APPLICATION FOR A CLARE COLLEGE SUMMER PLACEMENT SCHEME

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1 APPLICATION FOR A CLARE COLLEGE SUMMER PLACEMENT SCHEME Clare College has three prestigious summer science schemes at leading international institutions for undergraduate students interested in medical, veterinary and scientific research. These three schemes are listed here in the order in which they were founded. Further details are provided in the subsequent pages of this document. The schemes are coordinated in such a manner that students make a single application for all the schemes that they wish to be considered for. Applications are made by providing the tutorial office with the materials requested overleaf and including this page as a coversheet. PART I Name Subject Year Please place a tick next to each of the schemes for which you wish to be considered. Massachusetts General Hospital/ Harvard Medical School Summer Studentship J D Watson Undergraduate Scheme * Tsinghua-Cambridge Summer Scheme Please note: You do not need to apply for more than one scheme but doing so increases the number of schemes for which you can be considered and thus increases your chances of obtaining an internship. You must be prepared to undertake any or all of the schemes for which you apply. * In addition to making an application to Clare, candidates for the J D Watson Undergraduate Scholarship must also complete the URP application online at

2 PART II Please provide a copy of your CV on not more than two sides of A4 (including full academic record with including Tripos results and other activities while at Cambridge). Please also provide a typed statement of not more than 500 words giving brief details of each of the following: name and address; reasons for wanting to participate in the schemes for which you are applying; your potential to contribute to the schemes for which you are applying; interest in pursuing a career in scientific or medical research; plans for subsequent career or study. REFERENCE You should ask your Director of Studies or other appropriate academic referee, such as a supervisor, to provide you with a reference letter for each of the schemes for which you wish to apply. Any of these letters may be forwarded to the host organisations and so each one must refer to an individual scheme even if the content is largely similar from one letter to another. References can be posted or ed (lsl23@cam.ac.uk) to the tutorial office but must arrive prior to the deadline stated at the foot of this page. SELECTION PROCESS Short-listed applicants will be interviewed by a panel of Fellows before the end of Michaelmas Full Term in the year of application. The panel will endeavour to inform candidates on the success of their applications early in the following Lent term. Each Michaelmas, the college organises a short talk from previous interns. It is strongly recommended that anyone intending to apply for the schemes attend this talk if possible. Details of the talk will be advertised by . When completed, Part I of this document the other materials requested should be returned to the Tutorial Office (F1) by midday on Friday 17th November.

3 Harvard Summer Medical Studentship Summer Medical Studentship for Clare Pre-clinical Medical and Natural Science Students at the Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School. Open, on competition, to second and third year pre-clinical medical/natural science students. This is a prestigious opportunity to spend 3 months at Harvard working with a former Clare research Fellow. Professor Mark Poznansky PhD FRCP, former Harrison-Watson Fellow, is a Consultant in Infectious Disease Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston. Dr Poznansky s laboratory is based at the Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center at MGH and the successful Clare student will gain experience of basic medical laboratory research in the area of Infectious Diseases Medicine and/or immunology in this premier institution in the States. From time to time it may be possible to accommodate more than one institution. There are generally a range of projects in the host lab(s) for successful applicants to choose from. Examples of past project areas have included: Cloning of and expression of genes involved in immune regulation into vectors used in ongoing vaccine and immunotherapeutic approaches to the treatment of HIV/AIDS and cancer. Genomics research: learning how to use chip technology to understand alterations in gene and protein expression of immune cells during HIV-1 infection. Immune evasion by HIV-1: understanding and investigating novel mechanisms by which HIV evades the human immune system The attachment(s) will be for 12 weeks during the summer vacation. Subsistence up to $5000 (to cover the cost of accommodation and food) will be paid by Dr Poznansky s research grant funding and the MGH. Assistance will be provided in finding accommodation. A grant is payable by Clare to cover the reasonable cost of travel to Boston and visa application. The specific U.S. visa requirements for this type of elective work/study will be arranged for the successful student through the International Office at Massachusetts General Hospital. The student will be expected to write up the research conducted in the form of a scientific paper for submission on return, together with a shorter and more informal account of their experience in Boston. For further details, please contact Robert Semple <rks16@cam.ac.uk>.

4 J D Watson Undergraduate Scholarship for the Undergraduate Research Program at the Watson School of Biological Sciences, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, USA In accordance with the wishes of Dr James Watson (1951, Honorary Fellow), Clare has established a J D Watson Undergraduate Scholarship in conjunction with the Watson School of Biological Sciences at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, USA ( The Scholarship will enable one Clare undergraduate each year to participate in the Undergraduate Research Program at the Watson School ( Students reading for the Natural Sciences or the Medical and Veterinary Sciences Tripos are eligible to apply. The Scholarship is aimed at those seriously interested in pursuing a career in scientific research. The Scholarship will be offered to a second-year undergraduate who expects to graduate after three years, or to a third-year undergraduate who expects to graduate after four years. The Scholarship will be held for a period of ten weeks in the Long Vacation, running from Tuesday June 3 Saturday, August 9, There are no exceptions to this timetable. The Scholarship covers the cost of accommodation and tuition fees. Clare will separately meet the travel costs (excluding visa costs) for the successful student to and from the United States. The successful candidate will be expected to produce a written report on their tenure of the Scholarship not later than 1 October in the same year, with copies sent to Clare and the Watson School. In addition to making an application to Clare, candidates must also complete the URP application online at For further details, please contact the Careers Tutor: Jason Carroll <jc553@cam.ac.uk>.

5 Tsinghua-Cambridge Summer Studentship for undergraduate research at the School of Life Sciences or the School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China This scheme provides the opportunity for two Clare undergraduates to spend 8-10 weeks of the summer at a laboratory at Tsinghua University in Beijing at either the school of Life Sciences or Medicine. Although the studentship is open to students in either the natural sciences (biology) or medical and veterinary sciences tripos, it is particularly suitable for those that are considering a research career, or want to find out more about performing cutting edge research in a world-class university. The studentship will only be offered to those in their first year if they can demonstrate significant laboratory experience beyond that which is taught in tripos. The scheme is coordinated by Prof. Babak Javid in Tsinghua (a former Clare fellow) and Clare fellows in Cambridge. The students can be hosted in a variety of labs, and successful candidates will be permitted to express a preference from a list of host labs that will participate in any given year. The aim of the studentship is to foster links and collaboration between Tsinghua and Cambridge, and offers a unique opportunity to explore basic life sciences research in an extremely dynamic environment. The studentship, is for 8-10 weeks (10 weeks is preferred) during the long vacation. It covers the costs of return flights to Beijing and accommodation. Additional financial support for basic subsistence costs in Beijing will be available from College. The student(s) will have the opportunity, not only of performing cutting edge basic research in the top university in China, but also to explore aspects of Chinese culture, and travel locally following the studentship. Selection of the successful candidates will be by open competition and will be conducted in Lent term. For further details, please contact the Careers Tutor: Jason Carroll <jc553@cam.ac.uk>.