in HIV/AIDS (2020)

We will be offering twelve fully funded summer internships for quantitative graduate students to do research on HIV/AIDS projects and are currently soliciting research proposals for the 2020 program. The research proposal should involve data analysis, visualization, machine learning, computer simulation, mathematical modeling, software development or device engineering, and may optionally include opportunities for fieldwork or handson bench work in the lab. All interns will be co-mentored by the HIV/AIDS researcher (or designated lab member) and a quantitative researcher (e.g., a biostatistician or biomedical engineer). We will provide a suitable quantitative mentor for all funded projects, but you may also recommend one (e.g. a statistician or computational biologist that you are already collaborating with). The objective of the internship is to introduce quantitative graduate students to HIV/AIDS research and encourage interdisciplinary collaborations.
Examples of proposals submitted for the 2019 program can be found at : https://cfar.duke.edu/cores/biostatistics-and-computational-biology-core/internship/project-list.

The summer internships will cover
• 10 weeks of full-time paid work with option to extend if progress is satisfactory (subject to available funds)
• Up to $2,800 per intern for laboratory or other research expenses
• Travel/accommodation to present a poster or give an oral presentation at a national conference (all interns)
• Travel/accommodation to present a poster or give an oral presentation at an international conference (limited) Expectations of laboratory mentors (either PI or designated group member)
• Collaborate with the quantitative mentor over the internship period
• Prepare expectations, objectives and a structured research plan for the intern
• Ensure that any resources necessary are available at the start of the internship (e.g. data sets)
• Meet regularly with intern to provide guidance (at least once a week)
The research proposal should be between ½ – 1 page in length, and include the following:
• Title of project
• PI (and designated mentor if different from PI) contact details
• Summary of research project and why the research matters
• Objectives of internship and milestones
• Scope of work
Please keep in mind that prospective interns respond best to proposals where the objective and scope are clearly defined. If you know of specific skills or experience that the intern will need, please indicate in the scope of work section.
Please submit your research proposal (multiple proposals are welcome) to (Kelly Sune) kelly [dot] sune [at] duke [dot] edu by 5 pm Monday Sep 30, 2019. If you have any questions about the internship, please contact Cliburn Chan (cliburn [dot] chan [at] duke [dot] edu).