BioMed IRB

BioMed IRB offers internship and fellowship immersion-learning-on-the-job opportunities for people who are interested in the overlap among experiences in medicine, research and law. The typical intern is intending graduate studies as a pre-med, pre-pharmacy, nursing or bio-engineering major. The most successful interns have been on a break from studies, as early as before completing studies or entering graduate school but more commonly after having left or while continuing to pursue a graduate program. Interns are encouraged to recruit and train their own successors and often train with core business interns to optimize work processes.

Intern applicants enter a screening process of some weeks, culminating with time shadowing prior interns, working directly between research teams and their ethical and regulatory oversight panels in order to receive an offer to join the team as an intern and advancing through training appropriate for future investigators. Since 1981, BioMed IRB has been a local or central panel for researchers outside of hospital or academic systems. Recruiting and maintaining voters for an external and independent ethics board comprising scientific and lay volunteers who vote on assessments of the scientific merit, integrity of data and protection of human research subjects in proposed human subjects research is the ongoing opportunity. About one of three interns will choose to return as a voting volunteer.

You are encouraged to explore if this might be right for you by reaching out for guidance from researchers, regulators, as well as past interns in the community of clinical investigations.

This website REQUIRES picking a single start date or "available year-round" so do not be misled, there are THREE start dates, one in February, another in May, and one again in August. The goal is to start 2 or 3 interns at intervals three times per year. The SCREENING sessions or classes for internships open in February, May and August and the exact opening date will be posted on our twitter account. This internship generates hundreds of applications for each available seat in each session, so we try to close from considering any application received more than a week after posting. Rather than apply if the posting is more than a week old, please wait for a future session to be announced on other social media, such as the feeds from linked in or from the twitter for BioMed IRB. [[NEXT APPLICATION CYCLE BEGINS screening steps for applications RECEIVED on Sunday, May 22, 2016]]

We also find that having at least one of the interns being local to support the remote interns during his or her own internship is an advantage to BioMed. For that reason, residents in San Diego can be boosted in the advanced screening for the internship sessions.

Interns receive and process reports from research teams that require oversight responses from the volunteers on the IRB. Through repetition of entering reports in the database and experience in presenting the reports for review by the oversight panel, interns advance from shadowing through direct contact with research investigation team members, sometimes with human research subjects reaching out for the oversight panel to intervene. At intervals, interns will be responding directly to regulatory audits. The interns are encouraged to take on responsibilities suitable to interests rather than limited to past skills. Interns can advance into management functions and even be immersed in core accounting and business functions. Within two to four months of immersion, interns are expected to be making formal presentations of new research at the meetings of voting volunteers. Be a lover of learning. Be open minded and curious to learn how you yourself learn and how you can contribute to advancing scientific know-how.

Prior to becoming an intern, applicants must demonstrate a desire to learn medical research terminology and pass entry-level training materials on line for an introduction to the scope of ethical and regulatory topics impacting medical research. Some research is outside of medicine entirely, for example in criminal justice or human factors engineering, but, the focus of all screening is biomedical research skills. The screening process runs weeks, rarely over a month, and is unpaid until an offer is made to formally join the team as an employed intern.

Meanwhile, you are invited to begin exchanging emails with the IRB at ffox@biomedirb.org; also, go on line and look up a few search phrases that we believe will help you learn about whether you are interested in the work of an IRB. Write up either comments or questions about what you find as an early step for advancing in the screening, okay?
The key phrases to research and react to in an email to the BioMed IRB start by having you look up "Coast IRB" and comment or question what hits on that internet search interest you. If none interest you or make you feel alarmed, then this internship is NOT for you.
After that, separately, look up "PIP IMI, BioMed IRB, Congressman Henry Waxman" and read a few hits before sending another email with your comments or questions. Again, if none intrigue you or make you feel concerned, then this internship is NOT for you.
The purpose of the two search phrases above is to assess your interest and understanding of the ethical topics in medical research. The next research screening steps are in on line Go To Meeting sessions with other candidates.

To get a head start on the screening steps, bear in mind that we are hoping to have you interact with others in your "session" of the internship, so some screening steps, including an orientation for an on line course offered elsewhere, will be done in on line interactive webinars. The earliest screening steps are: your resume, an explanation to us by email or discussions so that we understand how this internship might connect your past with your future, a few assigned searches on line to acquaint you with the world of clinical investigations (especially, IRB, FDA, OHRP, NIH), a survey of how the FDA communicates with the community of clinical investigators, an introduction to how the ethical oversight of medical research can be controversial, and then testing whether you can help us to help investigators by immersing you in how we process what investigators must communicate with an IRB. There are also opportunities for special projects, and, you can opt out of special projects or opt out of IRB submitted reviews if you choose one rather than both paths in this internship. Creating a customized internship can be possible, pitch one to us!

Required - Articulate Communicator, Business Math
Preferred - Biochemistry