InMotionTM Orthopaedic Research
Center is committed to facilitating the training of the next generation of orthopaedic researchers and the InMotion internship program is the primary means by which we undertake this endevor” This program consists of several formal relationships with local schools, colleges, and universities, as well as a summer internship program. Our interns work on a diverse range of projects that draw on a variety of computational, biomechanical, and biological methodologies to perform state-of-the-art translational orthopaedic research that is carefully matched to the their aptitude, experience, and interest. In addition to specific research objectives, all interns receive comprehensive training in laboratory safety and procedures, maintaining a laboratory notebook, literature reviews, research design, data analysis, abstract writing, and oral presentations.
Summer Internship Program
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The InMotion summer internship program is the oldest and most popular of our internship programs. These interns perform 10-weeks of full-time orthopaedic research during the summer (June-August) and receive a stipend. As these internships are only offered to the those applicants with the highest level of experience and aptitude, these interns are assigned to our most challenging research projects and expected to be proactive and work independently with minimal supervision. These competitive internships are open to all undergraduate, graduate, and medical students that have sufficient course work, research, or clinical experience and full-time availability during the summer. Interested students should contact Chris Przybyszewski (chris@inmotionmemphis.org) for further details.
Summer Internship Application Process
Students interested in applying for the InMotion Summer Internship Program should email Chris Przybyszewski (chris@inmotionmemphis.org) between November 1st and January 15. This email should include a copy of the student’s resume and a short personal statement highlighting relevant experience and explaining why they are interested in this program. Following receipt of these materials, interviews will be scheduled with qualified students. Interviews will be conducted between January 1 and January 31. Following the completion of all interviews, successful applicants will be emailed a formal offer letter no later than February 14. The applicants will then have 2 weeks following receipt of this offer to accept in order for their position to be guaranteed.
Key Dates
- November 1 - January 15: Applications Accepted
- January 1 - January 31: Interviews
- February 1 - February 14: Offers sent out (Interns must accept within two weeks of offer)
- June 1 - August 31: Internship Period (minimum of 10 weeks)
Other Internship Programs
Rhodes College
Students from Rhodes College are eligible for a unique internship program. This competitive 14-month internship is offered to a student time and begins with a summer of full-time training and research for which the student will receive a stipend. For the next academic year, the intern will continue at InMotion, on a part-time basis, while receiving course credit at Rhodes College. In the final summer, the intern will return to InMotion full-time and again receive a stipend. Eligible students with interest in this program should contact Dr. Anne Viano (VIANO@rhodes.edu) for further information.
Southwestern Community College
As part of its laboratory technician program, students attending Southwestern Community College have the opportunity to perform single term internships at InMotion for course credit. Geared toward teaching real-world laboratory skills and providing vital experience to promising students, these single term internships are offered during the fall, winter, and spring terms. Eligible students with interest in this program should contact Dr. Amy Waddell (awaddell@southwest.tn.edu) for further information.
Memphis Academy of Science and Engineering
Our newest internship program is designed to bring high school students into our laboratories in order to provide them with the mentorship, materials, and equipment required for them to conduct small-scale, independent orthopaedic research projects for submission to science and engineering competitions (science fairs). This program designed not only to give selected MASE students crucial exposure to all aspects of scientific research, but also to help raise the profile of MASE in the greater community by dissemination of their research findings in local science and engineering fairs. Interested students should contact Janis Jesse (jjesse@discovermase.org) or Tamela Frazier (tfrazier@discovermase.org) for further information.
Past Interns
Blake Copeland
Blake joined the Biologics and Biomaterials Laboratory at InMotion in 2009 as part of the Rhodes College Internship program. The overall goal of his research activities is to further the development of a novel biomatrix designed to enable the local delivery of chemotherapeutic agents in order to treat bone metastatic cancer. Blake’s first specific project was to design and validate a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) assay used to quantify the concentration of chemotherapeutics present in complex solution. With the successful completion of this project, Blake proceeded to utilize this assay to characterize the release kinetics of the biomatrix, as well as determine subsequent bioactivity. Blake is currently still interning at InMotion and completing his studies at Rhodes College with the intent of applying to medical school upon graduation.
Stacey Holt
Stacey came to the Biologics and Biomaterials Laboratory at InMotion from Southwest Community College in the winter of 2009. The goal of her internship was to learn real-life laboratory skills, experimental planning, analytical reasoning, data recording, and data presentation. Stacey’s research efforts were in support of our ongoing efforts to develop a structural composite material for skeletal tissue engineering. Her experiments focused on performing in vitro assays designed to assess osteoblast proliferation and differentiation. Stacey completed her internship, graduated from Southwest Community College and is currently working in the biotechnology industry.
Aaron Creek
Aaron has performed two internships at InMotion. The first of these was during the summer and fall of 2006 while he was an undergraduate student at Rhodes College. During this internship, Aaron assisted the clinical research team by helping draft protocols and other materials for Institutional Review Board (IRB) submissions. Later, in the summer of 2009 while enrolled in medical school at the University of Tennessee, Aaron returned to InMotion to perform his second internship. This time, Aaron worked in both the Biomechanics Laboratory and the Biologics and Biomaterials laboratory on a joint research project. This project is focused on retrieving knee implants and soft tissues from cadaveric donors in order to better understand their performance. Aaron assisted with the retrievals, developed protocols for implant cleaning and determination of wear, and performed histological and immunohistological analysis of soft tissues. Aaron presented some of this work as a poster entitled, “Histologic Evidence of Mechanoreceptor Retention in Posterior Cruciate Retaining Total Knee Arthroplasty,” at the UTHSC ?O? – St. Jude Student Poster Session in the fall of 2009. Aaron is currently completing his medical degree at the University of Tennessee and considering a future residency in orthopaedic surgery.