High School Programs
High School Senior Summer Internship Program

High School Senior Summer Internship Program

The High School Senior Summer Internship Program at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center is an eight-week program in which graduating high school seniors work 20 hours per week with a mentor in one of multiple pediatric clinical specialties. This internship is a paid, part-time position for Cincinnati-area graduating high school seniors only. The program is very competitive, offering an exciting opportunity for highly motivated students interested in pursuing higher education (MD, PhD, or MD / PhD) to learn more about careers in Medicine and Clinical Research.

Important Details

Interns work part-time (20 hours per week) and are paid $13 per hour. Attendance is mandatory on Orientation Day, Tuesday, June 6, 2023. Please note that applicants must be a resident in the Cincinnati metropolitan area graduating from high school in 2023.

The Experience

All Summer interns will shadow their primary mentor in the clinic and can participate in clinical or research projects (see photos from past summers below). Follow the links to mentor faculty webpages in the box below to help you decide which specialty and faculty mentor you would like to work with. You will be asked to rank the top two specialties you are interested in and discuss your reasoning for your ranking in an essay. Faculty are organized under categories of primarily clinical shadowing, a combination of shadowing and research and primarily research. Each summer intern will have a unique experience. Interns also have the option of observing in other specialties upon request. All interns attend a weekly group luncheon every Tuesday to network with their peers and interact with other specialists. There are also scheduled group activities including an afternoon hands-on training session with computerized simulated pediatric patients in the SIM Center (see photos), group community service opportunities and a presentation by the assistant dean for admission at UC College of Medicine on tips for preparing for Medical School admission. At the end of the internship, students present a summary of their unique experiences to the group at the graduation party.

Mentors and Specialties

Use the links below to research the 2023 potential mentors and their specialties:

Dean Beebe, PhD, ABPP: Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology

Rebeccah Brown, MD, FACS, FAAP: Pediatric Surgery

Cristina Cebiran, PhD: Developmental Biology

Hassan Chaib: Human Genetics

Timothy Chlon, PhD: Hematosis, Thrombosis

Christopher Dandoy, MD, MSc: Bone Marrow Transplantation

Jason Frischer, MD: Pediatric Surgery

Fukun Guo, PhD: Experimental Hematology and Cancer Biology

Kohta Ikegami, PhD: Molecular Cardiovascular Biology

Jessica Kahn, MD, MPH: Adolescent and Transition Medicine

Richard Lang, PhD: Ophthalmology

Yaping Liu, PhD: Human Genetics

Laura Peterson, MD: Neonatology and Pulmonary Biology

Nelson Rosen, MD: Pediatric Surgery

Debora Sinner, PhD: Neonatology and Pulmonary Biology

Anne Slavotinek, PhD, MBBS: Human Genetics

Mary Allen Staat, MD, MPH: Infectious Diseases, International Adoption Center

Nanhua Zhang, PhD: Biostatistics and Epidemiology

Aaron Zorn, PhD: Developmental Biology

In addition to all of the above opportunities, there are additional shadowing offerings:

Operating Room
Hospital Medicine
Emergency Department
Intensive Care Unit

Application Process

The application will open on December 7, 2022 and will consist of two phases. Phase one will be an administrative review to assess eligibility and will close on January 31, 2023 and can be found at this link. If applicants are selected to move forward to Phase two they will be asked to provide the following information and documents before 5:00 PM on March 10, 2023:

1.Academic record (official transcript and weighted GPA through fall semester, 2022).

2.All standard test scores, if available (SAT and ACT preferred, PSAT scores not necessary).

3. Select top three specialties and mentors in which they are most interested. We make every effort to match interns with their specialty of greatest interest.

4. Resume featuring leadership in extracurricular activities, community service, and employment.

5. Please prepare a one page or less essay. In the essay, please include a personal statement describing yourself in more detail and your passions and interests. Also, explain why you want to be part of this program and why you selected your top three ranked mentors and specialties.

6. Two letters of recommendation evaluating the applicant's scientific potential, maturity, and responsibility sent directly to hssummerinternship@cchmc.org.

How to Reach Us

Interested students with questions about the program or application process should contact us at hssummerinternship@cchmc.org .

Macy Corley with her mentor Dr. Patty Manning. Macy graduated from Walnut Hills High School and worked with Dr. Manning in the Kelly O’Leary Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders at Cincinnati Children's in the summer of 2018. She is now attending The Ohio State University.

Samuel Schloss graduated from Madeira High School in 2018 and shadowed Dr. Frischer in the OR. He is now attending Miami University.

Madeline Gates graduated from Highland High School in 2013. She shadowed Dr. Frischer in the Colorectal Center that summer. Maddie obtained a BS in Science Business and Poverty Studies at Notre Dame and is now attending Medical School at UC..

Nisha Giridharan receiving her certificate from Dr. Straus at the final graduation party. Nisha graduated from William Mason HS and shadowed Dr. Marc Levitt in Colorectal Surgery in 2010. She earned a BS in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology and a BA in Journalism from Emory University. Nisha obtained an MD at UC College of Medicine and is now a Neurosurgery resident a Baylor College of Medicine.

Alissa Wuorinen worked with Dr Mary Staat in International Adoption/Infectious Diseases. She graduated from Finneytown HS in 2017, and is now a Biomedical Sciences major (Music and Neuroscience minors) at Marquette University.

Lily Rodgers receiving her certificate from Dr. Strauss. Lily graduated from Covington Latin HS in 2010, and was mentored by Dr. Sue Rose in the Division of Endocrinology. She earned a BS in Biology from Notre Dame in 2014, an MD from the UK College of Medicine in 2018 and is now a MedPeds resident at the University of Michigan College of Medicine.

Alexandra (Alex) Stevens’ action photo in the operating room. Alex graduated from Mother of Mercy High School and shadowed Dr. Becky Brown in 2017. She is now studying Biomedical Engineering at the University of South Carolina.

Stuart Nicholas worked with Dr. Melinda Butsch-Kovacic in the Division of Asthma Research. He graduated from Scott High School in 2017, and is now an Engineering/preMed major at UK.

Erin Roberts graduated from the Biomedical Sciences Academy of Kenton County and participated in several clinical research and outreach projects with Dr. Melinda Butsch Kovacic. She is now a pre-Veterinary Medicine major at Purdue University and plans to pursue a DVM/PhD.

Samantha Gilbert graduated from St Ursula Academy and worked with Dr Falcone in Surgery. She is now a Biochemistry major at the Ohio State University in the Honors Program with the career goal of being a pediatric surgeon.

Arjun Sheth learning about the MEG scanner from Dr Douglas Rose in acute care neurology. Arjun graduated from Indian Hill High School and earned a BS in human biology from Stanford university in 2019. He is now a health education specialist at Health Connected, East Palo Alto, CA

Group luncheon series offers a chance to hear about other medical specialties. One of the luncheons includes tips on how to prepare for the medical school application process.

One of the Summer Internship group activities is hands-on training with the computerized pediatric simulators.

Ayrenne intubating a pediatric simulator.

Aryenne Adams intubating the pediatric simulator in the summer of 2006. This was the first year that this activity was added to the program. Aryenne graduated from Summit Country Day HS and interned in General and Community Pediatrics. Aryenne earned an MD/MPH at Emory University in 2017, was a Resident at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and is now an Assistant Professor at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.

Working with the simulators is a great team building activity. Everyone gets a chance to participate.

Rohan Soman modeling a vest used in the pulmonary clinic. Rohan graduated from Lakota West HS in 2008 and attended Johns Hopkins University. He worked on a sleep medicine research project during his internship with Dr Amin. Rohan is currently an MD/PhD student at Weill Cornell Medical College.

Rebecca Kim working on the fluorescent microscope. Rebecca graduated from Indian Hill HS and worked in Dr Bissler’s lab in 2008. She earned a BA at Northwestern, and a PhD in Genetics at UCSF in 2017. Dr Kim-Yip is now a postdoc in the department of Molecular Biology at Princeton University.

Dr. Strauss presenting a certificate to Gabriel De Vela at the graduation party. Gabe graduated from Sycamore HS in 2009, obtained a BS from Notre Dame and MD from UC College of Medicine. Dr. De Vela is now a staff physician in Oncology at Cincinnati Children’s.

high school summer-slideshow-Derek-Shu-treating-Dr-Timm-200_jpg

Dr Timm being “treated” by his intern, Derek Shu. Derek graduated from Mason HS in 2014. He graduated from Duke University with a BS in biology and is now a medical student at UC College of Medicine.

Alyssa Questell graduated from Indian Hill High School and worked on a research project on Cystic Fibrosis in Dr Naren’s lab. She is now a Biomedical Engineering major at Vanderbilt University.

The 2019 High School Summer Internship Alumni luncheon featured left to right: Jill Bange (M4) and Rahul Sandella (M1) medical students at University of Cincinnati School of Medicine, Brad Miagawa (Pharmacology PhD) student at UCCOM, and Ashley Dundon (M1) at Creighton University School of Medicine

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2023 Summer Internship

Thank you for your interest in the 2023 High School Senior Summer Internship program. The 2023 application is open and can be found at this link.

Phase one of the application will close on January 31, 2023. Applicants selected to move forward will be asked to provide additional information in Phase two of the application process which will close on March 10, 2023.

Contact Us

Interested students with questions about the program or application process should contact us at hssummerinternship@cchmc.org

2022 Summer interns

2019 Summer interns

2018 Summer interns

2017 Summer interns

2016 Summer Interns

2015 Summer Interns

2014 Summer interns