The Spring 2025 OPALS program applications is OPEN.

The UCSD IEM OPALS high school internship program is committed to providing pre-college students with a strong foundation in STEM. Our program emphasizes the importance of setting realistic expectations and fostering a thoughtful and rigorous research mindset. Interns will have the unique opportunity to engage with researchers, graduate students, and undergraduate students who are actively involved in interdisciplinary research at the intersection of engineering and medical science. Through this experience, interns will develop a deep understanding of the scientific principles behind the research and will be encouraged to critically analyze experimental data. By the conclusion of the internship, students will present their findings in a research talk or poster, showcasing their comprehension and analytical skills.

Our program offers exposure to a wide range of research topics. Interns may explore innovative areas such as comparing calcium responses in neurodegenerative disease cells to those in normal cells, enhancing imaging techniques for biophotonics, studying the stress responses of endothelial and nerve cells, or investigating the applications of nanotechnology at the cellular and tissue levels. Additionally, students may participate in projects that apply AI and machine learning algorithms to accelerate image processing following laser manipulations.

The program is divided into two sessions:

• The Spring session runs from mid-January to the end of June, requiring interns to commit 2-4 hours per week. During this session, we will hold a Zoom meeting and an in-person gathering at the UCSD campus once a month, with the exception of May, when students are focused on AP tests and finals.
  • Zoom meetings will be scheduled in the evenings or on weekends.
  • In-person gatherings will take place on weekends or school holidays.
• The Summer session is an intensive four-week in-person program, meeting from 9 AM to 4 PM every weekday.

For questions, contact: ieminternships@ucsd.edu