JIFSAN Summer Internship Program

The JIFSAN internship program, a collaboration between the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the University of Maryland, has several positions available beginning in the summer of 2021. Positions will continue through the 2021-22 academic year. JIFSAN interns must have completed at least two college semesters and be enrolled as undergraduate students at the University of Maryland, College Park during the time of their internship.

Interns are expected to work 30 hours/week during the summer of 2021 and part time (8-10 hours/week) during the academic year. These are intended to be hands-on experiences in FDA laboratories, to the extent possible given the ongoing pandemic. Applicants should be aware that FDA policies and protocols relating to conducting work in federal facilities may require that internships be fully or primarily virtual. After a 100-hour volunteer commitment, interns are eligible for a paid internship at $12/hour.

Current freshmen, sophomores and juniors are encouraged to apply. Students who plan to graduate in December 2021 are generally not eligible.

The application form and more information about the program can be found at https://jifsan.umd.edu/research/internship-program. Complete descriptions of the open positions can be found at https://jifsan.umd.edu/research/internship-database. Applications should be submitted by email to Kaci Thompson (kaci@umd.edu).

Review of applications will begin around March 15. Late applications will receive consideration as long as there are positions that remain unfilled.

Interns are needed for the following projects:

• JIP-366 Molecular detection of Cyclospora cayetanensis in soil
• Principal Investigator: Sonia Almeria
• JIP-372 DNA library expansion of botanicals in FDA’s GenomeTrakr CP
• Principal Investigator: Sara Handy
• JIP-375 Genomic characterization of stress adaptation in major foodborne pathogens in food products and in the food processing environment
• Principal Investigator: Maria Hoffman and Jie Zheng
• JIP-376 Advancing methods to isolate and characterize Shiga toxin-producing E. coli from samples collected in the produce production environment
• Principal Investigator: Julie Ann Kase
• JIP-378 Plant Biotechnology Horizon Scanning
• Principal Investigator: Patrick Cournoyer
• JIP-374 Development of analytical techniques for contaminants determination in food contact materials
• Principal Investigator: Rafael Paseiro Cerrato
• JIP-377 Determination of mycotoxins in challenging matrices using automated sample preparation
• Principal Investigator: Kai Zhang