Summer Undergraduate Research Internship

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Fondren Inflammation Collaborative

The Ann Kimbell and John W. Johnson Center for Cellular Therapeutics

Cockrell Center for Advanced Therapeutics

Paula and Rusty Walter Neurological Restoration Initiative

Jerold B. Katz Academy of Translational Research

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Houston Methodist Medical Education

EnMed's First Class

Weill Cornell Medicine: Mentored Clinical Research Training Program

Summer Undergraduate Research Internship Program

MITIE

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Innovative Education

Summer Undergraduate Research Internship

Kiana Banafshay (left), was assigned her own project when working with Sonia Villapol, PhD, in her lab

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The Houston Methodist Institute for Academic Medicine offers an unparalleled 10-week summer student program that matches faculty members with medical students and college undergraduates as they focus on a single research project. Students also attend weekly didactic lectures given by mentors, invited speakers and other leaders. The internship consists of three programs: the Summer Undergraduate Research Internship (for undergraduate students interested in translational research), the Rosenberg Summer Surgical Fellowship (for undergraduate students interested in surgical shadowing), and the High School Research Internship (for high school students over the age of 16 interested in translational research).

The summer of 2019 was well spent according to Kiana Banafshay, a pre-med student entering her senior year at the University of Texas at Austin. The 10-week Summer Undergraduate Research Internship achieved its goal of introducing highly motivated students to the excitement and challenges of research by pairing each one with a faculty member. The upshot for each intern is having a completed research project that shows their hard work.

The 2019 program kicked off its ninth year on June 3, when Banafshay was introduced to 62 college undergraduates and high school students from more than 50 schools, including New York University, Brown University, Emory University, University of California-Berkeley, University of Southern California and Vanderbilt University. In addition to receiving mentorship, the interns enjoyed networking opportunities and weekly didactic lectures by Houston Methodist leadership.

For Banafshay, the lab experience opened her eyes to the possibilities of clinical research. “I learned how to contribute to research projects within a laboratory and teamwork setting. I also learned several skills specific to preclinical research conducted in the lab and how they connect to clinical applications,” said Banafshay. “And I learned that science is fun!”

Banafshay was paired with Sonia Villapol, PhD, assistant professor of neurosurgery. The two knew instantly that they would make a great team. And early in the summer, they discovered they even share the same birthday! Villapol praised Banafshay as an exceptional student.

“Students bring an innate curiosity and passion, one that is my responsibility to help amplify by focusing on exciting research projects related to discovering new treatments for patients with brain damage and neurodegenerative diseases,” said Villapol. “There is nothing more rewarding in the laboratory than to mentor a team that shares my passion for science and scientific discovery.” Villapol guided Banafshay through completion of her project, “Brain-Gut Communication through Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide after Traumatic Brain Injury.”

Villapol’s laboratory studies the inflammatory and neurodegenerative mechanisms triggered after brain trauma or stroke, based on gender. It also investigates the contribution of peripheral signals and the gut microbiome to brain pathology, and pursues novel neurorestorative treatments for brain recovery through the lens of the periphery.

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