After another successful year, the Health Effects Institute (HEI) is proud to continue its paid summer fellowship program in the United States to support and encourage rising junior and senior undergraduate students from underrepresented backgrounds [1] to pursue environmental health sciences. The aim of the program is to provide research experience in the environmental health sciences to students who might not otherwise have this opportunity.

The HEI Summer Fellowship Program is an in-person experience (unless the mentor is at a remote-only organization) to foster relationships between the student and the mentor, other undergraduate students who are on campus during the same period, and other members of the laboratory or department.

This form collects information on potential mentors for this program to post on HEI's website for student applicants. Unless otherwise noted, information that you provide will be posted as it is received. Students will indicate their mentor preferences based on the provided descriptions. Please note that the program facilitator will match students to mentors based on the interests of the students. Thus, although the time and interest of all potential mentors are valued, we will most likely not be able to match a student with every potential mentor.

Program expectations to participate as a mentor:

  • Host the fellow in your lab for an in-person experience (or remote if your organization operates completely remote) for the 10-week period. Note that fellows may take one summer class but are otherwise expected to be present full-time (defined as 5 days per week for 40 hours).
  • Attend a mentor training call before the start of the program.
  • Meet formally with the fellow at least once a week [2].
  • Ensure that you, or another member of your research group, have daily interactions with the fellow to support both the project and professional development.
  • Work with the fellow at the start to define the project and deliverables; the fellow is required to send a 2-page proposal to HEI two weeks after the start date (we will provide a template).
  • Help the fellow prepare for mid-fellowship and end-of-fellowship presentations. Mentors are strongly encouraged to attend the presentations if their schedules allow.
  • Be prepared to make necessary accessibility accommodations for your fellow should they need them and/or to connect your fellow with the institution’s accessibility office.

If you have any questions about these requirements, please contact us.
[1] HEI has adopted the National Institutes of Health (NIH) definition for people from underrepresented backgrounds to include individuals from racial and ethnic groups underrepresented in health-related sciences on a national basis, individuals with disabilities who are defined as those with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, and individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, recognizing that women from these three backgrounds face particular challenges in scientific fields (Source: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-20-031.html).

[2] It is understood that summer vacations occur, but if you plan to be out of the office and unavailable to the fellow for more than 2 weeks, we ask that you apply another year. While you are away, we expect that you will continue to be available to the fellow, or to ask someone else with appropriate expertise and management skills in your lab to step into your mentor role to keep the fellow on track.
Contact Information

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* 1. Contact Information

Information on the opportunity you could provide

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* 2. To which partner society do you belong? This question is for our information, and society membership is not considered when matching mentors with students.

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* 3. Please provide a brief description of your research [200 words maximum]

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* 4. Please provide a brief description of the type of project on which a fellow might work [100 words maximum]

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* 5. What are the top three skills that the student will learn and use in your lab?

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* 6. Who will be the primary direct supervisor of the student? (select one)

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* 7. I, or the direct supervisor, will formally meet with the fellow at least once per week.

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* 8. Who will communicate with the student on a daily basis, if they have questions?

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* 9. If no one can meet on a daily basis, please clarify here.

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* 10. What percentage of the time will the student be working in-person? Note that this is an in-person fellowship and the fellow’s experience should be in-person to the extent that your laboratory operates in person. If you have questions about this requirement, please contact us.

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* 11. Which activities will be in person?

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* 12. How many other undergraduate research students are typically present in your lab or department in the summer? We are hoping that there will be opportunities for the fellow to interact with other undergraduate students from a variety of backgrounds.

Information about resource availability

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* 13. Other resources available to students (Select all that apply)

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* 14. Please provide a link to your institution’s accessibility office. If you don’t know how to find this information, please indicate that in your response.

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* 15. Is there anything else you would like the applicant to know about the opportunity or resources? [100 word max]

Agreement to program expectations for mentors

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* 16. If matched with a fellow, do you agree to all of the following? If you have any questions about these requirements, please contact us before applying.

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* 17. Do you have anything that you would like the organizers to know, or have any questions? If so, please list your questions and feedback here. [100 word max]

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