Now a junior at University of Maryland Baltimore County majoring in chemical engineering, Myers is one of seven undergraduates from around the United States to participate in the new Materials Initiative for Comprehensive Research Opportunity (MICRO) program, a fully remote, online research internship from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (DMSE). Myers’ research interests are focused on using nanoparticles as drug delivery therapeutics for breast cancer and other chronic diseases, and the MICRO program offered an unprecedented opportunity to access expertise, mentorship, and approaches to biomedicine that might otherwise have stayed out of reach for undergraduates.
The MICRO internship program launched this past September, funded by a Higher Education Innovation grant from the Abdul Latif Jameel World Education Lab (J-WEL) and orchestrated by DMSE graduate students Cécile Chazot and Max L’Etoile, Digital Learning Lab scientist Jessica Sandland, and professors Alfredo Alexander-Katz and Christine Ortiz. MICRO aims to provide opportunities to a broader, more diverse population of talented undergraduate students at non-MIT institutions who are considering graduate school or a career in a research-related field. Designed from the ground up as an online program, MICRO drew on expertise from the MITx Digital Learning Lab as well as the most important lessons from the shift to remote learning during the pandemic.
“The remote nature of the program removes one potential barrier to access — students can participate even if they are unable to spend a semester at MIT. A remote program also allows students to participate for consecutive semesters, giving them greater continuity in their research,” says Jessica Sandland PhD ’05, who is a lecturer in DMSE and works with faculty to create courses for MITx and incorporate blended and digital technologies into the classroom.
One semester into her internship, Myers has found the online program both rigorous and uniquely rewarding. The internship has two components: research — working directly with MIT faculty, and education — general assignments to give the students a solid understanding of materials science as a field.
Myers is working with Joelle Straehla in Professor Paula Hammond’s lab to use nanoPRISM to identify the genomic determinants of nanoparticle trafficking in cells. “The biggest challenge comes down to learning new techniques in my lab, being exposed to new coding languages I haven’t learned before. Because I don’t have a materials science program at home, thinking like a materials scientist has been a new challenge for me,” she says.
“Rachel has exceeded my expectations and having her as a remote mentee has been a positive experience for us both,” says Straehla. “I am looking forward to continuing to support Rachel on her journey as she applies to graduate schools.”
The interns are limited to participating in research that they can do remotely, such as simulations, data analysis, and computational modeling. The program team put a lot of effort into designing assignments, workflows, and experiences that capitalized on the online format, rather than working around it.