Do an internship!
Jenny Schuster (joined the program in 2023)
I worked as an intern with NASA’s Space Crop Production team at Kennedy Space Center
in Cape Canaveral, Florida. My internship was 16 weeks, from late August through December
2023. Space Crop Production at NASA focuses on developing technologies that enable
us to better grow crops in space as well as understand how spaceflight and extraterrestrial
environments impact plant growth. As a part of my main project, I analyzed RNA sequencing
data collected from tomato roots and leaves grown on the International Space Station
as a part NASA’s Veg-05 mission. I worked on several smaller projects as well, such
as helping to curate a public database for space plant biology data and establishing
protocols for growing different species of microgreens. I worked with an incredibly
interdisciplinary team made up of a number of NASA’s project scientists in fields
from mechanical engineering to chemistry to plant physiology. I also formed close
connections with many of my fellow interns whose work spans all aspects of research
and engineering at NASA and other space agencies in the area. These connections with
my coworkers, mentors, and fellow interns allowed me the opportunity to tour many
of NASA’s facilities, view lots of rocket launches, and learn about the exciting history
of NASA’s science and engineering.
MacKenzie Jacobs (Joined the program in 2021)
I completed an internship at the MSU 4-H Children’s Gardens, where I was mentored
by the Education Coordinator, Jessica Wright. As part of my internship experience,
I completed several outreach projects, including designing displays to be placed around
the gardens, leading a strawberry DNA extraction activity as part of the MSU SciFest,
and participating in events for local children. I also constructed a “letter from
a plant scientist” to be distributed to second-grade teachers at Lansing and East
Lansing elementary schools as part of their science curriculum geared toward making
scientists more personable. In addition to building my skillset, I also gained knowledge
about the possibilities of careers in science outreach. Through conversations with
my mentor, I learned of several options that would provide me the opportunity to pursue
my passion for enhancing science education in underserved communities.
Bianca Serda (joined the program 2021)
I was a fellow of the Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Graduate Fellowship
program at the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) in
Washington, DC during spring 2024. At NASEM, I worked for the Division on Engineering
and Physical Sciences under the Space Studies Board (SSB). This fellowship was a 12-week
training and educational program, learning about science and technology policy and
our role as scientists in advising the nation. During this fellowship, I learned about
policy workshops, completed and wrote a policy memo that was submitted to the Journal
of Science Policy & Governance, and gathered information on In Space Assembly and
Manufacturing (ISAM) for an SSB proposed study. I attended Congressional hearings
on the Hill and had informational meetings with various staffers from both House and
Senate offices and NASA Headquarters personnel. I also participated in the NASEM Space
Science Week and Global Young Academy international conferences. Overall, this fellowship
taught me that I do not need to be an expert at everything but rather hone the skills
I already have, gather relevant information for research, and communicate science
effectively to various audiences. A highlight of my time in DC was visiting the National
Mall and all the museums!
Hannah Brown (joined the program in 2021)
I interned at Pairwise in Durham, NC (https://www.pairwise.com/) for 10 weeks during
summer 2022 as a part of their Molecular Biology team. Pairwise is a biotechnology
start-up company with a goal of producing more tasty, healthy, and accessible fruits
and vegetables. They use state of the art gene editing technologies to target traits
in a much faster way than traditional breeding. As a part of the molecular biology
team, I was tasked with designing experiments and developing procedures that aimed
to enhance the vector production pipeline. I worked cross-functionally with the molecular
biology and delivery technology teams to design vectors and test them in two species
of plants with the goal of developing a pipeline to test vector parts and begin building
a library of parts that will produce a range of expression in plants. This internship
was extremely valuable as it showed me the work culture of not only industry, but
a start-up company as well. I made valuable connections with people that should last
my entire career and began building a network of connections in industry. Additionally,
I was exposed to a variety of career options. This experience gave me a broader knowledge
of science and science careers and allowed me to begin developing skills to be successful
in an industry career after graduation.
Joshua Kaste (joined the program in 2020)
I did an internship with Yield10 Bioscience in the summer of 2022. The company is
based out of Massachusetts, but my work for them was computational so I was able to
do the internship remotely. I worked with the company's Senior Director of Metabolic
Engineering on a cross-species transcriptomic analysis of the oilseed crop Camelina
sativa in comparison to its close relatives Arabidopsis thaliana and Brassica napus.
The goal of this work was to compare the transcriptomic profile of the developing
Camelina seed with its relatives to identify potential targets that could be used
to improve seed and oil yield in this species. By the end of the internship, this
analysis had highlighted some potentially interesting targets for improvement. The
work being done at Yield10 is closely related to my research, as my lab collaborates
with them on a grant dedicated to Camelina improvement, but I enjoyed doing a different
kind of analysis and looking at this system through a different perspective.
Nicholas Schlecht (joined the program in 2020)
My internship at Viridos introduced me to an interesting side of industry. Viridos
is an algal biotech company funded by a combination of grants, investors, and their
partnership with ExxonMobil. The overarching goal of the company is to generate a
competitive algal biofuel product for today’s market by making innovations in the
field. During this three month internship I worked on the strain development team
where I learned how to develop enzyme assays to compare how different engineered strains
perform. In addition, I was developing two different alternative selections to reduce
the usage of antibiotics when doing transformations for different algal strains. As
I learned these new skills and applied them for the company I also honed my coding
skills in R and wrote scripts that automate the data analysis process for my enzyme
assays and future enzyme assays that rely on colorimetric/fluorometric output using
a plate reader. This experience broadened my skills and increased my ability to adapt
to new environments. I also developed new connections in industry and insight into
what to expect for a future career in industry.
Kaila Smith (joined the program in 2020)
The summer of 2022 I completed an internship with Michael Best LLC as a patent scientist.
My experience as a patent scientist taught me the basics of intellectual property
work in a law firm setting. Specifically, by allowing me the opportunity to work on
a wide range of the patent process including writing patent applications, responding
to rejections from the USPTO, and analyzing information disclosures for their patentability
and clearance. Additionally, the projects ranged in breadth of scientific content
allowing me to engage with many cutting edge research projects with clients from top
tier research institutions. This experience further developed my written and verbal
communication skills through delivering written reports and interactions with clients.
Overall, the internship served as an insightful look into a career in patent law and
affirmed my decision to pursue this career path following my graduate studies.
Hannah Parks (joined the program in 2019)
I completed an internship at the Mass Spectrometry Research Center (MSRC) at Vanderbilt
University in the lab of Dr. Richard Caprioli. My research focused on developing a
method to generate proteomic, lipidomic, and metabolomic datasets, using separate
liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS) approaches on extracts
from a single sample to match with MALDI-IMS (matrix assisted laser desportion ionization,
imaging mass spectrometry). Through this experience I learned sample preparation techniques
including cryosectioning, matrix application, and laser capture microdissection (LCM).
I also was exposed to different mass spectrometry techniques, technologies, and data
analysis, including bottom-up proteomics on two separate platforms, lipidomics utilizing
both LC and ion mobility separations, and MALDI-IMS utilizing ion mobility separations.
I helped establish a method for bottom-up proteomics on the timsTOF (trapped ion mobility
spectrometry coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry) in the lab and received
a week of training from Bruker on the implementation and application of the technique.
The environment at the MSRC was special and exciting because I was surrounded by mass
spectrometry researchers, and this environment gave me an opportunity to expand and
develop my expertise with the technique. I really appreciated and enjoyed the experience
because I gained knowledge, experience, and connections that will help me in my career.
Alan Mclain (joined the program in 2017)
In 2020 I interned with LI-COR Biosciences, a biotechnology company that specializes
in optical technology for quantitative western blotting as well as equipment for study
of plant physiology and environmental research. LI-COR research and development provided
me with development software with new techniques for measuring photosynthesis, in
particular the Dynamic Assimilation Technique method for rapid acquisition of photosynthetic
data. I used my background in photosynthesis research to test and evaluate these new
techniques and compare the results to legacy measurements. The company wants to spark
interest in using these new techniques for addressing biological questions, so our
goal was to publish a paper addressing novel phenomenology in triose-phosphate utilization
limited photosynthesis. The new methods combined well with the high-density optical
measurements developed at MSU. The paper using these methods is in preparation. This
internship was a valuable experience at an industry position in-field, and also eventually
will lead to a publication and data for my dissertation.
Reid Longley (joined the program in 2018)
My internship at Los Alamos National Labs was valuable for introducing me to the environment
at a national laboratory and for introducing me to the types of research occurring
within the DOE. It was a 6-month internship and part of a graduate fellowship through
the DOE Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) program. During my internship,
I worked as a part of Patrick Chain’s bacterial-fungal interactions (BFI) research
group. Throughout my internship, I learned computational techniques for analyzing
RNASeq data that was generated as part of my thesis. Additionally, I was able to work
alongside other members of the Chain lab BFI team to analyze data from a comparative
genomics study on mollicutes related endobacteria (MRE) that reside inside Mortierellaceae
fungi. This work revealed that MRE genomes are greatly reduced, ranging in size from
326,000 bp to 600,000 bp and that these genomes have lost various functions including
DNA repair; this may explain their apparent rapid rate of evolution. This work is
important for assessing how relationships between Mortierellaceae and endobacteria
formed and how they continue to evolve.
Ron Cook (joined the program in 2018)
My internship from January to March 2020 was at Terragen Biotech, a small agricultural
biotech company in Sunshine Coast, Queensland. Terragen develops microbial mixtures
for use as animal feed supplements and soil conditioners for plants. Their soil conditioner
product, Great Land, has been demonstrated to increase productivity in a wide range
of crops, including ryegrass-based cattle pastures, avocados, and sugarcane. I was
involved in R&D projects aimed at better understanding how the microbes in Great Land
interact with the plants and affect the soil environment, with the goal of applying
this knowledge to further development of the product. My work was primarily focused
on developing reproducible laboratory assays for testing Great Land’s effect on plant
growth in the presence of various biotic and abiotic environmental factors. In addition
to research and development, this was also a great opportunity to learn first-hand
about product distribution, customer relations, regulatory compliance, and corporate
structure, as everything was discussed in the same small space. I would like to thank
the PBHS program for the support that made this internship possible, which also included
assistance for travel costs.
Alshae' Ravelle Logan (Joined the program in 2016)
I completed a summer internship at BASF Plant Science in Research Triangle Park, North
Carolina. This internship lasted 10 weeks, from June 4th until August 10th, 2018.
During this time, I contributed to several microbial screening activities. The goal
of the research project was to identify bio-control agents, which protect wheat from
disease. Identifying and understanding how bio-control agents work could help researchers
increase crop resilience. As a part of my research project at BASF Plant Science,
I established new and modified existing protocols, shadowed my colleagues in conducting
research, attended and observed professional meetings, and suggested new ideas for
follow-up research. Alongside my efforts for my primary project, I was able to make
several different professional contacts within BASF Plant Science by shadowing different
people in varied job functions. Experiencing plant biotech research provided a breadth
of knowledge on how the BASF Plant Science pipeline operates from gene annotation,
vector construction, all the way to plant management. I adapted to a new working environment
and worked effectively and collaboratively in a team setting, which is critical to
the team itself and the success of the entire pipeline. Working in industry and shadowing
people, I learned that creativity, critical thinking, communication, strategic thinking
and problem-solving skills are very important because the nature of the work changes
rapidly in the industrial sector. Important aspects that I learned for working successfully
in industry are flexibility and a need to be proactive, which prepare you to adapt
to new situations when they arise. With this fundamental experience, I was exposed
to a breadth of knowledge in plant pathology. This expanded knowledge will be beneficial
to my future due to my exposure to underlying principles of plant disease management.
This experience was invaluable to me as I was able to enrich the skills obtained in
my core training, through my participation in the Plant Biotechnology Research Forum
at Michigan State, and expanded my professional network.
Angélica V. Medina-Cucurella (Joined the program in 2016)
I performed an internship at GigaGen in South San Francisco, California from May 14th to September 14th, 2018. GigaGen is a biotherapeutics company that seeks to investigate natural immune
system dysregulation, to characterize every immune cell, and to deliver the new generation
of oncology antibody therapies. During this time, I was involved in two research projects.
As a part of the screening for high-affinity antibodies pipeline, my role was to explore
the potential benefits of using full-length proteins to identify superior candidates.
For this purpose, I modified existing protocols to sort multiple sets of antibody
libraries against membrane proteins in a cell lysate and to compare these enriched
antibodies with the ones obtained by using the soluble form of the proteins. Along
with this project, I conducted a proof-of-principle study to establish a standardized
protocol to determine the binding sites of individual monoclonal antibodies (mAbs).
Our primary goal was to use comprehensive mutagenesis of specific target antigens
and high-throughput sequencing to map the epitope positions of selected mAbs. Moreover,
these projects allowed me to implement some methods developed in my doctoral research.
Indeed, these new pipelines will be continued by other scientists. By the end of those
18 weeks, I learned to work in collaboration with a team of interdisciplinary scientists
in an industrial environment, gained knowledge of a new area of research, and expanded
my professional network. Undoubtedly, being part of the GigaGen team gave me valuable
experiences that have influenced in my future endeavors.
Adam Seroka (Joined the program in 2016)
My 2018 summer internship was spent with DuPont-Pioneer at their Bay Area Innovation
Center, a research site in Hayward California that focuses on generating new agricultural
traits for their target crops. One of the major projects of this site was to screen
diverse microbial and plant species to identify novel compounds that target problematic
agricultural pests and pathogens. My research project on the biodiversity screening
pipeline focused on two aspects; improving the abundance of these novel compounds
in microbial and plant samples, along with characterizing and isolating some of these
active compounds using various biochemical and chromatographic techniques. By the
end of the internship, I had found a treatment method that enhanced production of
a subset of these actives in plants, along with confirming biochemical properties
of some of these active compounds. Because of the monumental amount of research required
to develop novel agricultural products, I gained a profound respect for the sheer
magnitude of collaboration between multiple interdisciplinary research groups on-site.
Working within the company, I also had the unique opportunity to interact with collaborators
at smaller local biotechnology companies and universities to see how research projects
are managed across institutions. My time at DuPont-Pioneer was an exceptional opportunity
to see how such a large biotech company conducts research and gain exposure to new
research methods and disciplines in a unique setting.
Danielle Young (Joined the program in 2017)
I completed a 12 week internship at Synthetic Genomics Inc. in La Jolla, California from June to August 2018. My internship project in algal
biofuels was focused on generating protoplasts in a saltwater alga of interest. Protoplasts
are cells that have had their cell wall removed, and they can be useful in improving
the transformation efficiency and DNA extraction efficiency of organisms. I developed
a protocol to generate viable protoplasts in the alga of interest, and methods to
quantify the proportion of cells in a population that were protoplasts. I worked with
the Tool Development team to transform the protoplasted cells, and my methods ultimately
led to higher transformation efficiency. Although my project was in Tool Development,
I was able to collaborate with several people in Phototrophic Systems to explore other
applications of protoplasted cells. My internship was an excellent opportunity to
explore industry and conduct research for a company, and it has helped clarify my
interests and what I wish to pursue after graduate school.
Daniel Lybrand (Joined the program in 2015)
I performed an internship at Synthetic Genomics, Inc. in La Jolla, California from
June to September 2017. During this time, I evaluated various methods of growing photosynthetic
microbes for accumulation of proteins of interest and continued this work by improving
existing methods for protein extraction and purification. I also investigated methods
of cleaving and isolating protein-bound small molecules. The products I worked with
have numerous commercial and industrial applications as well as significant economic
value. I was able to test the effectiveness of methods at lab scale and also to assess
the feasibility of scale-up for industrial production. While my assignment was in
the Phototrophic Support department, I also worked closely with a number of scientists
in other research departments as well as members of the Marketing and Downstream Processing
divisions.
Brian St. Aubin (Joined the program in 2015)
My internship during the summer of 2017 with 3Bar Biologics in Columbus, Ohio was a rewarding and exciting experience. 3Bar Biologics is a relatively
young company that develops products to modify the microbiome of agricultural soils
to improve crop productivity. My role at 3Bar involved improvement and validation
of their bacterial delivery system that farmers use to boost crop yield. Working at
a relatively early stage company provided me with exposure to a large number of activities
during the internship. I conducted research, helped others with their projects, streamlined
workflows, set up new equipment, established new and modified existing protocols,
participated in collaborations with academics, visited a farm where the product is
being put to use, presented findings to management, and contributed my scientific
prospective to marketing. Interning for a small company that is part of a startup-incubator
provided me with an insider’s view of small company culture and operations. In addition
to learning about a new area of science and technology, one of the highlights was
getting to meet a wide variety of people inside and outside of the company and expand
my professional network.
Colleen Friel (Joined the program in 2014)
I did an internship with Spartan Innovations at Michigan State University from September 2015 to April 2016. I worked on a team
composed of business students and STEM PhD to assess the commercialization potential
of technologies developed by MSU faculty. We identified possible applications for
the technologies, conducted market research for these applications, and ultimately
determined the viability of the technology for licensing or commercial production.
Bryan Leong (Joined the program in 2014)
I performed an internship at Synthetic Genomics in La Jolla, California from May 23rd to August 12th, 2016. My project involved developing and refining methods used to extract and quantify
compounds of interest in multiple phototrophic organisms. The goal of the internship
was to assess whether the selected strain would be viable for commercial development.
I successfully developed and refined the technique involved in extracting the compound
of interest, in addition to quantifying the amount of the compound produced in that
organism. Additionally, I worked on characterizing DNA binding targets of different
proteins of interest that the company had identified in the course of their strain
development. This project is being continued by other scientists at SGI. Overall,
the internship was a great experience, and I learned about the atmosphere and collaboration
model that exists at SGI. Each of the teams that I observed worked together closely
to solve the problems that they encountered. It was an enlightening experience, and
has better prepared me for a potential career in industry.
Tomomi Takeuchi (Joined the program in 2014)
I completed my industrial internship at Abbott Laboratories in Wiesbaden, Germany from June 6th to August 26th, 2016. Abbott Laboratories seek to advance cutting-edge science and technologies
with a potential to significantly improve human health and health care. For my internship,
I was in the Wiesbaden Abbott Diagnostics Division, which is the major manufacturing
site of Abbott diagnostic products in Europe, including immunoassay-based test kits
for the detection of hepatitis A, B, and C, HIV and Toxoplasma gondii induced antibodies*. Within the division, I was in the department of Investigation
and Customer Support (ICS), where I gained experience working with a team of scientists
to troubleshoot manufacturing problems relating to its array of diagnostic kits in
an industrial setting. I learned that ensuring and controlling the quality of products
is an essential process to the company since compromised diagnostic products have
many severe implications. Therefore, ICS worked closely with the quality system to
find the root cause of the observed issue and implement a corrective action to ensure
that the problem does not reoccur. I learned that communications between different
groups are essential in achieving a common goal, and overall, it was a great opportunity
to experience and get insights into how biotech industries operate.