Course number
MSBS599AQ

Course title
Biomedical Training Internship

Course director
Doreen Badheka, Ph.D., Assistant Dean, Rutgers SGS

Course description

This is a 3-credit Master’s course that will be offered in both fall and spring semesters. Students will choose a 40 hour per week, 6-week long internship in the genomics core, the flow cytometry core or the Rutgers Environmental Health and Safety (REHS) department. This course will give students an opportunity to gain technical expertise that will help advance their understanding in a very specific area of biomedical research. Taking this course will improve a Master’s student’s technical skills and job placement prospects. Students are expected to gain this expertise by in-depth reading of the literature and working/shadowing full time in the lab/department for 6 weeks.

Internships
Genomics core internship: the student will learn multiple techniques involved in nucleotide sequencing as well as the use of routine laboratory equipment e.g. pH meter, analytical balance, table top centrifuge, etc. In addition, they will learn Good Lab Practice (GLP) related to equipment maintenance and calibration, sample preparation, data recording, analysis, and presentation. The student will also gain firsthand experience in trouble shooting and critical thinking. The student will be working under Dr. Puneet Dhawan.
Flow cytometry core internship: the student will learn flow cytometric analysis, fluorescent cell sorting and fluorescent cell imaging. In addition, they will become proficient in the operation of equipment (analyzer, sorter and imager) and Good Lab Practice (GLP) related to equipment maintenance and calibration, sample preparation, data recording, analysis, and presentation. The student will also gain firsthand experience in trouble shooting and critical thinking. The student will be working under Dr. Sukhwinder Singh.  The student(s) will be working under Dr. Sukhwinder Singh.
REHS internship: the student will learn how to implement risk assessment in terms of biological research. He/ She will learn the different regulations and policies that affect laboratory research here at Rutgers, and will assist in creating additional resource documents, providing services to the community and shadowing biosafety officers in their normal duties. We will teach the student how to review safety protocols and the different elements of institutional safety oversight. The student will be working under Dr. Jessica McCormick-Ell.

Evaluation/ Grading
60%: The student will be required to write-up their experience and items learned three times over the course of the internship. The student will discuss these write-ups with the course director and their internship supervisor.
20%: The student will submit a detailed portfolio at the end of internship documenting the outcomes of their work.
20%: The student will orally present and defend their detailed portfolio to the course director, internship supervisor, as well as interested faculty and students.

Eligibility

The A version of the course (graded N) will be available to be taken only once, with the following eligibility requirements.

• Master’s students after approval from their program director and the course director, and only after they have successfully completed at least one semester in the program.
• Students taking this course must also satisfy the “research” requirement of the Master’s program by taking either Research in Biomedical Sciences (MSBS 593AQ) or Master’s Thesis (MSBS 5000Q), or receiving a research exemption based on prior research experience. The Biomedical Training Internship will not satisfy the research requirement.
• Students can be approved for a maximum of two experiences. If a student has taken the A version of the course and all of the approving parties agree that a second, different experience would be useful for the student’s training, the student can be approved to take the B version of the course (graded S/U) once only and in a different lab.