HIP IMO

High school student Internship Program in Integrated Mathematical Oncology

Applications are now being accepted for summer 2023. Please see application materials and guidelines below.

Purpose

HIP IMO is an integrated mathematical oncology-centric internship program that delivers interdisciplinary team science research experiences for high school students ages 16 or older by the time of the internship. This mentored summer training program is designed for motivated aspiring scientists to help prepare them for interdisciplinary cancer research careers.

Working under the direction and guidance of faculty/scientist mentors in the Integrated Mathematical Oncology (IMO) department, interns are involved in activities designed to foster the development of life-long research skills. Students will be assigned individual research projects appropriate to their interests and abilities.

Format

The program runs for eight weeks during the Hillsborough County public schools summer break.

HIP IMO provides access to required computer equipment and software throughout the entire internship. Students are required to attend daily (weekdays, holidays are observed) from 10 a.m to 4 p.m.

HIP IMO takes place in the Stabile Research Building at Moffitt Cancer Center, on the campus of the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida. (Moffitt - Magnolia campus map PDF). 

What Interns will do

• collaborate with an assigned mentor to create a research project with achievable goals in the time allotted
• participate in scheduled lab meetings
• document findings in an appropriate format (laboratory journal, audiovisual recording or digital databases)
• review and discuss findings with research mentors, draw conclusions and make new plans
• gain oral presentation experience by designing and delivering a 15-minute presentation to department members and guests at the HIP IMO research day
• write a three-page scientific report at the end of the program

Application process

Applications for the 2023 HIP IMO program are now being accepted. Interested students should download an application form: 

Application form (Microsoft Word)
Application form (PDF)

Application deadline: February 1, 2023 

Please email the completed application to hipimo@moffitt.org.

Teachers should email letters of support by February 1, 2023 to hipimo@moffitt.org.

Notifications of acceptance will be sent by end of February/early March 2023. For safety and security concerns, all HIP IMO interns are subject to a drug screening, background check and tuberculosis test (TB) prior to arrival at Moffitt. HIP IMO interns will also be required to complete online orientation and attend a Laboratory Research Operations Orientation meeting. 

Scholarship

Selected students will receive a $1,000 scholarship during the first week of HIP IMO. We are working on logistics for out-of-town students. Please check back for updates. 

Safety

For safety and security concerns, all onsite HIP–IMO interns are subjected to a drug screen, a background check and a tuberculosis test (TB). HIP–IMO interns will also be required to complete an online orientation and attend a Laboratory Research Operations Orientation. HIP–IMO does not provide a stipend and is not able to fund housing. Out-of-area-interns must make their own living arrangements.

HIP IMO publications

Cytoplasmic convection currents and intracellular temperature gradients.
Howard R, Scheiner A, Cunningham J, Gatenby R
PLoS Comp. Biol. 15(11): e1007372., 2019 [abstract] 

The Pipeline for Digital Analysis of IHC Images from NSCLC Xenograft Tissues.
Kandru R, Desai B.
BioRxiv, 2019 [abstract]

Sociodemographic and lifestyle factors associated with the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio.
Howard R, Scheiner A, Kanetsky PA, Egan KM.
Ann Epidemiol. 38:11-21, 2019 [abstract]

Single-Cell-Based In Silico Models: A Tool for Dissecting Tumor Heterogeneity.
Karolak A, Agrawal S,  Lee S, Rejniak KA., in Encyclopedia of Biomedical Engineering, p130-143, 2019 [abstract]  

Proliferation Saturation Index in an adaptive Bayesian approach to predict patient-specific radiotherapy responses.
Sunassee ED, Tan D, Ji N, Brady R, Moros EG, Caudell JJ, Yartsev S, Enderling H.
Int J Radiat Biol. 95(10): 1421-1426, 2019 [abstract]

Systematic Screening of Chemokines to Identify Candidates to Model and Create Ectopic Lymph Node Structures for Cancer Immunotherapy.
Yagawa Y, Robertson-Tessi M, Zhou SL, Anderson ARA, Mulé JJ, Mailloux AW.
Sci Rep. 2017; 7(1):15996. [abstract]

IMO-HIP 2015 Report: An Evolutionary Game Theory Approach to evolutionary-enlightened application of chemotherapy in bone metastatic prostate cancer.
Warman P, Araujo A, Lynch C, Basanta D.
BioRxiv 2015. [abstract]

Alumni Colleges and Universities of our Interns

• Columbia University
• Princeton University
• University of Chicago
• Duke University
• University of Michigan
• University of Pennsylvania
• Vanderbilt University
• Rutgers University
• University of California Berkeley
• Georgia Tech
• New York University
• Harvey Mudd College
• University of Miami
• University of Florida
• University of South Florida
• University of Central Florida

HIP IMO Leadership

Dr. Alexander Anderson
IMO Department Chair

Danae Paris
HIP IMO Program Administrator

Contact Us

Program administrator:  
HIPIMO@moffitt.org
813-745-5897