Each year, undergraduates in the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Summer Research Internship Program (SRIP) arrive in substance use disorder (SUD) research labs across the United States to foster their careers and learn about scientific research. They may not realize it, but these interns are helping to build our future national scientific workforce and contribute to diversity in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The U.S. National Academies of Sciences reported that ~3.4 million technical jobs would be open in 2022, and the national workforce needs to be prepared to fill these essential positions. The current population of scholars entering the workforce needs scientific training to address critical questions impacting health. At the intersection of student, institutional, and national needs, NIDA’s SRIP plays a critical role. The goal of this program is to promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) in biomedical science careers as part of a broader approach to support STEM education. As a model program, we find that it shows great promise in developing and retaining talented students.
Founded in 1997, NIDA SRIP has funded hundreds of undergraduates to work with investigators across United States. In 2021, NIDA received over 500 applications and matched 83 interns to research sites, compared to an average of 60 per year in 2013–2020. The program’s growth testifies, not only to serving the needs of students, institutions, and society, but also to the success of the model on which the program is based [1, 2]. Growth is also consistent with a 2021, Presidential Executive Order, which called for increased paid internships along with a whole-of-government priority on DEIA in these internships.
Substantial research demonstrates that summer research internships increase retention of talented students in STEM. One study showed undergraduate engagement in research programs doubled student interest in pursuing graduate degrees and further research endeavors [3]. Other scholars found that summer research programs contribute to student motivation to pursue science careers [4]. Students themselves score summer research internships highly in their decisions to pursuing a career in science, particularly in biomedical sciences [5, 6].
Research also signifies the importance of summer research internships in promoting DEIA goals. Deployment of institutional resources for recruitment and retention of diverse scholars have been widely identified as best practices [7]. By deliberately promoting diversity, STEM programs can create more inclusive career environments [8]. Mentoring experiences, typical in summer internships, present key opportunities for retention of diverse students [9, 10] and engagement in research initiatives can specifically reduce disparities in STEM [11].
SRIP serves both pedagogical and social goals. As for pedagogical goals, the student receives an opportunity to conduct SUD research to gain real-world biomedical, behavioral, translational, clinical, or epidemiological experience. An internship may include laboratory experiments, data collection and analysis, experimental design, coursework, patient interviews, and manuscript preparation, among other opportunities. Interns typically deliver presentations on their research at the conclusion of the program and may attend weekly seminars on research and career development. SRIP fulfills social goals with multi-directional impact: build and increase diversity in the STEM workforce, expose under-resourced students to research, and serve as a bridge to other programs and graduate school. Since other research programs are available to undergraduates, SRIP focuses on providing internships to students with limited exposure to previous research experiences. Meeting the goals of this program comes with several challenges; the COVID-19 pandemic forced SRIP to skip 2020 and to migrate to a virtual format in 2021, which led to the program offering in-person and virtual experiences going forward. There are also occasional individual challenges, such as a family or personal crisis, handled on an individual basis.
The NIDA SRIP uses a hub and spoke model where NIDA “hub” and research sites “spokes” work together (Fig. 1). NIDA advertises SRIP to prospective interns through social media platforms, newsletters, and email distribution lists, including minority-serving institution (MSI) outreach. Intern selections are based on career goals, interest in SUD research, site preference justification, and program priorities. It is possible that applicants with high GPAs or several previous research experiences are not selected, as the program prioritizes students with limited research experience. Once confirmed, interns are matched with principal investigators (PIs) at various research sites across the country. NIDA contacts all NIDA-funded grantees with an opportunity to register their research site and mentor interns. All sites are included in the program guide, which interns use for site choices. Interns are matched based on their site justifications. All internships are paid, and 2021 interns received $15 an hour. Cost per intern ranges from $10 to 11,000 which NIDA funds (2021 funding support per intern breakdown: Summer salary support: $4800; Housing subsidy (if applicable): $2500; Travel subsidy (if applicable): $500; Director Supervisor Honorarium: $1000; Institutional Indirect Costs $3000–$4500. There is no standard regional housing set aside; however, on rare exceptions, an alteration in the housing subsidy can be provided for high-cost locations. Interns are paid at federal minimum wage levels across all research sites).
Hub (NIDA) and spokes (research sites) model of the NIDA Summer Research Internship Program.
The NIDA hub offers interns seminar courses to expose them to various research areas and resources. These include seminars on basic, clinical, and epidemiological SUD research, the NIH RePORT database, an overview of graduate school, and other career development information. There is also an opportunity for interns to virtually present their research in a SRIP showcase, where interns interact with their peers and share work on their respective projects.
The institutional spokes provide interns research opportunities, training in data collection, reporting, analysis, experimental design, and professional development opportunities (Fig. 1). By working on projects and collaborating with established professionals who mentor students and help them build networks and research expertise, SRIP helps students acculturate to the scientific profession. Nicholas Corriea, former NIDA intern, explained: “I was exposed to many aspects of research…from engaging in dialog with patients in follow-up interviews to assessing counselor sessions for fidelity and providing ongoing feedback…[which] will prove to be valuable in my professional career and work to enhance my application to MD programs in the future.”
