Health Professions: Research

Healthcare is an evidence-based and data-driven field, and many health professions incorporate research. Gaining research experience during your time at Grinnell is a great way to prepare for a career in healthcare, as you will:

  • Develop critical thinking and problem-solving abilities
  • Gain specific skills in the lab and other research settings
  • Learn about some of the questions that healthcare practitioners address in their work

One of Grinnell’s greatest strengths is the experiential learning that is built into its curriculum: in science courses here, you will have many chances to conduct research in lab courses and independent projects. If you want to build up your research experience beyond the College’s curriculum, many options are available to do so, including:

  • MAPs (Mentored Advanced Projects) with faculty at Grinnell
  • REUs (Research Experience for Undergraduates), funded by the National Science Foundation, at other institutions
  • Summer research programs and “pipeline programs” at other institutions not formally part of the NSF-REU program
  • Research-based internships in private industry – for example, synthetic chemistry at a pharmaceutical company
  • Post-graduate fellowships in research -for example, the Postbaccaluareate Intramural Research Training Award at the National Institutes of Health

Grinnell’s Science Division maintains a list of off-campus research opportunities sorted by field. This is a great resource to start looking for summer research opportunities in your area.

Search NSF-funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs) to explore research opportunities in diverse science fields.

  • Different REU opportunities are targeted to different class years; you do not necessarily have to have research experience already to be a competitive applicant.
  • Very important to convey two things in your application to an REU:
    • What skills do you bring to the lab? How can you help this PI achieve the research goals set forth in the proposal?
    • What will you learn by doing this REU? What is your long-term goal, and how will this REU put you significantly closer to meeting it? Why is it worthwhile to invest in you? Demonstrate you actually need this!

​​​​​​​Pathways to Science includes opportunities for research, graduate school, and professional development. The summer research database includes a filter for programs that accept applications from students with F1 visas.

The NIH National Eye Institute offers summer internships focused on eye diseases, genetics, and vision research. They also offer the Diversity in Vision Research and Opthalmology summer internship program.

Psychology Job & Internship Opportunities for undergraduate students and recent graduates.

The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology lists summer research opportunities by state.

The National Association of Advisors for the Health Professions maintains a list of pre-health opportunities.

The Association of American Medical Colleges has several resources for students interested in medicine and public health:

Visit the STEM Career Community Internship and Research page for more opportunities in the sciences. More links to related programs: