About
The Meyer Cancer Center (MCC) and the Englander Institute for Precision Medicine (EIPM) have partnered to create a comprehensive summer internship experience. This 7-week program will provide high school and college students with hands-on mentored experiential research experiences related to cancer and precision medicine with the goal to encourage the pursuit of STEM careers. We anticipate that this program will be held in-person 2-4 days per week, (dependent on mentor availability) on the Upper East Side campus (70th & York Avenue).
During the summer program, students will actively participate in a range of seminars and program-specific didactics related to cancer biology, precision medicine, cancer epidemiology, health disparities, academic research, computational biomedicine, journal clubs, professional development courses and regular lectures, and will have the opportunity to interact with WCM faculty, staff and peers.
Students are also invited to attend regular EIPM and MCC events, including seminar series, working groups, etc.
Throughout their time at WCM students will:
- Receive hands-on mentorship on researching a scientific questions
- Learn about the translational research hub using precision medicine tools, such as genetics, genomic sequencing, and clinical data to improve patients’ healthcare
- Attend professional development workshops, including resume and personal statement building, networking, crafting a pitch, and college and graduate/medical school applications
- Interact with Meyer Cancer Center and Englander Institute for Precision Medicine members, including faculty, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and staff
- Draft a 2-page paper about their research using NIH grant guidelines
Eligibility & Application considerations:
Some STEM experience is required
- This includes, but is NOT limited to, STEM programs, AP courses, collegiate courses, publications, science fairs, professional conferences, presentations, competitions, clubs, and research experience
- This is an unpaid internship and housing is not available
- Past participants are not eligible to reapply
- Students must be 16 years old as of March 1, 2026
Must currently be enrolled in high school or college/university at the time of application
- Post baccalaureates and higher are not eligible for this program
Must be in good academic standing that can be verified by either transcript or letter of recommendation from current teacher/professor
- Letters of recommendation must have either a wet signature or a certified electronic signature
Letters of recommendation must be submitted directly from the author to suj2003@med.cornell.edu
- Letters will not be accepted by anyone other than its author
- Letters submitted after the deadline will not be accepted and your application will be considered incomplete
- This program does not include physician shadowing or working in clinical, patient-facing settings
- Proof of COVID-19, MMR, and Varicella vaccinations, and TB Blood or Skin Tests required
- Expected time commitment will be ~25 hours/week (4-6 hours in hybrid lectures/events, 20 hours in lab research, mentor meetings, etc. Subject to mentor availability and specific project assigned)
90% attendance of the program and program lectures/events required to be eligible for Certificate of Completion
- Includes 3 required, on-site, group sessions: Orientation, Career Panel/mid-program check-in, and End-of Program presentations
- All students are required to submit a write-up of their work and present either their summer's work or an elevator pitch at End-of-Program event
- There are no costs associated with this program
Key Dates
- Applications open December 8, 2025
- Applications close January 19, 2026 @ 5pm EST
- First round applicants notified February 6, 2026
- First round applicants must accept or decline interview by February 9, 2026 @ 5pm EST
- Interviews conducted week of February 16-20, 2026
- Finalist Applicants notified of final decisions February 27, 2026
- Finalist Applicants must accept or decline position by March 4, 2026 @ 5pm EST
Medical Attestation paperwork due by June 2, 2025 @ 5pm EST
- Medical attestations can only be completed up to 60 days prior to start of program; appointments with physicians can be scheduled for April 26, 2026 and on
- Program runs from June 25, 2026 to August 14, 2026
- End-of-Program Paper due August 7, 2026
- End-of-Program Presentations August 13, 2026
Questions on how to write a strong application? Join one of our information sessions
- Tuesday, December 15, 2025 from 5:00 - 5:30 PM ET
- Monday, January 12, 2026 from 5:00 - 5:30 PM ET
Applications for Summer 2026 will open December 1, 2025!