The Student Teacher Internship Program (STIP) is one of the largest pre-college science education grants sponsored by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in the Washington DC metropolitan area.  The grant to Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), Maryland, encourages educational advancement in science by placing highly motivated high school students and middle and high school teachers in research laboratories at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).  At NIH the student and teacher interns conduct hands-on scientific research under the direction of experienced mentors.  The program piloted in 1990 with nine high school students and three high school teachers. Nearly two decades later, it has grown to 29 students and 10 teachers.  After attending an intensive one-week biomedical technology course, the teachers and students enter the laboratory.  In STIPs present form, the teacher internship extends through the summer, while the students work in the labs full-time during the summer and part-time for the school year.  Teachers apply directly for the internship with a letter of support from the principal of their school, while students are nominated by their respective high schools.

STIP furthers science education by giving teachers a clear understanding of the science process, which they impart to their students and colleagues. The program provides highly able high school students with experience in scientific research, so that they may consider it as a career even before college.  A student who was part of the first cohort during her junior year said that the internship “exposed me to potential careers beyond college.”  Before the program she had never contemplated entering the field of medical research, nor envisioned earning a M.D. / Ph.D.  Another intern, who had been frustrated with his experience in high school, felt that the internship had altered the direction in which his life was heading.  He pursed a career in neuroscience.  Preliminary results from our student alumni survey indicate that 73% of the students returned to NIH to work in the lab after their participation in STIP ended, and 64% had published their research.  Eighty-six percent felt that the internship shaped their career choice and 86% are currently employed in a science-related field.